‘This is an unpaid Land Rover Discovery Sport Review. Disclosure: we were given a Discovery Sport HSE LUX to test-drive for a long weekend, in order to give an honest review.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE LUX might look like a total babe but it doesn’t just have a pretty face; it definitely has a lot more going on than just it’s looks.
4-wheel-drive’s have really come on over recent years. Our Freelander is pretty basic in comparison to the Discovery Sport; which is its successor.
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Our Land Rover Discovery Sport Review
The car we test-drove, as part of the Land Rover ‘Discovery Adventures’ campaign, was definitely not like the utilitarian, 4-wheel-drive that we’re used to.
It was a dream to drive — not too big — and even though it can house 7 passengers it still felt manageable. With super-comfy seats that — I quote:
“feel like they’re giving you a hug”
Mr D’s words, not mine.
Plus, one of the optional extras with the HSE Lux (and I highly recommend this) is a memory seat function; once you’ve set your perfect position you can digitally save it — and come back to it again — simply by pressing a button.
Essential if more than one of you are insured to drive it. No more faffing about with the seat controls, to secure your perfect driving position.
Simply press a button and the seat will glide into place.
All the toys
I loved all the gadgets and toys. The Land Rover Discovery Sport has the most amazing in-car computer system.
Satnav, parking assist (with rearview cameras) plus, you can pair your phones up by Bluetooth, chat to your friend whilst listening to Spotify on the incredible 10 speaker Meridian Digital Surround Sound System.
Who needs CDs nowadays? We’ve got access to every genre of music at our fingertips.
Amazing.
The Disco Sport also had a speed limiter; brilliant when you want to put a cap on your speed, to avoid being caught on camera!
A few of my favourite things
Favourite thing to mention — aside from the fact that it had a gigantic boot for all our weekend clobber — was the fabulous panoramic sunroof.
This provided much entertainment for the boys, whilst they were sat in the back.
But when it began to go dark and they drifted off to sleep, a simple flick of a switch activated the roof, which seamlessly slid back into place.
It drives like a dream.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport we test-drove had an Ingenium 2.0litre TD4 Diesel Engine with 9-Speed Automatic Transmission.
It’s a far cry from the noisy, smelly old diesel engines, from days gone by.
It was so quiet — and the revs sounded more like a sports car, than the diesel engine that’s in our current car.
But for eco conscious road users, the 2018 model year Discovery Sport will also be available with Jaguar Land Rover’s all-new 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engines.
Our Discovery Adventure Part 2
So in the last post, I mentioned that we’d been asked to go on a weekend adventure in the Disco, to celebrate the launch of The Discovery Adventures podcasts.
We put the car through its paces and drove to the Chilterns for the weekend; taking the boys to the Chiltern Open Air Museum on the Saturday and staying with friends overnight.
But on the Sunday — as it just so happened to be grandparents’ day — we decided to take the twins’ grandma and grampy out for lunch.
This is where the Discovery Sport really came into it’s own. It was the first time we’ve ever been able to all go out in just one car together.
There are two little fold down seats in the boot; the perfect size for a couple of child’s carseats. Our two littlest passengers were thrilled with this feature; sitting in the back of the car was their very favourite thing.
And my favourite thing?
Well, I’m no Jeremy Clarkson but I am a driver.
I have young twins and our family regularly go away for weekends; so need a decent sized boot for groceries, bikes, scooters, luggage etc.
We also have Dolly the caravan, who needs something fairly substantial to be able to tow her. The Disco Sport has a towing capacity of up to 2500kg, so no problems there.
We live in a rural area, so need something that’s capable of coping with country life — but feels smart enough to take to the city.
So is the Land Rover Discovery Sport a good family car?
Well, in my opinion, the Land Rover Discovery Sport is our perfect family car. Smart enough to turn heads, rugged enough to cope when we get snowed in, in the winter. The fact that it’s a 7 seater is the icing on the cake.
But, it seems you can’t have your cake and eat it.
And although I willed them to let me keep it for a little longer, we had to part with our 4 wheeled friend. But what a brilliant weekend.
We loved our Discovery Adventures.
Thank you to Land Rover for letting us try out the Discovery Sport for the weekend. You can download to The Discovery Adventures now, for free, on iTunes.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
