The best Discovery Sport for off-road use

[TB]

We bought a DS because of its 7 seat option. Heading off road was not part of the initial appeal, that's just something I've stumbled onto after the fact. Based on my experiences I started wondering what the most capable Discovery Sport would be and how much it would cost. Here's what I figure so far...

All 2017 DS variants get Terrain Response, and all but the entry level TD4 150 engine variants get All-Terrain Progress Control as well. They all have the 9 speed auto with its crucial extra-low 1st gear ratio. The one piece of off-road ability you have to option in to is the Active Driveline, which does a similar job to a locking rear diff in tricky situations. Active Driveline is only offered as an option with the TD4 180 engine.

The spec sheet is showing a more powerful SD4 (177kW and 500Nm) which includes Active Driveline as standard, but I can't find any sign of that being for sale here yet.

The base price, driveway, for an SE spec TD4 180 in Queensland is $65,630.
Active Driveline is a $1,710 option.
I would also insist that the TPMS option is added for $660.

If going off-road is prioritised, the 3rd row seat option has to be ruled out – the space taken up by those seats limits you to a skinny spare. 5 seats and a full size spare is the way to go.

The SE comes standard with 18" wheels, which are a good choice because both the General Grabber AT and the BFG KO2 are available in 255/55R18. HSE and HSE Lux can select 18" rims as a no-cost option, downsizing from the standard 19's on those models. The Discovery Sport uses a 29" diameter tyre and can handle 255mm width without a problem. Neither of these tyre options are LT construction but they're miles better than the OEM rubber when away from bitumen. A set of five will set you back around $2,000 – less for the GGs and more for the BFGs unless you can find a good special. (17" wheels are also a no-cost option with more AT tyre choices in 245/65R17 size if you prefer D697s, Maxxis, Hankook or just want more sidewall.)

One final but crucial addition is a spring lift. The standard Discovery Sport just doesn't have enough ground clearance to keep company with most "real" 4WDs. The Eibach springs claim 30mm increase but gave me a bit more than that, and they ship to you for about $550. Installing them is a bit of a job, so labour costs are almost certain to be a bit higher than that again, perhaps $800 or so.

The grand total is a bit past $70K. There are compromises in this package, for sure, but there's a lot of capability on offer along with the real pleasure that the baby Land Rover delivers in day-to-day use. A meaningfully better full-size Discovery SE SD4 with capability pack and after-market tyres starts $25K further up the price list.

[Mamil]

Nice analysis TB, and if I can extend the thought process a little by adding a 'wish list' of options that I'd like to see LR make available sometime in the future, which I think would make the DS a very capable off-road vehicle...

-Larger fuel tank
-Adjustable air suspension (which would negate the need for a spring lift and be more adaptable)
-Bull bar & winch
-More easily accessible front recovery point
-Under body protection plates

[Chops]

Nice work. I wanted my partner to get one of these, but we couldnt justify the extra dollars over the Ford Kuga,,, if we had been able to read some of your experiences beforehand, i may have been able to swing her
Nice to see a rather capable car out and about [biggrin]

[TB]

-Larger fuel tank

That's a big ask. The current fuel tanks are in front of the rear axles, behind the 2nd row footwell, under the 3rd row space, straddling the exhaust and trying not to scrape on the ground! Maybe if LR ditched the 3rd row option completely there'd be some more room for fuel, but now we're talking about a totally different target market.


-Adjustable air suspension (which would negate the need for a spring lift and be more adaptable)

Awesome idea but again I think there's no room to put all those pieces and it wouldn't be something most buyers would care about.


-Bull bar & winch

Could see this as a full front end option, yeah.


-More easily accessible front recovery point

Carry Maxtrax and use common sense to avoid getting stuck. Or order with the optional bull bar/winch front end [biggrin]


-Under body protection plates

Yes! Better underbody protection would be super welcome. I haven't ordered the Rival plates because the freight cost from Europe makes my eyes water. I can't see any obvious way to attach something like rock sliders to the underside because of the monocoque chassis... there are no obvious solid bits. And the exhaust system feels pretty vulnerable – though it least it can rise up a little on the rubber suspension if it gets pushed on by something not too sharp.

[Mamil]

Now if only LandRover would do a similar makeover to this on the Sport... Extreme 518bhp Land Rover Discovery SVX shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show | Auto Express (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/land-rover/discovery/100852/extreme-518bhp-land-rover-discovery-svx-shown-at-the-frankfurt-motor)

129399

[youngandrew24]

One final but crucial addition is a spring lift. The standard Discovery Sport just doesn't have enough ground clearance to keep company with most "real" 4WDs. The Eibach springs claim 30mm increase but gave me a bit more than that


Hi TB and anyone else who has some advice!

