Dual Personality: Equally Capable On- and Off-Road
The new Discovery Sport delivers on the promise of outstanding on-road refinement, comfort and handling in concert with all-terrain capability that’s essential to the brand’s DNA. Exhaustive tests on everything from British country roads to the Nürburgring Nordschleife ensured the on-road refinement Land Rover customers expect, while a punishing off-road test regimen prepared the Discovery Sport for off-pavement travel.
With all-wheel-drive traction and long-travel suspension for excellent articulation, the Discovery Sport provides impressive all-terrain performance. The body has been designed to cope with challenging off-road terrain, with 8.3-inches (212mm) of ground clearance and approach, departure and breakover angles of 25, 31 and 21 degrees, respectively. The Discovery Sport can scale gradients of up to 45 degrees. In extreme situations, lower trim on the front bumper can be removed to increase the approach angle.
Off-road driving, or driving in inclement weather, can often involve water along the way. That is why Land Rover positioned the vehicle’s air intake high above the wheel arch to prevent water entry into the engine. A rigorous testing procedure ensured watertight sealing for all doors.
Another particularly demanding part of the testing process examined the ability of the vehicle to drive away from a waterlogged condition. During this extreme torture test, the Discovery Sport is parked in standing water, the watertight doors are opened, and the interior is intentionally flooded. After 30 minutes in the water, Land Rover tests the ability for the vehicle to restart and drive.
All-Wheel Drive, Terrain Response® and a Suite of Off-Road Technologies2
The intelligent full-time all-wheel-drive system continuously varies the torque split front-to-rear to deliver outstanding performance and traction on all surfaces. The latest electronically controlled Haldex center coupling can respond to wheel slip and driver demands faster than a purely mechanical coupling.
Land Rover Terrain Response® maximizes the capability of the Discovery Sport in challenging conditions. Controlled through an intuitive interface on the center console, Terrain Response® is designed to precisely tailor the vehicle’s steering, throttle response, gearbox, center-coupling and braking and stability systems to the demands of the terrain. Terrain Response® features four settings: General; Grass/Gravel/Snow (for slippery conditions on- and off-road); Mud and Ruts, and Sand2.
Terrain Response® is backed up by a suite of technologies that support off-road and slippery-condition driving. These include:
• Hill Descent Control® (HDC) maintains a set speed while negotiating steep inclines off-road2
• Gradient Release Control® (GRC) progressively releases the brakes when moving away on an incline for maximum control2
• Roll Stability Control (RSC) designed to detect the onset of a rollover and applies the brakes to the outer wheels to bring the vehicle under control2
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) corrects oversteer and understeer by reducing engine torque and/or applying brakes to individual wheels2
• Electronic Traction Control (ETC) reduces torque and/or applies a braking force to individual wheels to prevent wheelspin2
• Engine Drag Torque Control (EDC) helps to prevent lock-up under heavy engine braking in slippery conditions by increasing engine torque to the affected wheels2
Agility That Earns the “Sport” Title
A lightweight bodyshell with high torsional rigidity, along with a long wheelbase and a squat, muscular stance, provide an ideal foundation for crisp steering response, supple ride comfort and sporty agility for the new Land Rover Discovery Sport. Long-travel suspension mounts to extremely stiff isolated subframes, with large-diameter gas damper struts at the front and all-new multi-link suspension at the rear. Body roll is well contained, and a high level of suspension compliance ensures the tires’ contact patches remain in touch with rough road surfaces.
Electric Power Steering
The electric power-assisted steering system (EPAS) has been tuned for excellent driver feedback on the road, and the steering rack is solidly mounted to the front subframe to enhance precision. Variable-ratio steering uses a slower ratio around the center position for improved precision at speed, and a faster ratio when additional steering lock is applied to increase agility on winding roads. The transition from a slower to faster ratio is linear and seamless; the driver is simply aware of a highly responsive steering system.
The steering is light and responsive with additional power assistance at lower speeds for enhanced maneuverability, but firmer and with less assistance at higher speeds.
EPAS removes the need for engine-driven hydraulic steering assistance, reducing parasitic losses and therefore fuel consumption. As an added benefit, EPAS enables the available Park Assist feature, which helps to identify suitable parallel and perpendicular parking spaces and can automatically steer the vehicle into place2.
Advanced Braking Technology
The Discovery Sport is equipped with vented 12.8-inch (325mm) front and 11.8-inch (300mm) rear disc brakes, providing reassuring stopping power. The front brakes are of a new design, with a stiffer caliper and new-generation pads to enhance braking, improve feel and reduce brake dust.
Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) is designed to automatically increase the amount of brake pressure when the system senses an emergency situation; Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) helps to ensure the ideal braking balance between the front and rear wheels in extreme situations, and Corner Brake Control (CBC) helps to ensure stability during heavy braking in a corner2.
An available Autonomous Emergency Braking system can help avoid collisions or mitigate their consequences. The system uses stereo cameras mounted next to the rear-view mirror designed to detect objects that could pose the risk of a collision, such as slowing traffic. Operational between speeds of 3-50 mph (5-80km/h), the system helps to avoid collisions below 32 mph (50km/h), and reduces the severity of an impact at speeds below 50 mph (80km/h). If the system deems a collision likely, it will alert the driver with a visual and audible warning. If the driver takes no action and a collision is judged unavoidable, a driver warning is triggered while the system applies full braking pressure to bring the vehicle to a stop2.
Driver-assistance systems
• Optional Park Assist identifies suitable parallel and perpendicular parking spaces, allowing the driver to operate the accelerator, brake and transmission while the vehicle autonomously steers on both entry to and – in the case of parallel parking spaces – exit from the space. Parking sensors offer additional assistance2
• Optional Lane Departure Warning is designed to gently vibrate the steering wheel to warn a driver who may be unintentionally drifting out of a lane2
• Optional Traffic Sign Recognition is designed to monitor road signs and displays a reminder of the speed limit or overtaking regulations on the navigation screen2
• Standard Trailer Stability Assist detects trailer instability and brakes individual wheels to help the driver correct a potentially hazardous situation2
• Standard Tow Assist and Tow Hitch Assist use a camera system to help the driver hitch a trailer and predict its path while reversing2
• Standard automatic headlamps and rain-sensitive wipers activate autonomously according to conditions
Airbags
The Land Rover Discovery brings the brand’s best active and passive safety ideas together. The comprehensive occupant safety package includes driver and passenger front airbags, knee airbags, side curtain airbags and thorax airbags4.
Exhaustive Testing
Land Rover tested 200 Discovery Sport prototypes over a combined total of 6,800 weeks to ensure exceptional levels of reliability, off-road capability and on-road dynamics. A testing regime that spanned the globe encompassed extremes of altitude, temperature and terrain. Thousands of hours have been invested in tackling the challenging Big Red sand dunes in Dubai, driving through deep snow and over icy lakes in Sweden, and traversing the deep mud and clay and steep inclines of the Land Rover Eastnor Castle off-road facility in the UK. Other test locations included the US, Spain, Morocco, Germany, and Austria.