[Andy_o]

Have been wondering about the new discovery sport and its effect on the X3 market segment.

Now in my part of the world the Range Rover ewok is everywhere, mainly in white!

The freelander is almost as popular as the ewok ... The X3 is a rare beast to be fair.

Now Land Rover have upped their game how do we feel it is going to effect the market ?

Are Land Rover effectively going to be competing against themselves ?

Are we going to see the ewok fall from its perch ?

Do we think it will have a negative impact on the X3 values ?

Personally I dont think it will as I think the X3 is in a different demographic than the ewok

Any thoughts ?

[plymjack]

our local ewok dealer ignored us when we went to look at a their offerings..... while BMW gave us an X1, X3 and an X5 to try .... so not an option for us!

[Andy_o]

Originally Posted by plymjack

our local ewok dealer ignored us when we went to look at a their offerings..... while BMW gave us an X1, X3 and an X5 to try .... so not an option for us!

I went and had a look at them before I ordered my X3. Went to a couple of local dealers both of whom had several stock cars for immediate delivery.

Took an eewok for a test drive and hated it ... Not very nice at all to drive. Drove it back to back with a freelander which I actually quite liked.

The sales lady was quite gobsmacked when I told her I didn't like it and wouldn't be placing an immediate order.

I haven't driven the new disco sport or had a look close up but have seen quite a few knocking about now and I think that it is a far better looking vehicle than both the freelander/ewok

I think it will be interesting to watch the market

I must admit my local bmw dealers are very good as well as yours jack

[Jan van Zyl]

Some mixed reaction even in LR community - http://babyrr.com/forum/Thread-New-Disco-Sport

I tested the previous Freelander 2 and liked its long travel suspension - this more geared towards off-road prowess.

F25 has stiffer suspension for on-road prowess. F25 won the day also being slightly bigger and its 2 litre Diesel engine beat the PSA unit for economy, power and torque - the latter being a 2.2 litre unit. Freelander 2 still achieves good 2'nd prices though. Discovery Sport may well prove a worthy competitor though.

[Andy_o]

Originally Posted by Jan van Zyl

Some mixed reaction even in LR community - http://babyrr.com/forum/Thread-New-Disco-Sport

I tested the previous Freelander 2 and liked its long travel suspension - this more geared towards off-road prowess.

F25 has stiffer suspension for on-road prowess. F25 won the day also being slightly bigger and its 2 litre Diesel engine beat the PSA unit for economy, power and torque - the latter being a 2.2 litre unit. Freelander 2 still achieves good 2'nd prices though. Discovery Sport may well prove a worthy competitor though.

Thanks for the link that's quite an interesting thread .. Seems a lot moving from ewok to the sport and complaining about the px offers on their evokes

Maybe the bubble is about to burst

[philtrick123]

New discovery sport at the moment uses old engines- until later in the year.
I think other cars would sell well if they could port across the BMW engine(s) and auto transmission.
My work colleague has a new Hyundai Santa Fe- nice car, fully loaded, but only one engine, and only 6 speed auto. Drop in the latest BMW engines and 8 speed auto and I would consider one.

[brissim]

Don't outright dismiss this Discovery Sports. It promises to be a worthy alternative to the X3 (and Q5, XC60 etc) especially for those folk who have some genuine off-road duties. A real step up in class from the Freelander 2.

However my issues with it is that its a bit of a laugh to call something "sports" when its anything but. The engines at launch are the same old Ford and PSA 4-cylinder engines carried over from the FL2. JLR's new Ingenium engines are coming in 12 months time but these are still limited to 4 cylinder petrol/gas and diesel engines. They simply have no answer to BMW's 6-cylinder engines.

Tony

[Sparky14]

Test drove the Evoke before I ordered my X3 (due May) and in fairness it performs well until I opened the boot and I asked the sales guy where is it!! The new disco is obviously a better option but doesn’t drive anywhere near as good as the X3.

[ND40oz]

Kind of hard to compare them, 1 is a 3 row with FWD based architecture running Ford engines for another year versus a 2 row RWD based architecture with a broader spread of engine options.

The Active Tourer 2er is going to be the Disco Sports competition from BMW.

[Anders R]

The Discovery Sport comes with limited engine choice, either 2.0D with 150 bhp, 2.2D with 190 bhp or 2.0 petrol with 240 bhp, all 4 cylinder engines.

No match for the more powerful 6 cylinder engines, be it the diesel versions in the X3, 30D or 35D or the 35I version.

Other than that a very good looking car, great interior, just a shame about the engines.

[P1Fanatic]

Originally Posted by ND40oz

The Active Tourer 2er is going to be the Disco Sports competition from BMW.

How do you figure that?

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by P1Fanatic

How do you figure that?

It's a FWD based 2 or 3 row (7 passenger variant is still coming from what I can tell), with 4 cylinder engine options and using a raised seating position which is exactly what the Discovery Sport is. If you really need the ground clearance, then you wait for the FAST variant.

