Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE SD4 - best-balanced 7-seater 4x4 SUV?

Can the Land Rover Discovery Sport strike a balance?

Many people often think of the following group when the regular question “Which SUV can carry 7 people and go 4x4, but doesn’t cost too much, should I get?” comes up:  a Ford Everest, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota Fortuner or Mitsubishi Pajero Sport make up the usual names as default suggestions.  But if you baulk at the bulk of these?

What if you want something with a badge, without the excessive size or expense of a large premium SUV like the 7-seat options in the form of BMW X5, Audi Q7, or Land Rover Discovery?  Is there an SUV that meets the badge + size + 4x4 criteria, and fits between the 2 abovementioned groups?  Yes, there is – the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

If you want a smart-looking SUV that has a badge (preferably a Land Rover oval), has 4x4 ability and pedigree, Land Rover offers a tasty selection of SUVs.  It is all about finding the right balance for you.  Each Land Rover is very good in what it is designed for… but what if the Defender (now discontinued) is a bit too old-school, you did not like the Freelander enough, find the Range Rover Evoque too fashion-statement, the big Discovery too big (and about to be replaced) or the Range Rover Sport too rich image-laden?  Then, Land Rover may have an SUV which rolls the best of these Land Rovers into one package:  just as the Range Rover expanded into a Range Rover Sport off-spring, the Discovery is joined by the smaller Discovery Sport, which replaces Freelander.  Discovery Sport somehow manages to disguise the 7-seater seating space very well, unlike many other 7-seat off-roaders which are and look big – the Discovery Sport manages to achieve a spot-on balance of size and shape, belying its family+ carrying ability.

Range of Discovery Sport to choose from

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has a range of 9 models to choose from.  The Discovery Sport has 4 spec levels, stepping from Pure (previously “S”) to SE to HSE to HSE Luxury, with either diesel or petrol engines.  All Discovery Sports have the 9-speed automatic gearing as introduced in Evoque.

The entry-point model is the Discovery Sport Pure TD4, with 110kW/400Nm engine and a 5-seat layout, with a just-under R15k option to add the 3rd row of seats to make it a 7-seater.  For the more powerful SD4 (140kW/420Nm) and Si4 petrol turbo (177kW/340Nm) engines, 7 seats are standard.

The model on test was the Discovery Sport HSE SD4.  The engine is tried and trusted in the Land Rover smaller-SUV family, and has a refined operation.  Still heard as a diesel, but muted and with minimal vibration, plus good torque spread and economy.  Land Rover claims are that the Discovery Sport SD4 will consume only 6.3 litres per 100km in the combined cycle, and 5.7 for extra-urban.  The on-board display reported a Best journey of 5.1 l/100km, which is exceptionally light.  You won’t likely achieve this consumption in any other 7-seat 4x4 SUV.

If you’re in a hurry, though, it does not feel quick – drive it for efficiency rather than speed, and the progress is brisk enough, while the 9-speed auto changes quickly to keep engine revs as low as possible for optimum fuel consumption, being smooth through gears for the most part, though it can miss a beat by being a bit grabby on low-gear shifts, as experienced in the same drivetrain when the Evoque SD4 was on test.  The gearshifts are correct for the driving situations, with the standard steering paddles only getting a finger tuck when the driver needs to hook a lower gear for pre-empting an overtake to get the revs into the mid-range torque (in Drive the torque and gearbox prefer to mostly stick to the current gear, and just get the pulling job done) or for downhill engine braking.

Which model to pick?

All Discovery Sport are specced with 7 airbags including a driver knee protector airbag, Trailer Stability Assist, daytime running lights, touch-screen infotainment, keyless start, Terrain Response 4x4 driving assistant, and a useful eco driving info display – this is again more informative and less obtrusive than most other similar systems:  the Discovery Sport will show the driver 3 compact displays in the lower instrument cluster, with a foot-on-pedal icon on the left (how gentle or lead-footed the driver is), speed icon in the centre (to show when the speed is excessive for economy) and, cleverly and importantly, how you fare on braking style (a brake pad icon on the right) – each of these show a quick 1 to 5 bars in green, yellow or red, so the driver can monitor his/her driving style at a glance.

The Pure and SE models ride on 17-inch wheels, but these can appear low-rent and too small for the size of car, so an upgrade to at smallest R18s is highly recommended.
 
From SE spec, air-conditioning becomes automatic climate control (option on the S), on-board navigation is included, leather is standard, optional front electric seat adjustment, standard rear-seat armrest, front+rear parking sensors and rear park camera, while a must-have loadspace cover (option on Pure) is standard.  For appearance, mirrors are colour-coded and wheels can be optioned to 18, 19 or 20-inch.

