Land Rover said it received 3,400 orders in the UK for its new Discovery Sport ahead of its start of sales at the end of January although some industry insiders think many potential customers will wait for new engines due for launch later this year.
Replacing the Freelander, the new model brings Land Rover’s ‘three-family’ strategy into focus – Range Rover, Discovery and Defender. The Sport was launched initially here in the UK with just one engine, the carried over, tried and trusted 2.2-litre TD4 diesel which dates back to when Ford owned Land Rover and dates from the PSA/Ford diesel engine joint venture. The engine is built at PSA’s Tremery facility.
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Now Tata Motors owns JLR, this will be replaced next spring by a more efficient turbocharged diesel called ‘eD4’, one of Jaguar Land Rover’s new, own design, Ingenium engine range which will be built at the company’s new powertrain factory at Wolverhampton in the English Midlands. More diesel and petrol engines will follow later.
The eD4 is sold with a nine speed ZF automatic gearbox or six speed manual and the choice of two- or four-wheel drive.
The Discovery Sport arrives with a number of technical improvements over the outgoing Freelander and is considerably more dynamic on the road. It features 5+2 ‘stadium’ seating, the middle seats 50mm higher than the front and the additional two in the rear 20mm higher still. These can be folded at the touch of a button.
Progamme manager Bob Prew said the car also features USB ports for all occupants “allowing everyone to charge their phones at the same time”. Safety features include a pedestrian protection airbag and autonomous braking.
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By GlobalDataPrew said he expected 80% of customers to be conquests from other brands such as BMW and Audi as well as the likes of Hyundai and Kia although some could switch from the similar size, five seat Range Rover Evoque.
Prices in the UK start at around GBP32,000 (US$48,750) which puts Disco Sport firmly in BMW and Audi country and around GBP5,000 above the South Koreans.
The light steel and aluminium body structure is largely shared with the Evoque and is as capable as any Land Rover model off road with 600mm wade depth and four settings on its terrain response system: general, grass/gravel/snow, mud plus ruts and sand. Other standard off road aids include hill descent control, roll stability control, dynamic stability control, traction control and engine drag torque control.
Following its UK launch, the Discovery Sport will be launched worldwide. China was the top market for the Freelander it replaces followed by the UK and the US.
