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The Land Rover Discovery Sport (codename L550) is a compact luxury crossover SUV produced by British automotive company Jaguar Land Rover under their Land Rover marque. It replaces the Land Rover Freelander in a revised Land Rover range of vehicles, with Discovery joining Range Rover as a sub-brand.
The Discovery Sport went on sale during September 2014, with first deliveries in early 2015. The new Discovery sub-brand, to be focused on leisure vehicles, will feature two models initially, the compact Discovery Sport and the larger Discovery (sold as the LR4 in North America).
The Discovery Sport is based on the JLR D8/LR-MS platform, customised for off-road applications, and is powered by a range of four cylinder petrol and diesel engines. The Discovery Sport is available in five and seven seat layouts.
The Discovery Sport represents the third generation of compact SUV produced by Land Rover and replaced the Freelander. Although the Freelander model range had been a successful way to enable Land Rover to move into the medium SUV market, the company felt that the Freelander brand was tainted with memories of unreliability, and that the Discovery brand was more prestigious.
The first generation, the Freelander, was introduced by Land Rover in 1997 following a study that revealed market demand for an SUV smaller than the Discovery and Range Rover models. The original Freelander was developed during the period when Land Rover formed part of the Rover Group, and used engines, transmissions and other components from other Rover Group and BMW models, including the K-series petrol engines and L-Series diesel engines, and a floorpan based on that of the Austin Maestro. The BMW M47 diesel engine replaced the L-Series diesel engine in 2001, following its adaptation to suit transverse applications and off-road use.
The Freelander 2, sold as the LR2 in North America, was introduced in 2006 during Ford's ownership of Land Rover. The second generation Freelander was built on the Ford EUCD platform, using a Ford Duratorq four cylinder diesel engine, and initially the Volvo B6324S six cylinder petrol engine. The six cylinder petrol engine was replaced for the 2013 model year by a more economical Ford EcoBoost four cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The Ford petrol and diesel four cylinder engines were carried over for the Discovery Sport's first model year.
The future design direction of the Discovery sub-brand was initially previewed in the form of the Land Rover Discovery Vision concept, shown at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, and it was during the show that Gerry McGovern announced the Land Rover Discovery Sport would be the first new model in the enlarged Discovery family. The sub-brand will be used in the same way as Range Rover, but will be used on leisure and family orientated models, with Range Rover models focusing on the luxury market segment.
The Discovery Sport shares several design cues with the larger Discovery Vision concept, though the concept vehicle is closer in size to the Discovery 4 model.
The Discovery Sport was styled by Gerry McGovern, who was responsible for the design of the original Freelander model. McGovern left Land Rover for Ford in 1999, before returning as Director of Advanced Design in 2004. He was promoted to Design Director when Geoff Upex retired in 2006, and has been responsible for design of all three current Range Rover models. His predecessor, Upex, was responsible for the Freelander 2 design.
The Discovery Sport features a steel monocoque, the bonnet, wings, roof and tailgate are made from aluminium and a panoramic glass sunroof is available either as standard or as an optional extra depending on model variant. A powered tailgate can also be specified as an option, featuring remote control operation.
In certain markets, the bonnet is fitted with an airbag to improve pedestrian survivability in the event of a collision. The airbag is mounted in a panel at the trailing edge of the bonnet panel and protects a pedestrian's head from striking the base of the windscreen.
The Discovery Sport is of unibody construction, unlike the larger full size Discovery model which features a traditional body-on-frame. The platform used for the Discovery Sport is the Land Rover LR-MS platform, shared with the Range Rover Evoque and derived from the Ford EUCD platform, but with 90% of components redesigned from scratch to meet Land Rover's specific demands, primarily related to off-road use.
The Discovery Sport includes further changes to the platform in comparison with the Evoque, with a new compact multi-link suspension design to permit the folding rear seats and spare wheel well in the boot space, without requiring an unduly high and impractical load floor. The front suspension is a MacPherson strut design carried over from the Range Rover Evoque largely unchanged, and features steel lower and aluminium upper control arms.