Say Hello To The New Land Rover Discovery Sport

OK, so we’ve already sort of seen Land Rover’s Freelander replacement courtesy of last week’s bizarre scale model leak, but now the new baby Landie can be seen in all its glory. From the off, it’s clear the outward design’s not all that radical. It looks much like a resized Range Rover Evoque - the vehicle it shares its platform with - but a little blander, particularly at the somewhat uninspiring rear three-quarter. It’s not a bad looking thing, though, and we’d argue that its proportions are tidier than the Evoque.

Things are a little more interesting under the skin. The news which Land Rover seems keen to draw the most attention to is the new seating arrangement. Despite still being very much a compact SUV - it’s a touch longer and narrower than the Freelander - it’s actually a seven seater. Well, almost; the third row has foldaway seats so the Disco Sport is referred to as a ‘5+2,’ and by the looks of it only children and vertically challenged adults will be able to sit comfortably.

Still, it’s a useful feature to have in a smaller SUV, and not an easy thing to implement. A new multi-link rear axle assembly which doesn’t intrude into the cabin space was designed for the job, and apparently aids on-road manners too. The reasonably low weight figure of 1817kg - achieved with the help of an aluminium body - should also make it a decent thing to hustle on tarmac.

As should be expected for a Landie, it’ll be pretty handy off road, too. We’re promised long-travel suspension, a wading depth of 600mm, and Land Rover’s ‘Terrain Response’ technology.

Clever new seat arrangement aside, the interior looks surprisingly basic. There’s a new eight-inch touch screen-based infotainment system, but other than that, it doesn’t exactly look bang up-to-date. It’s possible that it’s been made a little more utilitarian to deliberately contrast the posher Evoque, but either way, we’re a little underwhelmed.

Engine-wise, there’ll just be one available at the vehicle’s January 2015 launch, a 181bhp SD4 diesel unit. It powers all four wheels via a Haldex differential and either a six-speed manual gearbox or nine-speed automatic. Later in 2015 there’ll be a more economical ED4 engine available, which powers - shock horror - just the front wheels. The SD4 will set you back £32,395, while the ED4 will be priced at under £30,000.

What do you think of this new Land Rover?