2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport to move upmarket

The Disco Sport adds to the Land Rover family tree, taking over from the Freelander.

A leisurely new Land Rover is about to take over from the compact Freelander, which has been swept aside by the off-road company's wave of new models.

The Discovery Sport comes as a result of upsizing and a plan to stream the various models in the British off-road family into a new range of names.

The Disco Sport is another style winner from the team that created the latest Range Rover and Evoque. The designers also are finalising work on the overdue replacement for the Defender, though there's more to the project than that.

Land Rover believes the Discovery Sport will move it well beyond the Freelander's rivals in the class of the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai ix35 - it's also a challenger to the BMW X3 and Audi Q5,.

"It's a very different vehicle," says Land Rover Australia brand manager Tim Krieger.

"It sits in the same segment that the Freelander played in (but) it's a very different proposition.

"That's in terms of the design of the vehicle, the styling, the size and the configuration with five-plus-two seating.

"The Discovery Sport takes on the European competitors more directly." 

Nothing is being revealed about the pricing but Krieger hints it could be surprisingly close to the Freelander, which is $44,990 drive-away.

"It will be very competitive against X3 and Q5 (in features and options). Pricing will come close to the launch, which is May 1 next year in Australia."

Land Rover says the car is the first member of a new Discovery family. Given its size and layout, the future is certain to bring a smaller model as well as a replacement for today's full-sized Discovery.

"There is room in the Land Rover brand," Krieger says.

The Discovery Sport has a more upscale interior and is 90mm longer than the Freelander, with a longer wheelbase and a new platform fitted with a multi-link rear axle.

Land Rover's selectable Terrain Response technology is part of the four-wheel drive package and a new dynamic setting gives firmer ride, tighter body control with reduced roll, and a more responsive steering and performance.

The Disco Sport can wade to 600mm, approach, departure and breakover angles are 25, 31 and 21 degrees respectively and it has a couple of millimetres extra ride height over the Freelander.

On the safety front, Land Rover has fitted a pedestrian airbag and automatic emergency braking. Engine choices are 2.2-litre turbodiesels and a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol with six or nine-speed automatic transmissions.

And the name of the new Discovery "family"?

"We have three pillars to the Land Rover brand," Krieger says. "Luxury is all about Range Rover, Leisure is the Discovery models, then Utility will be the Defender models. All of those have Land Rover DNA ... but represent different things."