Discovery Sport (Petrol)

WE SAY: More finesse for the entry-level land rover

- Girish Karkera

The haze of doubt around diesel and its future when it comes to automobiles has seen a renewed interest in petrol engines for big luxury cars, SUVs included. Land Rover has been amongst those who have quickly offered the option of a “cleaner” gasoline engine in its fleet despite the fact that convention has always demanded a diesel engine – SUV combination. The Discovery Sport is the latest to join the bandwagon.

Earlier this May, the Evoque and Discovery Sport were announced to be made available in India with a 2.0-litre petrol engine from the Ingenium family. As you might be aware the diesel version of this is what was introduced in the Disco Sport when the new model year was launched. Internationally too, the duo was the first to get the powertrain. In India, though, the Velar got it first.

Unlike the Velar’s higher state of tune, here the 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol has been restricted to 237 horses. Torque peaks at a relatively modest 340Nm. But the performance figures aren’t exactly modest in the real world. It returns a time of under 8 seconds in its sprint to 100kph. This engine feels meaty. There is more refinement and the cabin is much quieter. Power comes in easy. What really helps is the nine-speed automatic gearbox. Acceleration is effortless despite the fact that the vehicle weighs over two tonnes.