Why we’re running it: To see if the heavily updated SUV in mild-hybrid diesel form is a worthy contender in this segment
Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Discovery Sport: Month 3
Time is up with our premium SUV. So, 6000 miles later, how did it fare? - 24 February 2020
These past 12 months have been strange for us all but perhaps easier for the cars that might otherwise have been transporting us to events, meetings and airports across the UK.
When I took over the running of our long-term Land Rover Discovery Sport from Rachel Burgess late last year, it hadn’t quite done 1000 miles in its first few weeks with us. Rachel did what she could to put some distance under the car’s wheels, taking it pretty much all the way to Land’s End on holiday back when you could, well, holiday. How we lived. My working life, however, has remained pretty itinerant, so I soon redressed the balance. The car is now going back to Gaydon having had just under 6000 miles added to its odometer and a veritable mountain of Costa coffee cups and sausage- sandwich wrappers added to its various storage cubbies (which I cleared out, I promise).
Those miles were for the most part comfortable, cosseting and agreeable, although they weren’t dealt with quite as practically or economically as I might have liked. I will miss the Land Rover in many ways, but it’s the car it might have been that I really long to drive.
The Discovery Sport arrived with us in October, and everyone who ran an eye over it – including me – cooed at the idea of living with such a versatile and luxurious daily operator. It’s funny how luxury quickly becomes normal. For my first week or so with the car, I remember feeling lucky every time I got in it; later, I had to remind myself to look around the interior and appreciate the car’s qualities – and to allow no opportunity to tackle a muddy track or a grassy field to fall by the wayside.
To drive the car on the road was like having a kind of internal conversation with it – one of ups and downs and which never quite resolved itself. Long trips were always enjoyable, provided the infotainment system was getting on okay with my iPhone (it wasn’t always). The driving position was excellent, the seat really comfortable and the ride quiet and plush. Visibility took some beating, too.
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This or the revised Jaguar F Pace? I want both but have to pick one of them
Having actually driven a new D180 S version extensively, I can confirm it is a superb SUV and every bit the luxurious mini Range Rover you would expect for the price. The ride & NVH refinement is astounding in comparison to my top-spec CR-V and the LR is positively imperious in icy and snowy conditions. It's quite possibly the best all-round family car.
You say 4x4 is useful for driving on grass verges!
The only reason the verges are muddy is because 4x4 drivers are too lazy to reverse. You are damaging the edges of roads and damaging wildlife habitats so please learn to reverse, the roads and verges are in a terrible condition.