Topic: Test Drive: 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE Luxury

[ktm525]

The Sorrento is also quite a bit larger than the Discovery Sport.  I would say the Discovery Sport is more in between the Sportage and the Sorrento.  Yes, technically it has a 3rd row (although it's an option I doubt many people will take) but it's quite a bit smaller than actual 3-row CUV's. 

This vehicle is more Rogue-sized.

You are correct. I really like the Sorrento size. More useful than some of the small offerings but not quite Pilot sized.

I did a quick price comparison and if we start to compare apples to apples it is not even close. The Disco was $60k (I left off most of the additional electronic do dads) and the Sorrento SXL (full load all electronic do dads) was $50k. I have spent about 10 hours in each model and will say the Sorrento was a better environment for me.

The quality doesn't hurt either:

[ktm525]

Pictures aplenty here: https://www.netcarshow.com/land_rover/2015-discovery_sport/. Mind you it's 2015 MY but nothing significant changed.

Get it, Sorento is the answer to anything SUV so no one should buy X3, Q5, GLC, XC60 or Discovery Sport for that matter, because Sorento has it/does it all.

You prefer Sorento, fine, nothing wrong with it; it's a good vehicle in its own rights, but there are other considerations in buying a car/SUV other than the price per tone or feature.

Look, very very few people who are shopping in the compact luxury segment are going to be looking at a Kia Sorrento.  For those people (yes, my mum included), brand cachet is a big part of the luxury experience.

Land Rover is not Luxury, that is Range Rover. Land Rover is the buck toothed rural cousin to the Rangie. Or put another way: Me too!

[Dante]

Pictures aplenty here: https://www.netcarshow.com/land_rover/2015-discovery_sport/. Mind you it's 2015 MY but nothing significant changed.

Get it, Sorento is the answer to anything SUV so no one should buy X3, Q5, GLC, XC60 or Discovery Sport for that matter, because Sorento has it/does it all.

You prefer Sorento, fine, nothing wrong with it; it's a good vehicle in its own rights, but there are other considerations in buying a car/SUV other than the price per tone or feature.

Look, very very few people who are shopping in the compact luxury segment are going to be looking at a Kia Sorrento.  For those people (yes, my mum included), brand cachet is a big part of the luxury experience.

Land Rover is not Luxury, that is Range Rover. Land Rover is the buck toothed rural cousin to the Rangie. Or put another way: Me too!

Land Rover is the company name. They have two main product lines currently - Range Rover (luxury) and Discovery(off-road-ish).  Land Rover, as a brand, competes in the luxury/upscale market.
Indeed, the Discovery line is not intended to be as luxurious as Range Rover line, but it still competes in the luxury segment.

As far as I'm concerned, I don't give a damn for the badge - I'm buying the product. If the same vehicle would have a Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Ford, VW badge.... I would still buy it (hopefully for less money).

[ktm525]

Right I forgot Land Rover brought North America back to the rest of the world in terms of naming convention. The Discovery 2 was so bad they had to take a sabatical for awhile.  You are exactly right Range Rover is the Luxury. Disco and whatever they are calling it these days is  for the commoner. They really should add a third line called Tata.

[Fobroader]

Right I forgot Land Rover brought North America back to the rest of the world in terms of naming convention. The Discovery 2 was so bad they had to take a sabatical for awhile.  You are exactly right Range Rover is the Luxury. Disco and whatever they are calling it these days is  for the commoner. They really should add a third line called Tata.

 

Hell, for the badge whore types, they could stick a Land Rover decal on one of these and they would buy it, "uhhh, it so is a real Land Rover, read the floor mats bro"

[Dante]

Right I forgot Land Rover brought North America back to the rest of the world in terms of naming convention. The Discovery 2 was so bad they had to take a sabatical for awhile.  You are exactly right Range Rover is the Luxury. Disco and whatever they are calling it these days is  for the commoner. They really should add a third line called Tata.

Actually there is a third one - Defender but no new product yet. This would be all about off-road not luxury.  This line should cater to Johngenx friend who is using it to cross rivers....

[dirtyjeffer]

Get it, Sorento is the answer to anything SUV so no one should buy X3, Q5, GLC, XC60 or Discovery Sport for that matter, because Sorento has it/does it all.

You prefer Sorento, fine, nothing wrong with it; it's a good vehicle in its own rights, but there are other considerations in buying a car/SUV other than the price per tone or feature.

come on now, that isn't what i said or meant...i'm simply saying that the gap between them is likely very small or none at all...i posted links showing the reviewer mentioning you should shop it if looking in the luxury segment (lower segment luxury like Acura, Infiniti, etc)...i know it says Kia on the badge, but the vehicle on its own merits is very good...just look past the name.

