Not everything Land Rover touches turns to aluminum. The latest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport? Well, yes, those have gone completely in with the lightweight metal structure--but not the dashing Evoque compact crossover.
And not the replacement for the Land Rover LR2, which should draw its last breath for the current model year. Its replacement will be the 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport, which serves as a coming-out for a new company styling theme, and a new naming structure.
The Discovery Sport owes some of its underpinnings to the steel-bodied Evoque, which itself evolved from the LR2. But it's been stretched and pulled into a longer, wider form. It wears some aluminum body panels, but not down to its core. It's still a compact SUV, but now it's one good for seating seven passengers when its rearmost fold-away seats are counted.
The Evoque's turbocharged four-cylinder and its new nine-speed automatic also make the transition into the Discovery Sport, and all-wheel drive is standard, and fitting, given the new name.
Styling
Land Rover says this new theme--which it previewed earlier this year on the auto-show circuit--will eventually play out over a lineup of "Discovery"-branded SUVs. That no doubt includes a replacement for the LR4, at some point in the medium term.
The Discovery Sport absorbs neatly the three-plus inches it adds in length versus the LR2, and couldn't be more visually distant from the Evoque. The thin strips of honeycombed grille, clamshell hood, integral skid plates, and the keyed headlights connect it with the Range Rover lineup. The way the roofline pulls over the rear pillars is an interesting link to athletic gear, ending in a stubby tailgate spoiler as it does. It looks almost like a ballcap worn backwards. The sideview is kept very clean save for the intersection of a deep shoulder line and the rear door cutline, and the slim rear glass sits over round-lit taillamps. The emphasis isn't on being so upright anymore.
The cabin of the Discovery Sport plays the ute's new mainstream role absolutely straight. The dash cap is nearly flat once it passed over the binnacle of gauges. The center console intersects it in a perfect pair of chrome uprights. The HVAC controls are the same LCD-capped knobs that work so well in the Jaguar F-Type. Finally, the console's been reduced to a single control--the electric-car-like rotary controller that rises to the shifting occasion from its piano-black surround like a Canadian's most surreal hockey dream ever.
Performance
Like the Range Rover Evoque, the Discovery Sport will depend on the kindness of turbocharging for its power. The initial powertrain combination for the Discovery Sport will be a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with direct injection for efficiency, balance shafts for smoothness, and a paddle-shifted nine-speed automatic companion for gas mileage.
The nine-speed will launch in second gear for smoothness, or first gear when acceleration demands it. It's capable of skipping gears for more efficient shifting.
Output in the Sport will be rated at 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque, the latter developing low (1,750 rpm). There's no mention in initial press information of the Evoque's higher-output, 285-hp version of the same turbo four.
In its stock configuration, with a Haldex all-wheel-drive system that varies torque delivery between the front and rear wheels, the Discovery Sport will be capable of a 0-60 mph time of 7.8 seconds, and a top speed of 124 mph.
No gas mileage estimates have been offered, but for comparison, the nine-speed Evoque is rated by the EPA at 21/30 mpg, or 24 mpg combined.
Land Rover claims the Sport will meet its standards off-road with the Haldex system, standard skid plates, and ground clearance of 8.3 inches. It also promises the ability to climb a 45-degree grade. The maximum approach angle of 25 degrees goes up if the front bumper is removed--a planned feature, not an incident waiting to happen, Land Rover says.
The familiar Terrain Response controls are grafted on to the drivetrain in the Sport. Through four modes--default, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, and Sand--drivers can vary wheelspin allowance, throttle quickness, and stability control intervention to suit driving off pavement. Working in concert are Hill Descent Control, stability, and traction control.
The Discovery Sport's body checks in at just below 4,000 pounds, with a steel unibody and aluminum hood, roof, tailgate, and front fenders. It's suspended by a strut setup in front (with hydraulic rebound stops for noise damping), and a multi-link setup in the rear. Both systems are mounted to subframes for better isolation.
The Sport's electric power steering has a variable ratio that's set up for more deliberate response on center. The brakes are discs all around, with 12.8-inch rotors in front and 11.8-inchers in back.
Comfort and utility
Compared with the outgoing LR2, the new Discovery Sport is about three inches longer in wheelbase and overall length, which factors into its new third-row seat option. The LR2 sat on a 104.7-inch wheelbase, at 177.1 inches long overall; the Sport is 180.7 inches long, and rides on a 107.9-inch wheelbase. The gamble is that premium buyers want a smaller alternative to the seven-seat LR4.
Land Rover says it spent lots of time with families to work out its solutions for what it calls its "5+2" seating configuration, for child-seat fitment, and for the placement of features like charging ports and drink holders. It's designed two different consoles, one with a storage section covered by a roller cover, the other with a sliding armrest and removable cupholders that can be ditched in favor of a 2-liter bottle. We sense a beverage trump card in the making.
As for the passenger seating, the Discovery Sport upsizes what the LR2 had to offer. The second row seats are elevated like those before, but the Sport's second row now slides on a 6.3-inch track. It still splits and folds, and the seatbacks also recline for longer trips.
The third-row seat is purposely downplayed as a "plus two" in what we've read so far. We'll have to try out the smaller seats at the upcoming Paris auto show or on a first drive, but Land Rover purposefully describes them as fitted for "occasional usage". The third-row seat will be an option.
Safety and features
Upconverting the LR2 into the Discovery Sport presents the perfect opportunity to switch out its safety regimen, and to add a slew of new tech features.
On the safety front, the Sport acquires the emergency braking and forward-collision systems that are an integral part of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ standards still evolving for 2015. In the Discovery Sport, the system will allow complete stops when obstacles are detected at speeds below 32 mph, and can mitigate impacts at speeds below 50 mph.
The Sport also will offer lane-departure warning systems, parking assist with perpendicular parking, trailer-sway control, and automatic headlamps.
Other new technology includes Land Rover's new InControl connectivity kit, which adapts some Apple and Android mobile apps to the Discovery Sport's operating system--its eight-inch touchscreen interface. Those apps include favorites like iHeartRadio and Parkopedia.
All Sports will come with the touchscreen interface, and with a 10-speaker audio system with terrestrial and satellite radio, Bluetooth audio streaming, and USB and auxiliary ports. The system can pair with two devices--one to talk, one to stream entertainment. The Sport will have up to four power points and as many as six USB ports.
Leather upholstery is standard, along with dual-zone climate control and power features. Major options will include navigation, a contrast-color roof, a panoramic roof, alloy wheels, underbody protection, side steps, a towing package, and a black-trim package.
The Discovery Sport goes on sale in early 2015, along today's Land Rover LR4, which is expected to undergo a redesign--and to revert to its former Discovery nameplate--sometime in 2017.
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