Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE Luxury

[OliverD]

....there's no reliability data in any of the exerp you posted...?

it just says JD Power highest "Satisfaction" on service.

so Jag provides good service when you bring your car in because it broke....  they better, since you will be seeing them all the time...

?

I don't care how comfy the couch is and how fancy their espresso maker is if I'm in there twice a week.

Well at that point you probably do care.

[Fobroader]

....there's no reliability data in any of the exerp you posted...?

it just says JD Power highest "Satisfaction" on service.

so Jag provides good service when you bring your car in because it broke....  they better, since you will be seeing them all the time...

?

I don't care how comfy the couch is and how fancy their espresso maker is if I'm in there twice a week.

Well at that point you probably do care.

  Touche.....

[Noto]

Very poor review. Did you know you can put the transmission in Sport to change it's character? Did you know you have paddles if you want to stay in perfect power range at all times? Why are you complaining about not having all the options in your tester? They are available aren't they? Are they standard on other cars in the class at the price point? Did you forget you need to get a top trim Q5 just to get a backup camera?

If you're going to troll, you may want to be a little less obvious about it.

[jyarkony]

Very poor review. Did you know you can put the transmission in Sport to change it's character? Did you know you have paddles if you want to stay in perfect power range at all times? Why are you complaining about not having all the options in your tester? They are available aren't they? Are they standard on other cars in the class at the price point? Did you forget you need to get a top trim Q5 just to get a backup camera?

If you're going to troll, you may want to be a little less obvious about it.

While it is a troll-ey comment and we've established that his knowledge of reliability and resale aspects of vehicle ownership are decidedly lacking, let's address the dearth of comments on the transmission and paddle shifters...

who the hell really uses the 'Sport' mode or paddle shifters in a luxe cute ute. Is this a Scion FR-S or an M3? No. No review covers every little detail, and we focus on the relevant aspects of a vehicle in most reviews, and these items are at the very outer reaches of relevance.

that being said, Peter can likely chime in if anyone has questions about the minutiae of the transmission's operation, but in my experience, the issue with the 2.0 turbo in the small Land Rovers is the throttle, not the transmission. As Peter mentions, throttle is delayed and the once the turbo lag passes, it absolutely launches, creating a far more violent and lumpy acceleration experience than a consumer in this segment is likely looking for - Sport mode and paddle shifting don't really fix that.

as to the backup camera, the Q5 is an aging product and options packaging reflects that, but the Q3 has a back-up camera at under $40K, and the CR-V has it standard at $25K, so yeah, that's an issue worth noting.

[Fobroader]

Very poor review. Did you know you can put the transmission in Sport to change it's character? Did you know you have paddles if you want to stay in perfect power range at all times? Why are you complaining about not having all the options in your tester? They are available aren't they? Are they standard on other cars in the class at the price point? Did you forget you need to get a top trim Q5 just to get a backup camera?

If you're going to troll, you may want to be a little less obvious about it.

While it is a troll-ey comment and we've established that his knowledge of reliability and resale aspects of vehicle ownership are decidedly lacking, let's address the dearth of comments on the transmission and paddle shifters...

who the hell really uses the 'Sport' mode or paddle shifters in a luxe cute ute. Is this a Scion FR-S or an M3? No. No review covers every little detail, and we focus on the relevant aspects of a vehicle in most reviews, and these items are at the very outer reaches of relevance.

that being said, Peter can likely chime in if anyone has questions about the minutiae of the transmission's operation, but in my experience, the issue with the 2.0 turbo in the small Land Rovers is the throttle, not the transmission. As Peter mentions, throttle is delayed and the once the turbo lag passes, it absolutely launches, creating a far more violent and lumpy acceleration experience than a consumer in this segment is likely looking for - Sport mode and paddle shifting don't really fix that.

as to the backup camera, the Q5 is an aging product and options packaging reflects that, but the Q3 has a back-up camera at under $40K, and the CR-V has it standard at $25K, so yeah, that's an issue worth noting.

Are you implying that the owners of these vehicles aren't canyon carving and taking advantage of the paddle shifters?!?!? Ces't impossible!!!

[PeterB]

Just to clarify, the RR Disco Sport does have a back up camera.

[EV-Light]

...and yet another 9-speed that doesn't work. I am wondering how the 9 and 10 speed from Ford/GM will turn out.

[dirtyjeffer]

i'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

[bensonc]

...and yet another 9-speed that doesn't work. I am wondering how the 9 and 10 speed from Ford/GM will turn out.

I think adding more gears is just a marketing thing...How tall the gear can they do? idle speed for a drag heavy SUV to run 110km at engine idle speed??  I have no idea how this will work.
I do mountain bike, I remember my old bike from Mid 90 have 24 (3* gear and now they sell 20(2*10) gears bike and told people they are better...

[jyarkony]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

[Dante]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijVPpqlOtc

[Dante]

Since I've  been doing some research on the Disco Sport over the past few months, few things caught my eye in the review.

Re: Rear View Camera
RVC is standard on HSE and HSE Luxury. What is optional on these trims is a Surround Camera System which I doubt is even an option on most of the mainstream vehicles if at all.

Re: Navigation
Navigation is actually standard on HSE Luxury (tested) and optional on SE and HSE models.

If you go through the Disco Sport configurator you'll probably notice that the packaging is fairly decent actually. You can get useful options a-la-carte rather then bundled in packages with dependencies on them like in BMW's case. The high-end options are part of few packages though.

One thing I like is that the 3rd row is an option on all trims and you are not forced to get it bundled with other options you might be interested in. One other thing is that you can get a full spare tire for a decent price ($250) and from some videos I've seen, it is actually a regular wheel (alloy) not a steel wheel. Navigation, heated rear seats or cooled/heated front seats are stand-alone options for decent prices too.

