2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport TD4 180 review

Land Rover has finally got its hands on the new Ingenium engine. Has it been worth waiting for? Up to this point, our enjoyment of the otherwise impressive Discovery Sport has been spoiled a little by the sole occupant of its engine bay. With Jaguar calling dibs on the first Ingenium motors off the production line, Land Rover’s compact seven-seater was stuck with a venerable 2.2-litre oil burner, a relic of the not so distant past when Ford signed the cheques at Gaydon. For as long as that engine remained, we urged caution, suggesting patience would be rewarded by the virtues of the all-new, incoming 2.0-litre unit. Well, that time has come: the Sport is the first Land Rover to receive the EU6-compliant Ingenium (it migrates to the Evoque next) and almost all the important figures shrink or swell accordingly. There are two versions to choose from: a 148bhp example dubbed ‘E-capability’ that comes with admirably low 129g/km CO2 emissions - and doubtless a very small customer base because it can’t be had with seven seats or the nine-speed automatic gearbox - and a 178bhp variant tested here which will have both these things, and be bought by almost everyone despite its necessarily higher 139g/km. For the record, that’s a 27g/km reduction compared with the outgoing motor, and less than Audi or BMW quote for a Q5 or an X3. It’s a similar story regarding fuel economy where the Sport’s wishful, official 53.3mpg marginally outstrips the figures claimed by the same rivals. 

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