Land Rover Discovery Sport on the move

The number of competitors vying for the mid-sized sport utility (SUV) market is well into double figures. It's one of Europe's fastest growing classes, shows no sign of slowing and every manufacturer is looking for an edge.

None more so than Land Rover, which is a third of the way through remaking its range, with the first of a number of newDiscovery models due next year. The Discovery name will now cover at least two models, a larger vehicle to replace today's go-anywhere family 4x4 of the same name, and this, the Sport, a mid-sized SUV, which will replace theFreelander.

I doubt many owners are going to be driving their Discovery Sports like this, though. The rattle of shingle against the underside of the body almost drowns out the racing engine note as we slam along a Welsh test track like a rally car on a charge.

Karl Richards, lead engineer on vehicle stability controls and terrain response, is no slouch at the wheel, but it's impressive how little input he's having to put into the car to keep it on this dusty, low-friction surface. I told the editor that I didn't do passenger-seat road tests and this isn't one, but I'm struck at the new Discovery's stability on the loose and ask Richards about it.

^{Andrew English discusses the Discovery Sport with Land Rover's Karl Richards}

'The Terrain Response system will have the familiar [from other Land Rovers] grass, gravel, snow, mud and ruts, sand and dynamic settings,' he says, 'but there will be unique programmes for each vehicle. And the 'flavour' will be different, too. How it behaves in some low-grip situations will be very different and we've been able to exploit the new car's longer wheelbase to do that.'

This is advanced stuff for the segment and some comfort to those who think that Land Rovers and their abilities are starting to move away from the farm and into the shopping mall. MacPherson-strut front, multi-link rear might be the ubiquitous suspension set-up for the class, but it's what you do with it that counts. In the Discocovery Sport's case there will be a choice of steel springs and passive damping, or active suspension using the latest development of the MagneRide system, which adjusts the damping rate using an electric current to change the characteristics of the magnetically-sensitive fluid in the dampers.

Power will come from the all-aluminium four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines built at Jaguar Land Rover's new plant in Wolverhampton, and they will be mated to a choice of automatic or manual gearbox with a multi-plate clutch pack taking drive to the rear wheels. There will be no transfer box for these smaller Discovery models, but higher-spec vehicles will come with GKN's twin-clutch system on the rear axle. This allows the rear wheels to be 'disconnected' to improve economy and also to apply more torque to the inside wheel than the outside to aid turn-in, stability and off-road ability.

^{The Land Rover Discovery Sport without its disguise}

Add braking traction control ('Which can take the weight for the multiple clutch pack in certain circumstances,' says Richards) and you have the potential to go places where rivals would be spinning their wheels.

That the new Discovery Sport is a very different vehicle from the larger soon-to-be-replaced model is illustrated by the towing capacity, which is down to 2.3 tonnes from 3.5. But Richards is adamant that its ability in the rough will remain undiminished.

'It will be the best off-roader that Land Rover makes,' he asserts. 'The wheel articulation is just as good as the outgoing model and there's nowhere at Eastnor Castle [Land Rover's challenging proving ground in Herefordshire] where I can't get to in it.'

Since the outgoing Discovery is known by insiders as the best off-road vehicle that Land Rover makes, that's a very bold claim. We're looking forward to putting it to the test.

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