I hop out of the cosy, climate-controlled cabin, leaving toasty heated leather seats behind and braving the elements for just a few minutes to take a couple of snaps on my phone for posterity. The Icelandic scenery is breathtaking in the extreme, formed by a combination of violent volcanic activity underneath and the constant battering from the Atlantic Ocean and all its weather systems above ground. Today, Iceland is living up to its name, with deep snow and lots of ice. I’m quickly reminded of that as I struggle to keep a footing on the road, despite wearing a pair of decent hiking boots. Icicles hang from the extremities of the car and thick snow clings to the interior of the wheelarches.
Yet less than five minutes earlier we were enjoying the scenery while travelling at speeds of nearly 120kph, oblivious to the lack of grip below. Admittedly, our steed is wearing specialised studded tyres, but even so, the way the new Land Rover Discovery Sport shrugs off such extreme conditions is testament to how good a car it promises to be.
And an icy road isn’t the only challenge we had to deal with on what turned out to be an epic two days of driving in Iceland. The night before, we landed at Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport just as a massive storm hit the country. Given how used to the conditions the locals must be, it was quite an eye-opener when the plane was incapable of taxiing from the (presumably heated) runway to the terminal without being towed through the ice. There our hosts awaited us with keys to the test cars. At this stage I should point out that international launch routes and drives are carefully planned. Very rarely do we drive at night, for instance, in a bid to manage risk no doubt. Yet, despite the howling winds and snow blizzards, Land Rover confidently sent us on our way to tackle a varied 100km route before we arrived at our ‘adventure’ hotel in the mountains.
It turned into more of an adventure than Land Rover planned for. Even on the special tyres grip was at a premium, while it took a concerted effort to keep the car going straight, so strong were the winds. When we reached high ground, visibility deteriorated rapidly, and at times our speed was no more than walking pace. Invisible snow drifts threatened to stop us in our tracks, too, and we jokingly wondered if we should start rationing the water and food in our car in case we got stranded for the night.
The new Discovery Sport coped admirably. It features Land Rover’s proven Terrain Response system with various modes of operation. This manages all the active safety systems such as anti-lock brakes and stability control, as well as power delivery from the engine, the gearchange strategy and, of course, which of the four wheels is given more of the engine’s output. Unsurprisingly we opted for ‘Grass/Gravel/Snow’ for our time in Iceland. It’s remarkably effective too, and even in deep snow on a steep incline, just when we thought the car might be beaten, the engine pulled from low revs to drag us out and keep moving. We weren’t just impressed, we were downright grateful.
All this from a vehicle that competes with premium SUVs that are bought for the badge on their bonnets as much as their outright ability on- and off-road. Take note though: this car does not supplant the main Discovery. The Discovery Sport replaces the Freelander as the first part of a ‘family’ of Discovery vehicles. It will be joined in 2016 by a brand new full-size Discovery as well. Saying that, the Sport model has a third row of seating, which is unique in a class that includes Audi’s Q5, the BMW X3 and Volvo’s XC60 — and the Range Rover Evoque cousin, of course. But Land Rover didn’t want the Discovery Sport to encroach on its big brother, the regular Discovery, so it’s actually a little shorter than its rivals.
Clever packaging means the boot is bigger — though clearly not when the rearmost seats are in use. They’re designed for smaller passengers and aren’t what you’d call comfortable for bigger than average adults. Saying that, there’s exceptional space in the regular back seats, which makes the new car feel like a big vehicle. Up front the Discovery Sport mixes easy-to-use functionality with soft-touch materials and a sense of high quality. There are up to seven USB charging points for the gadget-laden family, while the new touchscreen infotainment system is a major upgrade on Land Rover’s previous offering and the switchgear is all well-damped and tactile to use.
A true sense of the weighting of the main driving controls wasn’t had in Iceland, but it’s promising. When things became particularly slippery there was plenty of communication through the steering wheel to allow corrective lock, the brake pedal feels solid, reassuring and easy to modulate precisely, while the low-down engine response was a boon in the conditions. It was possible to detect the power being shifted between all four wheels and it wasn’t uncommon to carry a four-wheel drift through the tighter, well-sighted corners — with a bit of practise and trust in the car. Indeed, the landscape is so open and expansive that it was possible to carry high speeds despite the lack of grip, as there’s loads of time to assess when there’s a need to slow down. Not once did the Discovery Sport feel twitchy or unstable.
Actually, as impervious to the conditions as the car was, the one aspect that truly stood out was its refinement. Even though studded tyres increase road noise, and the surface underneath was regularly cut up and rough, very little unwanted sound made its way into the cabin. This is Land Rover’s entry-level car, remember, not a Range Rover. Likewise, the 2.2-litre diesel engine was all but inaudible. Obviously we’ll get petrol power in the Middle East when the Discovery Sport arrives in March, starting with a 240bhp 2.0-litre unit, which will eventually be replaced by Land Rover’s new Ingenium range of engines.
All will be mated with the company’s nine-speed automatic transmission, which we did try out in Iceland. It’s silky smooth and efficient in operation, allaying any fears you might have of it constantly changing gear looking for the right ratio. In fact, first gear is especially low, for off-road driving, so it rarely gets used on the road. It might come in handy in the sand dunes in the Middle East, of course. So when you hop out of the cool, air-conditioned cabin one day in the desert and struggle for a footing in the soft sand underneath, you can rest assured that the Discovery Sport will pull through.
This story first appeared on wheels in January 2015
