The Land Rover badge coupled with plug-in hybrid capability will “likely be enough to convince a small mountain of buyers” to try this new hybrid Discovery Sport, says Matt Bird on PistonHeads. The “sheer number” of Discovery Sport models already on the road attests to their popularity and hybridisation was a natural next step.
The “chunky” SUV can dash to 62mph in under seven seconds and it hits top speeds of 130mph. It’s also able to reach around 40 miles on electric power alone “and you’d have to be a long way from the catchment area for that to be used up in a school run”. Because hybridisation “was always part of the plan”, the car seamlessly accommodates its new electric motor and 15kw battery pack. The new 1.5-litre engine “memorably and effectively” boosts the hybrid to a “competitive level”, supporting the electric motor “without fuss or delay”.
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The styling remains similar to its fossil-fuel-consuming sisters because owners are more interested in knowing they’re “doing their environmental bit rather than virtue signalling the fact to all and sundry”, says Keith Jones on Car Magazine. And the adoption of an electric motor doesn’t affect its four-wheel-drive credentials, says John McIlroy on Auto Express. It has “bags of grip to give you confidence” no matter what the driving conditions, it can “glide around town without much effort at all” and, on the open road, the drive is “every bit as accomplished” as you’d expect from a Land Rover.
Price: from £47,000; Engine: 1.5-litre 3cyl petrol plus electric motor, 15kWh battery; Power/torque: 304bhp/540Nm; 0-60pmh: 6.2 seconds; Top speed: 130mph
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