I don't know much about 4x4 and/or load carrying suspension and hoping for some good advice!!
We have a DS same as yours (sans mods) and have also recently bought an off-road camper trailer. Without going into all the dramas of load limits and ball weights I have noticed an uneasy drop on the back when its connected.

I am looking into a suspension upgrade for towing but would love a bit more clearance as well. (Buzzing down the stockton beach you get a few scrapes and bumps on the sand). I can't seem to find any info on suspension upgrades for DS's and if I can get a lift plus a better load carrier system at the same time... would be a load off my mind! Do you tow anything with your DS after the lift-upgrade?

cheers
AY

[TB]

No towing capability at all on my 7-seat 2015 DS. It wasn’t a compatible option at the time... so can’t help you with that one I’m sorry.

[velocity08]

Funny how the 2018 disco sport now has 220 clearance - lol

[Celtoid]

We bought a DS because of its 7 seat option. Heading off road was not part of the initial appeal, that's just something I've stumbled onto after the fact. Based on my experiences I started wondering what the most capable Discovery Sport would be and how much it would cost. Here's what I figure so far...

All 2017 DS variants get Terrain Response, and all but the entry level TD4 150 engine variants get All-Terrain Progress Control as well. They all have the 9 speed auto with its crucial extra-low 1st gear ratio. The one piece of off-road ability you have to option in to is the Active Driveline, which does a similar job to a locking rear diff in tricky situations. Active Driveline is only offered as an option with the TD4 180 engine.

The spec sheet is showing a more powerful SD4 (177kW and 500Nm) which includes Active Driveline as standard, but I can't find any sign of that being for sale here yet.

The base price, driveway, for an SE spec TD4 180 in Queensland is $65,630.
Active Driveline is a $1,710 option.
I would also insist that the TPMS option is added for $660.

If going off-road is prioritised, the 3rd row seat option has to be ruled out – the space taken up by those seats limits you to a skinny spare. 5 seats and a full size spare is the way to go.

The SE comes standard with 18" wheels, which are a good choice because both the General Grabber AT and the BFG KO2 are available in 255/55R18. HSE and HSE Lux can select 18" rims as a no-cost option, downsizing from the standard 19's on those models. The Discovery Sport uses a 29" diameter tyre and can handle 255mm width without a problem. Neither of these tyre options are LT construction but they're miles better than the OEM rubber when away from bitumen. A set of five will set you back around $2,000 – less for the GGs and more for the BFGs unless you can find a good special. (17" wheels are also a no-cost option with more AT tyre choices in 245/65R17 size if you prefer D697s, Maxxis, Hankook or just want more sidewall.)

One final but crucial addition is a spring lift. The standard Discovery Sport just doesn't have enough ground clearance to keep company with most "real" 4WDs. The Eibach springs claim 30mm increase but gave me a bit more than that, and they ship to you for about $550. Installing them is a bit of a job, so labour costs are almost certain to be a bit higher than that again, perhaps $800 or so.

The grand total is a bit past $70K. There are compromises in this package, for sure, but there's a lot of capability on offer along with the real pleasure that the baby Land Rover delivers in day-to-day use. A meaningfully better full-size Discovery SE SD4 with capability pack and after-market tyres starts $25K further up the price list.

If you are buying "off the book" that's probably true. I've owned two D4s since Jan 2010, both new cars "off the lot", not "off the books" and never payed more than the low 80's. Both were optioned up SEs with transportation, window tint, floor mats, mud flaps and the tow kit included in that price. Each cycle there are stacks of cars sitting all around Australia that are costing the dealership money as they effectively lease them from JLR. They want rid of them. Some are Demo's, some are cars that are batch delivered but just didn't get moved, some are cars that have turned up with the incorrect options/trim/colours, etc and were rejected by the buyer.

Unless you are super fussy it would be hard to not find a car that suits and for closer to $100Ks worth of car at ~$80K, it was worth the effort in my opinion. My first D4 had Bi-Xenon, H&K sound system with the mandatory touch screen and SATNAV, all of which were options at the time. The second one had an even better H&K system, reverse camera and rear air.

There were SEs and HSE with the full fruit for very significant savings but not in the lighter colour options I wanted at the time. There are very good deals out there and JLR want to move them. I can guarantee that it will be the same for the Sport and 'D5' too ..... just have to wait for the first rush to pass.

What's a capability pack? Never heard of that .... but my newest D4 is old now being a 2014. Is that a D5 option?

Cheers.

[TB]

Hi Celtoid

Yes, the capability pack is a D5 option. It’s the rear e-diff, TR2, ATPC package... maybe something else, it’s so long ago I’ve forgotten the details.

Your point about buying off-lot to get cheaper prices would also apply to the DS. The thing I wanted to focus on though was which particular configurations are best for off-road use. If somebody finds one of those sitting in a dealer, lucky them!