REVIEW | Sweet Land Rover Discovery Sport soured by big price premium

The birth of the Freelander gave Land Rover a boost towards the end of the 1990s and into the new millennium.

At the time the compact SUV genre was a novelty. The baby Landy pandered to a soft-roader crowd whose requirements might not have been as intensive as someone eyeing a Discovery, Defender or full-cream Range Rover, the trio which comprised the extent of things during that period.

You could have considered it as the British alternative to what the Toyota RAV4 embodied then. It was relatively dainty in size, with an urban warrior slant and trendy personality. The five-door guise offered practicality while the three-door had a more youthful flavour, complete with its removable rear top.

Like with all product evolutions, the Freelander grew up, getting larger in dimensions, more sophisticated under the skin and plusher inside. It had a good run but the nameplate was retired in about 2015, succeeded by a fresh entry into the Land Rover brand: the Discovery Sport.

Its job was to retain the same ethos, but this time reinvented with a persona and handle capitalising on the name of the larger Discovery. At launch it appeared to be a strange association that some might have argued diluted the cachet of Discovery, but the Sport is close to celebrating a decade of existence and has seemingly proven itself in the Land Rover environment.

In 2019 it was treated to a significant upgrade, with revised styling as well as the adoption of an enhanced platform, which it shares with the Range Rover Evoque and E-Pace from sister brand Jaguar.

Overall, it marked a notable improvement vs the original 2015 iteration.

This 2019 model was recently treated to a more subtler life cycle refresh and we got our hands on a unit for a three-day test.

Nothing has changed in overall shape, not that there was anything wrong before. The silhouette exudes a decidedly urban flavour, with a smattering of the outdoorsy character you want from a Land Rover. No denying its status as a member of the family.

There are new alloy wheel options, a wider selection of colours and minor aesthetic tweaks, such as new bumper details and the prospect of contrasting accents. Inside, the fascia boasts a simplified centre console with more room for stowage. A less cumbersome shifter has also been deployed.

Buyers with a vegan leaning can choose a new non-leather upholstery alternative dubbed Luxtec, complemented by a faux suede pairing, made from recycled polyester.

This Discovery Sport experience was my first since the initial 2015 release, so the changes were apparent. It has a more premium constitution in line with what the brand has tried to foster.

While the first Discovery Sport, especially in base trim, had a pared-down and barren atmosphere, this new one offers a more cosseting cabin with nicer materials.

The driving position is textbook Land Rover, allowing front occupants to feel that perched-up sensation with chunky door sills on which to rest elbows.

You can have an 11.4" curved glass infotainment system. The Pivi Pro set-up we have praised in various Jaguar Land Rover products, with its high-resolution display and easy to use menus. The instrument cluster is also digitised. Some also prefer the perks of diesel power, which, you might be pleased to know, remains alive here.

One of the options under the bonnet is the familiar Ingenium diesel unit, displacing 2l, delivering 147kW/430Nm. You may recall with the original Discovery Sport the engines were sourced from Ford.

The Ingenium family was developed afresh by Jaguar Land Rover. It is a smooth, tractable unit with respectable shove, aided by a nine-speed automatic. With its punchy nature and good economy, this is a derivative we are still able to recommend after positive past experiences.

A petrol-powered plug-in hybrid is your other option, which we tested. In tandem, its 1.5l engine and electric motor delivers 227kW/540Nm. It can drive on electric power alone for up to 61km. This derivative uses an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

We were surprised by the grunt offered by the three-cylinder, turbocharged motor. But when the battery is depleted, the effect on fuel consumption is significant. Land Rover claims a low 1.7l/100km in ideal conditions, but on the open road, once that battery is empty, the vehicle returns figures of about 9l/100km.

Still, in fairness, the buyer considering this technology would have made the behavioural adjustments to see benefits in day to day use, being diligent with plugging it in at home or at one of the many charging stations.

With a ground clearance of 212mm and all-wheel drive, the Sport is easily up to the task where dirt roads and gravel tracks are on the agenda. Being a Land Rover, it boasts various off-road driving modes. We used the mud and ruts option during our test through Western Cape farming areas after torrential rain. No news to report here as we did not get stuck or even close to a sticky situation.

So the Discovery Sport remains a pleasant option with a distinctive aesthetic charm, accomplished road manners and an appealing cabin.

But where it is likely to lose the attention of most customers is from a pricing perspective. With a base price of R1,305,400 (D200 Dynamic SE) it is considerably more expensive than the equivalent German options.

The P300e Dynamic SE (plug-in hybrid) comes in at a whopping R1,718,300 — you could even have the proper full-sized Discovery in P360 S guise for similar cash (R1,798,600).