[johngenx]

This is going to sound completely insane, but if you want a Land Rover, buying used is the only way to go.  Yup, I said it.  They just depreciate so hard, even with their expensive potential repairs, you're going to save a ton of money.  If I'm spending the kinda dough this LR costs, sorry, buying a Toyota or Lexus or Honda and not taking as bad a depreciation hit or risk of it being a POS.  But, I'm not dead-set on owning a Land Rover.  If I were, yup, I'd buy a used one and learn to fix it, live with it, and maybe even love it.

But, 99% of the people that buy them aren't buying them because they really want a Land Rover.  They want to project the image of how much money they can spend on a small SUV.  Which is good for LR, as they can charge a lot for what is really not a very special product in many ways.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

But, 99% of the people that buy them aren't buying them because they really want a Land Rover.  They want to project the image of how much money they can spend on a small SUV.  Which is good for LR, as they can charge a lot for what is really not a very special product in many ways.

Yup.  I think you've got it there.  I believe this was the case with my Mum.  I didn't really agree with her purchase, but I also didn't try to dissuade her from it, because it's her money and she really wanted it.  She seems pretty happy with it though.  That said, she really has no clue what else she could have gotten for her money, so I suppose it's a case of ignorance is bliss.  I don't think she shopped around much, but rather just went straight to the LR dealer, and it turned out a well equipped Discovery Sport was in her price range. 

I think in the segment, and for the price, there are much nicer vehicles, like the MB GLC, and the Audi Q5.  I believe you can also get a Macan for what she paid for her vehicle, although those are probably geared more towards driving enthusiasts, as opposed to the grandma which she is.

I still don't think anyone would cross-shop a Kia with this class of vehicle, no matter how nice.  Once Genesis releases a CUV, then the Koreans will have something in the game.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

That said,  aren't vehicles to a certain extent supposed to broadcast some part of your identity?  Why would ANYONE buy a Mercedes Benz GLE or Audi Q7 SUV for $10k more than an MDX or $20k more than a Sorento SXL?  Apparently the Sorrento does everything just as well as a MB or an Audi.  And yet, people still buy the luxury brands by the bucketload.  Why?  Because they have money and they want to show it off.  Happens ALL the time. 

[Ex-airbalancer]

That said,  aren't vehicles to a certain extent supposed to broadcast some part of your identity?  Why would ANYONE buy a Mercedes Benz GLE or Audi Q7 SUV for $10k more than an MDX or $20k more than a Sorento SXL?  Apparently the Sorrento does everything just as well as a MB or an Audi.  And yet, people still buy the luxury brands by the bucketload.  Why?  Because they have money and they want to show it off.  Happens ALL the time.

I cross shopped a used RX with a new Sorrento ,
The Sorrento was not up to parr with the Lexus

[ktm525]

But, 99% of the people that buy them aren't buying them because they really want a Land Rover.  They want to project the image of how much money they can spend on a small SUV.  Which is good for LR, as they can charge a lot for what is really not a very special product in many ways.

Yup.  I think you've got it there.  I believe this was the case with my Mum.  I didn't really agree with her purchase, but I also didn't try to dissuade her from it, because it's her money and she really wanted it.  She seems pretty happy with it though.  That said, she really has no clue what else she could have gotten for her money, so I suppose it's a case of ignorance is bliss.  I don't think she shopped around much, but rather just went straight to the LR dealer, and it turned out a well equipped Discovery Sport was in her price range. 

I think in the segment, and for the price, there are much nicer vehicles, like the MB GLC, and the Audi Q5.  I believe you can also get a Macan for what she paid for her vehicle, although those are probably geared more towards driving enthusiasts, as opposed to the grandma which she is.

I still don't think anyone would cross-shop a Kia with this class of vehicle, no matter how nice.  Once Genesis releases a CUV, then the Koreans will have something in the game.

Ha ha my father cross shopped them and in the end walked out  with a Kia. Then again he is quite well off and fiscally prudent. His thought was the "Luxury" models don't offer much more for a whole lot more money (other than loitering in fancy dealerships waiting for your expensive service bill lol)   I agree with John about the whole used LR thing and that is the way I have played the LR3/LR4 game for the past 8 years. When it is time for the LR4 to hit the road I may step up my game and buy a used Range Rover but only a supercharged V8.

With these Unibody FWD biased platforms I don't see a compelling reason to buy a LR, much better options out there.

[ktm525]

That said,  aren't vehicles to a certain extent supposed to broadcast some part of your identity?  Why would ANYONE buy a Mercedes Benz GLE or Audi Q7 SUV for $10k more than an MDX or $20k more than a Sorento SXL?  Apparently the Sorrento does everything just as well as a MB or an Audi.  And yet, people still buy the luxury brands by the bucketload.  Why?  Because they have money and they want to show it off.  Happens ALL the time.

