Off-Road Smoothie
The Discovery Sport isn't a sports car masquerading as an off-roader. It isn't a big old tank with a fat engine that can go fast but gets stuck off road. It is part of a family going back almost 60 years and can genuinely handle tough terrain - but not spill your champagne while it does it...
Even when pushing it the Discovery Sport feels never feels out of control. Up Buona Vista Road in the wet it did break away under furious pedal-punishment, but responded by dialing back the power to whichever wheel was skidding, serenely applying the correct brakes, vibrating the wheel as a discreet warning - then was safely back on track. If you do pile it into a wall, the knee, side, front and curtain airbags will take the shock and a boron steel and aluminium cage will crumple to absorb excess energy.
Cornering lights, auto-emergency brakes - and even automatic slot and parallel parking - all come as part of the package. We did trick it into trying to reverse into a space occupied by a tree, but that was a one-off. Terrain control adjusts power, steering and suspension if you want to drive on sand, snow, ruts or grass. At speed on the road it is stable and quiet; slow manoeuvering is pinpoint fine once you get used to it, and all the controls are so obvious you don't need to even glance at the manual. Even the park brake is software controlled and automatic.
If there is one thing that we took away from this car it is the heritage. The Discovery Sport isn't a sports car masquerading as an off-roader. It isn't a big old tank with a fat engine that can go fast but gets stuck off road. It is part of a family going back almost 60 years and can genuinely handle tough terrain - but not spill your champagne while it does it.
Credits: Story and Photos by Jeremy Torr
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