The only real downside of the new Discovery Sport has been the powerplant.
We’ve had the combination of a new vehicle but with a basically old engine. The 2.2-litre turbodiesel made itself known every time you fired it up, through every sense from smell to touch. Not any more.
The new 2.0-litre Ingenium turbodiesel, compliant to EU6 level, has been a while in reaching Land Rover, since Jaguar had first call, but now the Discovery Sport is the first in the range to get it. It comes in two variants, the first being the ‘E-capability’, which has 148bhp and emits just 129/km of CO2. As well as low emissions, other omissions include the ability to have seven seats or the nine-speed automatic transmission.
The second version has 178bhp and comes with seven seats and the nine-speed auto box. Naturally this means emissions are higher, but they’re still reasonable at 139g/km, which is less than for the previous engine, and less than even in the Audi Q5 or BMW X3.
On the move things are a definite step up on the predecessor. It’s quieter, although noise does rise noticeably as revs rise, and smoother too. The torque curve works very well with the transmission, delivering seamless shove at lower revs. It’s clearly designed for users who want to ride the torque wave rather than go chasing revs, so the best momentum is maintained by letting the transmission keep things at low to medium engine speeds.
This now allies with what is a really splendid ride, with that smooth, connected handling being matched by the engine, although it’s not a rewarding experience to try to push the engine towards the rev limiter.
Keep it in the band and you get a superb package that feels instantly connected to your right foot.
The quality of the Discovery Sport’s ride, handling, dynamic efficiency and sheer aesthetic appeal has been yet further enhanced with this new Ingenium engine. What was already very good indeed just got even better.
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