I think they are better vehicles  than the Sorrento (and I am just using this as a generic example) it is just a case of diminishing returns. Luxury used to be a heated steering wheel (at least it was in 2010) but once Kia started putting them in 20k cars then "Luxury" had to come up with something new. Since vehicle performance envelopes long eclipsed what the average driver will ever subject them to Luxury has had to move on to soft surfaces, oodles of electronic doo- dads and cappuccinos in the service department. People buying Luxury badges to show off? Well they are just closet DBs and I try not to hang out with them.    Some of the best people to hang out with are high net worth crazies driving oddball beaters.

[johngenx]

Then again he is quite well off and because he is fiscally prudent.

FFA

[sailor723]

LR started, like many others, making rugged easy to fix vehicles.    Now they make sorta rugged unreliable vehicles.
Some of this is due to decades of government regulation but for sure some of it is that LR management just don't get the reliability thing and I am sure they have, like everybody else, given up on the easy for fix bit.

I'm with you on that. There needs to be more of a connection to the classic LR look. Make the RR's the more modern rounded ones.

[Fobroader]

LR started, like many others, making rugged easy to fix vehicles.    Now they make sorta rugged unreliable vehicles.
Some of this is due to decades of government regulation but for sure some of it is that LR management just don't get the reliability thing and I am sure they have, like everybody else, given up on the easy for fix bit.

I'm with you on that. There needs to be more of a connection to the classic LR look. Make the RR's the more modern rounded ones.

Saw a new-ish Discovery the other day....like zero attraction to it, could have been any number of other CUVs on the market. What happened to the Discovery that looked like it could take the kids to school and then take you on a tour of Namibia and Zambia on the weekend?? Slapping a Camel Trophy on a new Disco would be a joke, might as well slap one on a Buick Enclave. To me this company is dead, I always had a thing for them, yeah they were unreliable and expensive to maintain, but they were cool and kinda sold you this promise of adventure and exploring.....not some weaksauce well to do housewife assault vehicle. I could conquer the Dorian Gap on the weekend and still have a vehicle classy enough to go to the local hipster supermarket, RIP Land Rover/Range Rover, nice knowing you.

[Dante]

Saw a new-ish Discovery the other day....like zero attraction to it, could have been any number of other CUVs on the market. What happened to the Discovery that looked like it could take the kids to school and then take you on a tour of Namibia and Zambia on the weekend?? Slapping a Camel Trophy on a new Disco would be a joke, might as well slap one on a Buick Enclave. To me this company is dead, I always had a thing for them, yeah they were unreliable and expensive to maintain, but they were cool and kinda sold you this promise of adventure and exploring.....not some weaksauce well to do housewife assault vehicle. I could conquer the Dorian Gap on the weekend and still have a vehicle classy enough to go to the local hipster supermarket, RIP Land Rover/Range Rover, nice knowing you.

They have this one for you.... Are you ready to open up your wallet?

[Fobroader]

Awwww....thats so cute, like a Sorento with an offroad package 

[Dante]

LR started, like many others, making rugged easy to fix vehicles.    Now they make sorta rugged unreliable vehicles.
Some of this is due to decades of government regulation but for sure some of it is that LR management just don't get the reliability thing and I am sure they have, like everybody else, given up on the easy for fix bit.

I'm with you on that. There needs to be more of a connection to the classic LR look. Make the RR's the more modern rounded ones.

Square, ungainly design, basic transportation would not sell today one bit. They are in the business of making money rather than perpetuating the past symbols.... However, what I don't get is the luxury AND off-road vehicle. The new Discovery is very capable off-road as shown in a number of videos, but why make it overly luxurious and therefore that expensive? This is the part I don't get. Who is the target market for it? I guess very small. Most people looking for a LR these days are thinking luxury not boulder climbing.

Their link to the traditional LR will be the Defender line which is coming for 2019/20.

The way I look at the Disco Sport is a near-luxury SUV from a luxury brand for a more accessible price. One key thing that makes it a consideration is that I can get one well equipped (all I need and nothing more) for thousands less than a Q5, X3, GLC and even XC60 while getting the niceties in a luxury vehicle (materials, finishes) and more SUV-ish look and capabilities.

The Disco Sport is the only compact SUV I personally like and would consider between mainstream and luxury (not a fan of the current RDX or Buick whatever...).

[Sir Osis of Liver]

LR started, like many others, making rugged easy to fix vehicles.    Now they make sorta rugged unreliable vehicles.
Some of this is due to decades of government regulation but for sure some of it is that LR management just don't get the reliability thing and I am sure they have, like everybody else, given up on the easy for fix bit.

I'm with you on that. There needs to be more of a connection to the classic LR look. Make the RR's the more modern rounded ones.

 





These guys get it. LR have lost the plot.