2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport: Up Close
By now it should be evident that Land Rover’s purchase by India’s Tata Motors in 2008 was a very good thing. The company has had one hit after another, and the Discovery Sport looks like another one.
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It’s larger than the LR2 it replaces, as well as the Range Rover Evoque, and it takes on the styling direction seen in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, but with a more rounded nose to distinguish it a bit. It looks good from all angles. The only misstep I see is that the optional black roof looks odd with a wide, body-colored C-pillar, the only pillar that isn’t black.
The interior quality is nice but understandably less rich than the more expensive Land Rover models. For instance, there’s what appears to be real aluminum flanking the center control panel, but elsewhere it’s silver plastic that’s neither the best nor the worst facsimile I’ve seen.
Storage space is spare in the center console, but the door pockets are quite large.
The backseat is accommodating for a vehicle of this size, thanks in part to the fore/aft sliding feature. The enormous moonroof, familiar from the Evoque, similarly makes this already less-cramped model seem even larger inside. The “+2” third row manages to stay just on the right side of passenger incarceration, and at that only for a child passenger. Juvie is an option, so you aren’t forced to get it, and even if you do, it makes no difference in cargo volume, which is considerable when the third row is folded.
The rear visibility is of course much better than the sleek Evoque’s, and all the rear seats’ head restraints collapse or flip down to improve the sightlines – a nice touch.
Though the Discovery Sport has the familiar Terrain Response buttons, I wouldn’t be surprised if it proves to be the least capable Land Rover off-road. The rear suspension was optimized for interior space, and a look underneath the auto-show model revealed a vulnerable exhaust pipe and what’s sure to be limited ground clearance and wheel travel absent the more expensive models’ air suspension.
That probably won’t limit how many you see in the Crate & Barrel parking lot.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