HSE level gets hands-free keyless access, rear privacy glass, automatically dimming interior mirror, power-fold exterior mirrors, panoramic roof with electric-sliding fabric sun blind, front electric seat adjust, xenon headlamps and LED running lamps with a distinctive light signature, indicators in mirror housings,    HSE Luxury adds 19-inch wheels as standard, and luxury items like a powered tailgate, memory settings for the outer mirrors, surround view cameras, and more luxurious Windsor leather.

Pure spec is a bit basic but a price competitive against other less refined or more normal SUV types.  The SE is probably the best value as it adds some desirable features, but xenon headlights and LED daytime lights with the panoramic roof make the HSE tempting.

Options on Discovery Sport include high-tech items:  park assist, lane departure warning, blind spot alert, reverse traffic detection, high-beam assist, and adaptive headlights.

If you want to order your Land Rover Discovery Sport in this rather tasteful smart silver-and-grey colour combination, the paint is Indus Silver, offset in greys of contrast Corris Grey metallic roof (taking after Evoque and Range Rover roof choices) and Satin Dark Grey 18-inch Five Split-Spoke Style 511 alloy wheels.  The interior is in light grey grained leather (genuine leather) called Cirrus, which adds a sense of airiness to the cabin, and with care can keep looking mark-free.

Prices?  At launch the range started at R 545 900 for the Pure TD4, but with some necessary price increases it is now at R 602 046, while SD4/Si4 SE models at just under R660k.  The SE models are around R700k, and the HSE as reviewed is priced at R770k, topping out at R815k for the HSE Luxury models.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE SD4 currently retails at R 768 644 including taxes, before options.

Is the Discovery Sport more Evoque or more Discovery?

Some traits appreciably wave through from the Evoque (more compact dimensions and new-age Land Rover styling) and from Discovery (upright dash console and electric window controls on the door capping).  The drop&rise rotating gear selector is also a form+function feature carried across. 

What is also part of the Land Rover interior is the neat high-quality trim and controls.  Everything feels solid, refined, chunky (where needed) and simple.

In drive, size and weight, the Discovery Sport measures much closer to the Evoque, but with a more spacious feel and 7-seat ability.  It rides on the respected Discovery nameplate – bonnet lettering reads DISCOVERY, as does the tailgate main badging, with smaller SPORT appearing to the right of the left taillight, and the illuminated door sill lettering.

The Discovery Sport gets its own distinct design, with its own front-end of a curved wrapped design, a new profile, and a new creative on taillights, instantly ID’d by round inners with curved lenses.

The centre touch-screen is one of the best and most modern encountered, and even has images (rather than just icons) to quickly visually identify the desired menu, such as an photo of a leaf for “Eco data” menu and a Land Rover grille logo, half covered in mud, for the 4x4i menu.  Some fun factor for the phone menu shows a red telephone booth, while the Clock adjust has the Big Ben tower in the background… both very British, you know.

3rd row living&loving

The 3rd row of seats for positions 6 and 7 are well thought out – the seats can be raised by a simple pull of a strap in the backrests, so no need to stretch across to reach a lever, and lowered again gently using the strap, without flopping the seats down.  The 3rd row passengers also get their own adjustable air vents, and a simple rotating fan speed control easily accessed at the right side of the rear area, rather than in the roof as in some 7-seaters.

One problem is the rear cargo cover, which has no built-in storage holder.

There are storage shelves either side in the back, and a 12V and even a 5V charge point in the back – convenient.  The rearmost headrests are long objects which get comments for looking a bit odd, but work well to support heads, and make their seats shorter for easier storage.

The space is not as big as in the bigger-vehicle Trailblazer or new Everest, but a much better solution than the flip-sideways struggle in even the new Fortuner.

For children and even tall teenagers, these 6th and 7th seats are comfortable and enjoyable.  Adults can also easily fit in the back.   

Best balanced, most versatile compact SUV?

There’s nothing not to like about the Discovery Sport.  It replaces the Freelander, and fuses desirable elements from style-icon Evoque and 7-seat 4x4 Discovery into a more all-rounder package.  The best balanced, most versatile compact SUV?  Well, it groups the badge, name, looks, 4x4 abililty, refinement, quality, fuel economy, 7-seat capacity, certainly making one very balanced and versatile compact SUV.

Land Rover Discovery Sport arrived in South Africa in mid 2015, with some new and demo / approved vehicles available on the Auto Trader site.

Land Rover SA website