Thread: Thinking about getting into a Discovery Sport

We currently have a Discovery Sport whilst the wifes D90 is in having a bit of a makeover...

Lovely vehicle for its class, spirited to drive (SD4) and well equipped.

Had just 3,240km when handed over to us for the next 2 weeks.


Drives smoothly, economical when driven nicely, the infotainment is responsive and easy to use, full electric seat controls... Even my bulky frame fits comfortably...

And goes like a scolded cat when asked to do so, hooked to a sweet 9 speed auto.

Currently doing duties running Mrs Tombie around for work etc... (Excellent service considering its 4 hours and 380km from the dealer)

The SD4 is the old engine, Tombie. The new one is the TD4 132. Same power, near enough, but 2.0l instead of 2.2l.

In the test posted by the OP they mentioned the engine groaning due to the low revs, which I referred to as grumbling. At 100kph the engine is doing only 1250rpm and even groans then. That is the main thing that spoils the otherwise excellent engine but it seems to be the price you pay for going for absolute minimum fuel consumption. I tried it in sports mode the other day but it still keeps the revs at 1250 when possible. Its not really happy until a bit above those revs.

We get 7.5l/100 on both trips and driving around the suburbs.

Hi Brian

We picked up a SE td4 or small engine! Didn't need all the extras
Just ticketed over 6000km amazing car yes it has some turbo lag and a little road noise. But as an all round package for my wife it's hard to beat for price.
And off road bloody awesome!!

Guys - not trying to offend any Disco Sport owners as I am a Land Rover guy, but here's my objective feedback after a half-day test driving (we have it for the whole weekend thanks to the good folk at Barbagallo Land Rover)

Please note I am shopping for a car for my wife. She currently drives the D4 but I'm taking it over.

What I Like
- good looking, has presence
- pulls hard once it gets going
- 2nd row sliding fore/aft is really good. makes 2nd row comfort class-leading, and solves the tight 3rd row problem fairly well
- brand. I love my D4.

What I Don't Like
- serious lag - not sure whether this is turbo lag or gearbox. never seems to be in the right gear when taking off from idle/slow
- need to pay bookoo dollars for stuff like climate & memory seats, 3rd row, metallic paint, proper radio, front sensors, active safety-tech, sunroof etc etc
- console is hard and annoying where your left knee rests
- diesel engine note / rattle (yes, I tested the new Ingenium 132kW engine)
- gearbox sometimes hunts. too many bloody gears. 6 is enough!
- zero space behind 3rd row. I couldn't fit my backpack in it without it tipping over and out of the car, seriously.
- felt a minor but disturbing shimmy from front end sometimes. couldn't replicate but felt it several times.
- space-saver spare with 3rd row option
- you need to spend an extra $15K+ to get comparable options and spec when compared with top-spec sorento, santafe or CX9
- ordinary warranty (in this day and age)

let the flames begin ..

Why would anyone flame you? You summed it up very well and exactly what I thought you would say, particularly if you are seriously considering the Koreans. As I said, serious lag for an engine with reduced lag and lots of noise for an improved and smoother and quieter engine! I have tried everything to reduce the lag but in the end you just put your foot down and as soon as the revs rise high enough (slowly) it goes like a scaled cat. It think it is a lack of torque below 1200rpm and a gearbox that is made to reduce torque converter slip to reduce fuel consumption. It is like a manual turbo diesel which has nothing until you hit the torque band.

Never had any problem with shimmy though, in the 13,000km we have had the car. Our DS is also for my wife to drive, similar to what you want to do. I keep the D4. You may have felt the lane keeping technology. It vibrates the steering, like running over a ripple strip, if you cross a white line without indicating for example.

The cost of the extra technology is huge as you say. I easily added $20,000 to the base price of the SE and a lot of it is standard in a Korean car or a Skoda Octavia.

Despite all that, I am happy with the car (a 5 seater, I would never get the 7 seater) and would buy the same thing again if they allowed bulk filling of the Add Blue. The only thing I wouldn't do is get the auto parking technology, which I got for my wife but she can't work out how to use it.

Edit, re your comments on the transmission. If you own it you will find it is not like what you have described. It doesn't hunt but it does try to stay in a high gear for as long as possible and then it changes down a few gears to get going, sometimes with a bit of a jerk. I think it is in the correct gear when you take off from rest or a slow corner and the lag is as I have described above. However, everyone will have their own opinion.

Is the DS engine and transmission the same as a Jag? I had a 2.0d XE Jag as a loan car today when my D4 was being serviced, and apart from the diesel clatter being way more obtrusive than my D4, the gearbox was great and there was bugger all lag. Once it got moving it would fairly stonk along when poked.

Same engine but 8 speed gearbox according to the Jaguar web page.

The lag when slowing down for a roundabout or junction then trying to accelerate off again is a "characteristic" of the ZF 9-speed transmission used in the DS, Evoque, and other makes of cars. It's to do with the particular combination of friction and dog clutches used in that gearbox and there's a good technical explanation here if you're interested ZF's 9-Speed 9HP Transmission Puts Dog Clutches On The Leash

It is possible to improve things by tweaking the transmission management software, and LR have released a software update for the Ingenium (but not the 2.2) called "Q608 - Transmission software calibration", and although some owners have reported a dramatic improvement it doesn't completely solve the problem.