And its not entirely your fault, the first generation Discovery Sport was launched in 2015 as the more functional version of the Evoque. Thanks to a more utilitarian design and a hike in price due to the weakening of the Ringgit back then, the 2015 Discover Sport was not exactly a runaway success. Land Rover Malaysia feels that can be corrected with the 2020 iteration of the Discovery Sport, or Disco Sport as we like to call it, in R-Dynamic trim. Is it worth getting one or would it suffer the same fate as its predecessor.
Velar-inspired exterior
Which looks like there’s an add on bodykit for the existing Discovery Sport. The front bumper is a whole lot bigger with very aggressive looking side vents. This theme continues to the side with the body colored side sills. There are new rim designs and a new Daytime running light LED design too. Does the new design look good, or does it seem tacky? As usual, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
You can opt to make it a 2WD
With a new feature called Driveline Disconnect, you can opt to run the car as an RWD during cruising. This is done to reduce friction / load on the engine and gearbox. Especially in situations where you dont need an AWD system running. This will help reduce the consumption of the car significantly. The system reengages AWD in less than 500 miliseconds.
Terrain Response 2
This is what separates the Disco Sport from its rivals. Its a legit off-roader. You can point it to some questionable terrain and the car will help you bail yourself and it out. The latest iteration of the Land Rover’s electronic AWD system is called Terrain Response 2. You tell the car which terrain you’re on (Comfort, Sand, Gravel-Grass-Snow, Mud& Ruts) and it will manage throttle, brake and the gearbox to ensure you keep going forward on difficult terrain. You can even leave the system in Auto and the system will respond according to the surface.
ClearSight Ground View
A new feature to help you navigate over rough and tight spaces, is the ClearSight Ground View system. Its like having a “transparent” car, where you get to view whats at ground level which would otherwise be blocked by your hood and bumper. Trust us, this is a highly useful tool when you’re off-road or are moving through tight spaces.
Ingenium engine
The current Discovery Sport uses Jaguar Land Rovers very own Ingenium engine. The 2.0 liter turbocharged engine and mated to a 9 speed automatic gearbox. The 9 speed gearbox comes handy in a car like this as the very low 1st gear will aid in off-roading scenarios, while the tall 9th gear will help with consumption. There were no power or consumption figures mentioned by JLRM about the 2020 Disco Sport.
10 inch Touch Pro Infotainment System
And now it features AppleCarplay and Android Auto. This touchscreen lets you pinch zoom, swipe and even customize your wallpaper and add widgets. You can even control the Terrain Response 2 system via the screen. Basically a phone screen for your car. Aside from that, there’s a 12 inch digital screen called Interactive Drive Display in the place of the regular instruments. Through that you can monitor everything from, entertainment, navigation, phone, and driving infos.
Generation 2 Heads-Up Display
Which means you get more information fed to you via improved graphics. The high-res full color display can provide you with information like vehicle speed, gear position, and navigation direction. All this without having to leave the eyes from the road.
Wireless Charging
Like most of the luxury cars of today, Wireless charging is now available for the Discovery Sport. There’s only one spot for wireless charging, which is in the centre console. It’s noteworthy that the Land Rover Discovery Sport has an abundance of USB charging sockets, even from the booth if you ever need to charge more than one device.
Active Safety + 7 airbags
Land Rover’s are armed to the teeth when it comes to safety features, and they are subjected to grueling tests to ensure it works in tough and challenging environments. Rest assured the basic structure of the car is pretty robust. Aiding to that structure is the safety features like High-Speed Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Condition Monitor and of course, the 360-Degree surround camera. This time the feature comes with Wade Sensing, which allows you to gauge how deep is the water level should you choose to traverse through a flood in this car. Handy in our flash flood prone environment.
Free service and Roadside assistance
For the first 65,000km or 5 years, whichever comes first, you will enjoy free servicing for your Land Rover Discovery Sport. This, along with a 5 year warranty and 3 year road side assistance will give you a peace of mind with the ownership of this car.
You can get the Discovery Sport R-Dynamic in both 5 seat and 5+2 seat configurations. The Discovery Sport is a hugely capable car with lots of versatile and practical features. However due to its lack of visual drama, especially next to its Range Rover cousins and the price, it did not enjoy the popularity the Evoque has. The current iteration intends to correct this. With a starting price of RM379,800 and RM409,800, we would have to wait and see how the Malaysian public would react to it. Especially in the wake of a global pandemic.
