Review: Discovery Sport PHEV

The Land Rover Discovery Sport is a smart, comfortable, versatile family car - albeit expensive.

Although if we are being pedantic I suppose we should refer to it simply as the Discovery Sport as, back in 2023, parent company JLR decided to drop the iconic Land Rover badge and create three standalone brands: Range Rover, Defender and Discovery.

I’m not so sure about that, but anyway back to the Discovery Sport.

It is my favourite version of the Discovery and the one I’d be most happy to live with daily.

It’s much smaller than the full-fat Discovery, a massive beast which can be quite unwieldy at times - particularly around town and while trying to park.

The Discovery Sport seats five in superb comfort and, if you have other than the plug-in hybrid it is available as a seven-seater- though the two third-row seats are very cramped and suitable only for small children or adults who don’t mind being squashed up..

We were sent the all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model with a 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol engine that drives the front wheels and an electric motor for the back ones.

As with other PHEVs, the electric range is not brilliant and you’ll get 36 miles out of it if you’re lucky before the petrol engine kicks in.

It’s the most expensive in the range and is only really a good bet if you have a reasonably short commute and somewhere to plug it in at either end - company car owners will also benefit.

It might be the most expensive but it’s also the fastest, accelerating to 62mph in seven seconds.

Although body roll around corners is nothing like the Discoverys of old, it is still noticeable if you are making swift progress along twisty roads.

However, it excels around town. The steering is light and responsive and it’s a real pleasure to drive.

We didn’t venture off-road but it has all the same bells and whistles as the others in the Land Rover stable and there’s no reason to suspect it will be any less capable.

There are three trim levels: S, Dynamic SE and Dynamic HSE. We were sent the middle one.

All trims are well specified and come with loads of equipment as standard - far too many to mention,

However, they all have an 11.4 infotainment screen which is easy to use and responsive but it’s a shame that the climate controls have to be accessed through it rather than by way of physical buttons as in previous versions.

Our vehicle had a few extra-cost options: a 3D surround camera for £595; a driver assistance pack with blind spot assist and collision monitors for £650 and the towing pack for £1,685. A posh trim in the cab is £255 and the fancy silver paint and 20in wheels added another £1,705.

This brought the total cost of our test car to £57,650.

Discovery Sport PHEV

Price: £52,715 (£57,560 as tested)

Engine: 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol engine

Power: 265bhp

Torque: 398lb/ft

Transmission: Automatic

Top speed: 118mph

0-62mph: 7.0 seconds

Economy: 176.3mpg

CO 2 emissions:36g/km

EV range: 36 miles