THIS is a Public Service Announcement – Disco Fever is back. And that fever comes in the form of the 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport P250 SE. It’s a car that you just want to get in and drive with the family, or ‘cheeky’ self isolation.
Recent global events have caused terms like lock down, stay home, social distancing and isolate to become a part of our day to day lives, but the ‘Disco’ Sport will get you and your family onto the road to recovery.
Beautiful body lines, luscious LEDs, defining DRLs, 19-inch gloss sparkle silver 10-spoke rims. This car is a sleek signature of sophistication, and once the exterior has drawn you in for a closer look, BAM! The interior will keep you captive.
The 12-way electric memory front seats are pure indulgence for your butt. Turn on the ignition and it’s let there be light, as the beautiful gloss black interior dash accents reveal the Disco’s touch controls.
Featuring a generous 10-inch Touch Pro display, where you’ll find Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, or you can tune into your favourite DAB+ digital radio station.
Whatever your auditory poison may be, you can enjoy those crisp vocals and emotion invoking beats, like say Disco Inferno from 50 Cent, via 10 speakers and dual channel sub-woofer, courtesy of Meridian Audio.
And if you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself and have seven people in your family, or nan and pop come for a visit, the Disco has you covered. First and second row passengers are well looked after in the spatial department too.
But like most 7-seat SUVs, the third row is for the vertically challenged, but it does comes in handy for storing small animals or children (sometimes they’re one in the same). If you are stuck in the back, you do get your own climate control settings.
There’s a single 12v power source and cute little cup holders back there too. When you do need the boot, there’s a maximum load capacity of 157-litres with all three rows up. If you keep them down, the regular boot space is 754-litres.
Back up front, you get an impressive 12.3-inch interactive driver display that you can customise, and you can set up your own 4G Wi-Fi hot spot. You can also preset cabin climate, lock and unlock, and track your journeys from your smartphone or smartwatch.
Land Rover also offers active key technology, which lets you leave your keys in the car, and lock and unlock with a waterproof wristband. It’s super handy if you’re at the beach, off for a cycle, or running some trails.
The Ingenium 2.0-litre 4-cylinder 183kW turbocharged petrol engine is matched perfectly to the 9-speed automatic gearbox. A claimed 0-100km/h of 7.8 seconds is not bad at all considering the car’s overall BMI, at a hefty 2,700kg.
The ride is smooth and comfortable, and Land Rover have the suspension settings near spot on. The cabin is amazingly quiet, with minimal road noise ensuring full in-depth travel conversations or temporary deafness via the Discovery’s in-house orchestra.
You don’t get the feeling that you’re steering the Titanic either, at least until you throw it through a few corners. At that point you can queue typical SUV body roll.
We challenged the claimed combined fuel consumption of 8.1-litres/100km, and put the 245 horses to good use over a range of city and country roads, as well as some light off-road work. We managed a very reasonable 9.0-litres/100km.
Sport mode isn’t going to make your knuckles go white, so you’ll spend most of your time in normal mode, where you can use less fuel. On and off-road, Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 keeps a watchful eye of your driving conditions.
It will automatically select the most suitable driving mode for you, it’s like having your own K.I.T.T. minus the whole talking car thing. Driver assistance features also include ClearSight ground view.
Basically, the system lets you see through the bonnet and displays a number of exterior views, including the wheels an undercarriage). There’s also hill start assist, low traction launch and hill descent control, among others.
It has a 5-star ANCAP safety rating, and a host of features to protect you and your family, including six airbags, emergency braking, lane keep assist, and front and rear parking aids. It also fits into a standard garage very easily, which is a pleasant surprise.
What we like about the Discovery Sport P250 though could also be the major downside for some people. Put simply, it’s a straight forward, non-complex vehicle. Basically, in terms of technology, if you want the really good add-ons, you need to pay for them.
Key-less entry, park assist and the head-up display are not part of the standard package, at least not at the SE level. Our 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport P250 SE had a drive away price of $89,245, but throw in some cool bits and it’s easy to get carried away.
In the value stakes, those additional costs hurt, especially when you consider rivals offer more for less, as it were. It does come with a 5-year warranty (split between manufacturer and dealer) though, which is more than some of its competition.
Our test vehicles came in Byron Blue, but there are 11 other colours to choose from, including Fuji White, Narvik Black, Santorini Black, Yulong White, Indus Silver, Firenze Red, Eiger Grey, Portofino Blue, Carpathian Grey, Silicon Grey and Namib Orange.
Interior choices include Ebony, Light Oyster and Acorn across three different material styles. The Discovery Sport is available in four additional petrol and diesel variants, and as we said, there are numerous packages and customisation options.
Our test vehicle was provided by Land Rover Australia. To find out more about the 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport P250 SE, contact your local Land Rover dealer. Images courtesy of J_Hui Design/Photography.
