2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport SUV launched in India

Land Rover has launched the 2018 edition of the Discovery Sport luxury SUV in India. The Discovery Sport is the lowest priced Land Rover in India, with prices starting from Rs. 42.48 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. This SUV is locally assembled from completely knocked down (CKD) kits at the Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) factory near Pune.

There are five variants on offer – Pure – Rs. 42.48 lakh, SE – Rs. 48.67 lakh, HSE Petrol – Rs. 50.85 lakhs, HSE – Rs. 52.31 lakh, and HSE Luxury – Rs. 57.46 lakh. Bookings for this new SUV are now open at all Jaguar-Land Rover dealers in India. While the Pure trim is a 5 seater, the other trims get a 7 seat (5+2) layout.

Both the petrol and diesel engines offered on this SUV are from JLR’s Ingenium series of turbocharged engines, displacing 2 liters each. The petrol engine produces 237 Bhp-340 Nm, and gets a 9 speed automatic gearbox. The diesel engine produces 148 Bhp-382 Nm on the Pure, SE and HSE trims.

The HSE Luxury trim gets a more powerful, 177 Bhp-430 Nm, state of tune of this engine. Like the petrol engine, the diesels get 9 speed automatic gearboxes. Four wheel drive layouts with Land Rover’s Terrain Response system are standard on all variants.

All variants of the Discovery Sport get 6 airbags, ABS+EBD, traction control, ESP, hill-hold assist and hill descent control as key safety features. The SUV features a monocoque body and gets a long list of features including automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, park assist with rear view camera, twin-zone climate control and ISOFIX child safety seat anchor points.

It gets a 212 mm ground clearance which will make short work of almost all obstacles like speed breakers and potholes on Indian roads. Competitors to the Discovery Sport include the BMW X3, the Audi Q5 and the Mercedes Benz GLC. Since Land Rover has managed to price the SUV competitively, it is one of the best-selling model in the company’s line-up. It is a replacement to the Freelander2 SUV.