Thread: Thinking about getting into a Discovery Sport

Ahh you do the put foot down thing...

Years of experience with these types of vehicles - feed the throttle down, no Lag...

Wow, What an informative read. There's a lot more since I first read - let me explain...

This is the second time I've visited this thread (now, after a testdrive) and it confirms and reaffirms everything I suspected "it would be" first time (first read) around before I drove it.

Post test immediate feeling / reaction is .... not for us.

The car is a shopping trolley for us - so the requirement is quite loose and others no doubt will have slightly different needs, where as the requirement we have for a vehicle is quite flexible, so not restricted to an "SUV" for want of a better descriptor.
bottom line:
the DS has Great looks.
It's Overpriced when you look at what else you can get for the money..
horrible transmission setup and massive lag - (Go drive a 5 series diesel or an e class and see how much better a tiny little 2.0 turbo 4cyl diesel drives in an overweight unibody vehicle).
JLR's junkyard warranty - especially compared to the Koreans..

So the DS HSE the missus was looking at andthe DS we testdrove is no longer on the purchase horizon.

But our loose requirements mean that there is a very nice BMW M Sport 330i with far better warranty and options, going for less money at our local dealer, which just happened to be within walking distance of JLR... That really surprised me - a LOT.
We have enough history with Mercedes-Benz as a brand and it's also a no-brainer for us to buy a C class estate for a shopping trolley if we wanted to. I would be acutely aware of all the MB marketing BS as well - but I really liked the look of the Range Rover Velar. She loves the looks of the disco sport. Two worlds almost collided... We HAD to have a good look at them. The dealer had a Disco Sport... so off we went.

Reality hit about 15 minutes into the testdrive. I was really disappointed, I thought LR had picked up their game a notch - well enough to at least match the styling. Externally there is a whole lot of WOW. especially in the red. but... beauty is only skin deep.
I can't hide my disappointment. I'm also sure others will, like myself, see through the thinly veiled marketing exercise. There is a big gap in (no pun intended) build quality between this and the Disco and the Rangie. Obviously, but the LR "DNA" is also not quite there either, but that is sort of 'to be expected', yet I felt it was substantially lacking.. and by that I mean at a base level, the expectation wasn't met.

While a specific car cannot be all things to all people, there is also a reasonable assumption that when you are competing in a particular market segment, that your vehicle option and pricing structure are also competitive and you have a warranty that can also compete directly. If not, then the price should be a little sharper to counteract it. LR seemed to have ignored this through some kind of badge snobbery belief and the "sharp" pricing is the kind that makes you say OUCH and not wow.

To me it seems LR must be gambling on the belief of the power of an emotional purchase.

As most everything has already been mentioned in this thread already that is a 'net negative' there are some positives.

I thought that the Ride is OK.
Visibility is half-decent. I have driven some truly horrible things lately with a-pillars the size of a house and external mirrors that can only see a B-double when it's 6 inches from your towball.
It seems to be reasonably capable on dirt - I didn't do any extreme tests, but there is a little track nearby which I know well and it's not easy, but not "twin-locked and barwork"..... if you get my drift... for what the vehicle is, it can do some reasonable articulation. It's not going to replace a disco or a defender though - it's still better than I thought it would be. I didn't get stuck and no damage done, I was quite careful, but I think it is the kind of vehicle that will get people into the experience or the younger generation into the idea of a 'dirty weekend'

But sadly, it's not for us.
which means, for me, there's a lot more test driving to come and more tiresome, tedious poking around dealers looking for another shopping trolley...

The BMW 330i M sport btw, was in the exact same price ballpark and is easily a better built, more refined and better optioned vehicle. Obviously not an offroad vehicle, but a shopping trolley doesn't have to go offroad. Shopping trolley can be literally anything with wheels these days.... It just comes down to looks, and price. There's a lot of ground to cover, and I'm sure the DS will suit a lot of buyers - just not buyers like me who want to see some seriously tangible value and build quality, performance and bang for buck.

There's also a rumour going around that the DS is a bit of a tilt-tray queen. Not sure how true it is, but I did read a bit of anecdotal blurb on a few other sites after we came home from the drive a little deflated.

I'm losing the energy to keep looking at vehicles. Dealers make this too hard for consumers. That's ALL dealers.

I'm going to the Mercedes Dealer this week. The BMW dealer is working his deal up, but he's dragging the chain a little. I don't know if I'll buy it, but if the price is right as they say, then sure. I'm not brand-biased (despite the fact there are 5 mercs sitting here).

We're not buying another Renault, as there is nothing we actually like that's better than what we already have.

For a brief moment, I did consider an Alfa-Romeo Guilia Veloce..... yes I can hear you laughing too. I said BRIEF moment.
For a 4 door it is pretty in the flesh. bit much for a shopping trolley though. and that tilt-tray....

I hate audi's skodas and vw's. So does the missus.

the LR DS would have brought some balance to the Galaxy...... but I fear that the Dark Side of the force is about to strike back...

Not sure what else might pique the interest of SWMBO - it's getting too hard, as I mentioned before - I think I'll be worn out and won't give a rats before any decision is made.