I think I agree white on white, but I prefer the black grille.

 _________________
Gone - 2010 Rimini XS

Can't help but think the DS looks somewhat like the new Jeep Cherokee.

Never really considered a Jeep but the latest model together with their Terrain Response system plus high spec means that I will have a closer look. Multiple thousands cheaper than a DS but probably poorer residuals. MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

Like purplemadboy, I was also at the SECC today and had a look at the DS. Arranged a test drive but was most concerned by how low the car was. Before seeing it in the metal I thought the proportions would be a bit like the current Honda CRV but it seemed much lower. It seems more like a pumped-up estate car than a FL2. The other half was quite keen and thought that seat height was like her Qashqai. I was told the example on the stand (hse lux with black pack) was circa £45k. Seemed a bit overpriced. In terms of the design, I feel something is missing, apart from the evoque front end, it could have been a Far Eastern product. DS isn't exciting me as much as the FL2 did after my FL1s. It's just a bit like an evoqueXL. Perhaps the test drive will convince me? MY13 FL2 SD4 HSE Ipanema Sand, 19" LR sparkle alloys , spoiler, rear camera , LR det. Towbar
Gone:
07-13 MY07 FL2 Td4 SE man. Stornoway G, 19" LR triple sport wheels, LR det. Towbar
05-07 05 FL1 Td4 Sport 5dr. Man. Silver
01-05 51 FL1 Td4 GS 3dr. Man. Gold

I hope that LR doesn't go the way of Citroen which used to be the real innovators, first with front wheel drive, hydraulic active suspension, manual gearbox with fluid flywheel, steerable headlights, the 2CV, DS, SM, XM etc Now they are just a commodity car producer with bland products.
The new Disco sport gives me that uneasy feeling that they are heading for that blandness as exemplified by the comment above about "now producing estate cars".

Part of the 'problem' with car design is the need for fuel saving, low emissions, pedestrian protection and all the pressure that comes from governments for the buyers to have vehicles that meet these 'targets'.
The ideal shape isn't far away from what the DS is, hence why all vehicles of the type are heading down the same road as far as looks are concerned. Look at saloon cars, 3 series, C Class, Passat, Jag XE, take the badges off and there is little between them.
Unfortunately, until a realistic and viable fuel source is found then we are doomed to bland smooth products we are getting and even then it will be a brave manufacturer that comes out of the dark ages of car design and makes a bold statement.

Re j77: I totally agree that the white with black roof and black wheels looks awful, whereas all white with standard HSE wheels and privacy glass looks fab! Presumably white with black must float somebody's boat though, as LR must have surely done plenty of market / customer research to come up with the range of colours and trims? Was GS TD4 Auto, Privacy, Santorini with Tundra & Alpaca, Cold Climate Pack. Traded for Discovery Sport HSE Auto.

taztastic wrote:

White with white roof looks better, as for black wheels awful things

We get 3rd degree burns with black leather, & white shows too much dirt. Cooked my ar-- to some degree and that was with almond. I have a couple of white towels in the car to leave on the seats.

Personally I find the white with almond and wood trim works quite well. Has a friendly airy up market feel. I did look at some dark interiors before purchasing and it was all a bit claustrophobic.

The Evoque in the family is white with ivory. Not too bad, maybe just a touch too much white! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

New DS being put through its paces at Gaydon off-road track this morning....

Click image to enlarge

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated

I know that DS is pretty pricey but maybe the £600 for anything other than white is making more people think twice about that as a colour choice (that said, the black or silver roof is £500 so you might as well go the exta and have a colour.) Gone... 2013 XS TD4 Manual Firenze Red
Gone... 2008 (09MY) XS Td4 Manual Stornaway Grey
Prior... 2003 G4 Discovery 2, 1998 Disco 1 and 1997 Disco 1 Company car before that
Also gone in Nov'13, after 7.5 yrs, to new owners with time for more TLC - 1980 Series III 88
Current 2015 Discovery Sport HSE 2.0

I enquired about the part exchange value of my Freelander 2.. The price offered would equate to an annual depreciation of £2600 over the 8 year period of ownership. Is that figure typical? Are there any projected figures for DS?

xxtrail wrote:

LR must have surely done plenty of market / customer research to come up with the range of colours and trims?

I had test drive today.
I saw Discovery Sport Si4 HSE with Ebony interior and HSE Luxury with Cirrus interior.
Test drive is limited to 15km of mileage.

This car is bigger Evoque with poorer interior for higher price.

It's not a offroader like Freelander or Disco IV.
It's rather something like Volvo XC60.

Command drive position has gone.
Only 10/10 seat with "cradle" feature is comfortable for me. I'am 195cm tall.

Side front windows are too small for offroad (bad visibility). It's hard to watch terrain via left window.
Front window is small when compared to Freelander.


In my opinion interior design is worse class than Freelander design was.
Freelander HSE with Almond leather was much nicer inside.
Please mention Freelander has been designed in 2006....

Interior quality is too poor for such expensive car.
In the Poland price of DS is higher than price of Evoque and standard equipment is less generous.


Plase see attached image:



Plastick under the side window (red arrow) is very poor quality. It's hard and rugged like in Japan SUVs for half of price. I've checked HSE luxury, it's not better.
Plastick above the dashboard (another red arrow) in my opinion has worse quality than the same element in Freelander.
Plastick on the front tunnel (another red arrow) is better quality than the same in the Freelander but doesn't look too good. Too much of boring flat plastick surface.

Side ground clearance is lower than in FL.
There aren't any solid eye tow bars.
Approach angle is worse then in FL.

Si4 engine with 9speed gearbox has much lag when trying to accelerate (sport mode disabled).
Have to wait wait wait for higer revs and then it accelerates.
I'm used to Freelander TD4 with manual transmission and there is no lag.
Please mention that Freelander TD4 is not too fast.
I had higer expectations for Si4 engine inside aerodynamic's friendly car.

Now the pros:
It's quiet, much more than Freeland was. As quiet as Evoque or better.
Ride handling is similar to the Evoque.
Second row of seats has more space.
Boot is bigger (but Discovery Sport has not rear bumper)
Front is good looking, like Evoque
Front seat's armrest is moveable


It's car
It's not a Land Rover.

I understand the Evoque. It's fashion car, with high quality interior with a little off road ability.
I can't understand Discovery Sport. It's not a Land Rover and not a Range Rover.
Yet another SUV.

Last edited by pporocki on 6th Feb 2015 8:28 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Well written pporocki - a balanced and thorough critique. As a lifelong Landrover fan I am very disappointed by the DS. They are so far off message for me now I will be looking for something like a Subaru Forester or Mitsubishi Shogun next vehicle. I think this is Landrover's blandest ever model - its a jacked up car, very poorly targeted and it really is not fit to be called a Landrover - no wonder they put "Discovery" on the lid.
I hope it turns out to be a great car and that fans here find it a great step up from their Freely2 but I could imagine Landrover mandarins not wanting a DS to be seen in a showroom alongside a Freely2. Far too many potential customers would be looking at the DS and asking "Is that really the best they could do?"

Spotted one today while driving back into Portsmouth, only saw it for 10 seconds as we passed but it looked ok on the road, when I first saw it coming I thought oh a LR then oh its the DS then oh it looked abit blander than I was excepting

Tbh if I wasn't in the know of what brand it was I could of thought it was a Volvo or something else ( Did not think LR were into making bland things that look like everything else ) hmmm

Kind of feel it would be easy to loose in a car park  Freelander 57 plate XS Blue Auto