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The Discovery SE R-Dynamic is a practical package, a spacious cruiser with good off-roading capabilities
Just recently, in my Mercedes G63 AMG review I mentioned how I love sedans but I’ve been doing a lot of SUV reviews of late. Just when I was pondering over a list of pending cars for review and drooling over the names of the Audi RS6 Avant, RS7, etc., Faisal pinged…
The Discovery SE R-Dynamic is a practical package, a spacious cruiser with good off-roading capabilities
Just recently, in my Mercedes G63 AMG review I mentioned how I love sedans but I’ve been doing a lot of SUV reviews of late. Just when I was pondering over a list of pending cars for review and drooling over the names of the Audi RS6 Avant, RS7, etc., Faisal pinged me and told me that my next is going to be the Land Rover Discovery SE R-Dynamic. My reaction was not much more than a yawn and even though I’m not much of a fan of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to be frank, I do find them quite interesting. The Discovery Sport is the replacement for the Freelander 2 even though the latter is still on sale.
We took the Disco Sport out for a spin and some mild off-roading to see how it fares.
Motor Quest: When Land Rover was incepted around 67 years back, all its vehicles were painted only in military green that was used from the surplus of aircraft paint. The company sold its 1 millionth vehicle in 1976 while the first one, i.e the Centre Steer came out in 1947. The vehicle that we have reviewed here is a replacement for the Freelander 2, uses the mechanicals from the Evoque and is called a Discovery!
The Land Rover Freelander 2 has very boxy looks and it looks quite outdated now. The Land Rover Discovery SE R-Dynamic is quite a jump ahead when it comes to styling. The Sport looks sexy on the outside and has just the perfect dimensions. The design is very much inspired from the Evoque, evident from the bonnet, grille, side profile and of course the head and tail lamps and the designers at Land Rover seem to have done a splendid job in making this SUV.
The Discovery Sport has a very nice stance and is much bigger than other SUVs that are available in the same price segment – a la Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 to name a few.
Taking a closer look at the exteriors, the headlights might look similar to that of the Evoque but they are quite different. The lamps on the Land Rover Discovery SE R-Dynamic have a lot of detailing in them and the shape of the LED DRLs looks quite unique, a big change from the regular rectangular or squarish DRLs that we are so used to seeing in other luxury vehicles.
The rectangle fog lamps are mounted in their usual spot, having a trapezoidal-shaped surround while the grille is the usual Land Rover fare. The side profile of the SUV has a very sporty edge thanks to the body cladding, rear spoiler and also the A and C-pillars which are the only pillars to be finished in body colour. The C-pillar is quite big and stands out.
Unfortunately, as sporty as the exteriors look, the interiors are quite simple. The dashboard looks similar to the one on other Land Rover SUVs and the layout is pretty neat with lesser buttons as compared to the Evoque. It looks good, no doubt, but lacks the sporty appeal that the exteriors are so reeking of. There is a lot of detailing in the interiors too and the colour combination of black and beige looks super.
There are also a lot of metal inserts which add the wee bit premium touch that a car in this segment requires. The Land Rover Discovery SE build quality is excellent and the quality of materials is pretty much top-notch.
The dashboard comes wrapped in a soft touch material while the steering wheel is also leather-wrapped and feels very good to hold. The wheel has controls for the phone, audio system as well as cruise control. The AC vents on the centre console are placed below the 8-inch screen. There is a start-stop button behind the steering wheel and the instrument cluster is quite similar to the one on the Evoque.
The Land Rover Discovery SE screen on the cluster displays some more information about the terrain response system. The touch screen gets the InControl user interface which is good to operate once you get the hang of it. The screen shows the status of the centre differential as well as steering input settings.