One stupid thing (I can call it that even it sounds harsh) is that they did not put an arm rest and cup holder roll up cover in the SE model; instead, you have a bin with no lid on it. Come on LR, this is a luxury vehicle to begin with, regardless the trim, and this is a stupid place to be cheap. Consequently the centre console in the SE trim looks very low-rate and unfinished.

For similar configurations (as much as possible) the Disco Sport is about the same price as the Q5 and cheaper than X3. It is hard to compare with GLK which has a higher starting price due to engine offerings, but I think even compared to the new GLC it will still be cheaper.

As a reference, my configuration was for an HSE with navigation, full spare, rear heated seats and the rest all standard. This worked out at $48.1K. The Q5 came in at $48.2K and X3 at $51K. This is before freight and the other fees and taxes.

However, as far as I can see in most reviews, the biggest issue is the engine/tranny pairing which needs some work. I assume a fix will come at some point in the form of a software update as this is a common occurrence.

What will be interesting to see though is how the new LR 2.0L Ingenium Diesel engine will fare in the Disco Sport when/if it comes to our shores in the next few years.

All in all, I find the Disco Sport a competitive offering in this group, with good looks, clean interior design, classic luxury, brand prestige and all these with added utility and good all-road/all-weather capabilities. The last part is what is lacking in most luxury compact SUVs and I find that the Disco Sport is filling  that gap. True, this is not what the vast majority of the buyers in this segment are concerned about, but for the very few that are, this vehicle might be the answer.

[dirtyjeffer]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

there's a limited number of 7 seater SUVs (in this size, not talking about Yukon's etc).

[dirtyjeffer]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AijVPpqlOtc

interesting that the Kia seemed to do rather well, but did fall short in driving dynamics compared to the LR...since most mainstream people likely care little about having a vehicle with the best driving dynamics, i the new Sorento seems like a decent vehicle.

[jyarkony]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

there's a limited number of 7 seater SUVs (in this size, not talking about Yukon's etc).

Land Rover Discovery Sport is not a 7-seater here in North America. They'll cram 7 seats in almost anything in Europe. it takes the larger LR4 or RR Sport to get even seats here.

But maybe we should resurrect the head vs heart series, like when we compared the Kia Cadenza to the CLA...

Not to be too jaded, but my assumption (and knowing the risks of making an assumption), is that people shopping the Range Rover Evoque and Disco Sport care more about image, badge and styling than driving dynamics or practicality... Personally, I would skip the Disco Sport and go straight for the Evoque. Disco Sport just seems a bit bland to me, and it's not significantly superior in any area I don't think (though I haven't researched them deeply).

[OliverD]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

there's a limited number of 7 seater SUVs (in this size, not talking about Yukon's etc).

Land Rover Discovery Sport is not a 7-seater here in North America. They'll cram 7 seats in almost anything in Europe. it takes the larger LR4 or RR Sport to get even seats here.

According to http://www.landrover.ca the third row is optional in Canada.

[Dante]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

there's a limited number of 7 seater SUVs (in this size, not talking about Yukon's etc).

Land Rover Discovery Sport is not a 7-seater here in North America. They'll cram 7 seats in almost anything in Europe. it takes the larger LR4 or RR Sport to get even seats here.

According to http://www.landrover.ca the third row is optional in Canada.

Indeed, the Disco Sport had optional 3rd row on all trims from day one (since announced) both in US and Canada.
The 3rd row is a gimmick in a vehicle this size. It reminds me of the Outlander back in 2007.

[Dante]

Personally, I would skip the Disco Sport and go straight for the Evoque. Disco Sport just seems a bit bland to me, and it's not significantly superior in any area I don't think (though I haven't researched them deeply).

Disco Sport is significantly more utilitarian vehicle compared to Evoque - more cargo and passenger space while still sporting some luxury and of course the LR badge. It targets different demographic and it servers different purpose.

One area Disco Sport is expected be superior to Evoque is off-road capabilities; not that it matters too much to all but few buyers.

[jyarkony]

I'd be curious to read a comparo between this and the new Sorento.

uh, what?

How many people really consider a Land Rover against a Kia?

there's a limited number of 7 seater SUVs (in this size, not talking about Yukon's etc).

Land Rover Discovery Sport is not a 7-seater here in North America. They'll cram 7 seats in almost anything in Europe. it takes the larger LR4 or RR Sport to get even seats here.

According to http://www.landrover.ca the third row is optional in Canada.

Indeed, the Disco Sport had optional 3rd row on all trims from day one (since announced) both in US and Canada.
The 3rd row is a gimmick in a vehicle this size. It reminds me of the Outlander back in 2007.

Those aren't seats. those are torture devices. Who wants to bet that at the next update of the Disco Sport that third row option will be gone due to lack of demand?

But yeah, i guess i was stuck thinking of the LR2. Now, aside from that video, can you find any actual people that really cross-shopped those two models?

[bluelines]

Not sure why the Disco would be any better off road than the Evoque. They are both the same car underneath (FWD platform with some electronic gizmos to manage traction on different surfaces. The disco probably has a bit more ground clearance, but Top Gear took the Evoque on a pretty extensive off road trip and found it to be much better than the typical compact SUV.

Personally, I would skip the Disco Sport and go straight for the Evoque. Disco Sport just seems a bit bland to me, and it's not significantly superior in any area I don't think (though I haven't researched them deeply).

Disco Sport is significantly more utilitarian vehicle compared to Evoque - more cargo and passenger space while still sporting some luxury and of course the LR badge. It targets different demographic and it servers different purpose.

One area Disco Sport is expected be superior to Evoque is off-road capabilities; not that it matters too much to all but few buyers.