[gIzzE]

I really liked the latest FL2, and quite liked the Evoque, but too blingy for me and not enough space. The Disco Sport is a good compromise.

I bought a Jan 2013 X3 knowing I could swap to a Disco Sport in 12 months when the new engine is out if I still wanted one.

I was ready to order a Disco Sport, but wait was too long, and then read a couple of reviews that said the X3 was still the better car. Problem with the Disco Sport is low 30s MPG again and the engine feels sluggish, I was more than happy with the 20d xDrive, and it's mid 40s MPG.
Now I have got the X3 I have no regrets, but if I could have had a Disco Sport sooner than September and with a bit of discount I would have bitten.



The Disco Sport will eat into loads of SUV sales, I know someone coming out of an E70 X5 into one, and two others coming from a Q7 and Q5 into one.

[brissim]

The party trick for the Discovery Sports is that it will be available as a 7-seater - something that none of the mid-sized luxury SUVs (including the X3) can match. This - together with genuine off-road ability - will appeal to some people. Will it take sales off the Evoque? - Yes it will, but I'm predicting it will take as many sales off the likes of the X3, Q5 and XC60 etc.

Tony

[gIzzE]

Also look at it, every one I know is talking about, these are people who drive Ford S Max's and other people carriers...





It looks cool in a very utilitarian way.

And it has a badge that isn't showy like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, well many look at it that way anyway.

[Ranger 6]

Originally Posted by Anders R

The Discovery Sport comes with limited engine choice, either 2.0D with 150 bhp, 2.2D with 190 bhp or 2.0 petrol with 240 bhp, all 4 cylinder engines.

No match for the more powerful 6 cylinder engines, be it the diesel versions in the X3, 30D or 35D or the 35I version.

Other than that a very good looking car, great interior, just a shame about the engines.

This is the key thing for me, there just isn't a decent engine in the range. After swapping my E83 from 2.0d to 3.0d the torque and smooth quiet engine has spoilt me.

I looked at the Sport in our local dealer, a lovely car with some very clever features but like the ewok, it didn't feel 'special' with a 4 cylinder and cheap plastics - just too small with the 3rd row of seats up.

If I was buying a 4 cyl it would definitely be the X3 with the auto box, but the 35d is getting ever more affordable on the second hand market

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Ranger 6

This is the key thing for me, there just isn't a decent engine in the range. After swapping my E83 from 2.0d to 3.0d the torque and smooth quiet engine has spoilt me.

I looked at the Sport in our local dealer, a lovely car with some very clever features but like the ewok, it didn't feel 'special' with a 4 cylinder and cheap plastics - just too small with the 3rd row of seats up.

If I was buying a 4 cyl it would definitely be the X3 with the auto box, but the 35d is getting ever more affordable on the second hand market

I must say I agree entirely. I bought the 30d that was ok for me with no ex BMW Managers 35d's available at the time and the waiting time for new just too long.

I did find the 4 cyl 2.0d ran out puff early on and my mileage is low because I am retired.

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Also look at it, every one I know is talking about, these are people who drive Ford S Max's and other people carriers...

It looks cool in a very utilitarian way.

And it has a badge that isn't showy like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, well many look at it that way anyway.

That's the thing, it is an MPV. It's an S-MAX that looks a lot better, rides higher and doesn't have that terrible Ford DCT. They both use the same Ford EUCD platform, just like the Freelander and Evoque do.

[Bimar]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Also look at it, every one I know is talking about, these are people who drive Ford S Max's and other people carriers...





It looks cool in a very utilitarian way.

And it has a badge that isn't showy like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, well many look at it that way anyway.

Rear lights kill it for me. If land rover built a reliable car, would buy one in a heart beat!

[Portimao318]

well, if somebody is looking for space, I would prefer the new crossover Renault Espace.
I think it's really, really cool. No AWD though, and that's the main reason I didn't buy it. And my wife thought the car was too big (almost 5 meters long). Sales starting in march 2015.

[Smithy2014]

I have come to the X3 community after having 2 Freelander 2's. The first one was great other than a few niggles early on which took 6 months to sort due to the incompetency of LR dealers and the second one was an absolute nightmare, fine for 2 years but then the third (and final) year had 6 faults, I had 2 new Haldex units fitted in 6 months!!! I couldn't fault the FL2 for comfort and offroad capabilities but it looked dated inside and out, the tech was seriously out of date, the boot tiny, rubbish mpg, I could go on. The X3 walks over the FL2 in every way other than offroad ability but as I dont go off road its nothing I wont miss.

I still frequent the LR forum and I have to laugh at the abuse I get when I put on a post, they hate the X3 despite it being so much better.

The Disco Sport (DS) is a big mistake for LR, they are replacing the FL2 and D4 with this car and as the DS is a strict 7 seater and priced at D4 money it means they no longer have a FL2 equivalent vehicle and as the FL2 was the bulk of LR sales it simply doesn't make sense. The DS is also getting some negative points already, over-priced, no spare wheel, old PSA engine that noisy with poor economy, out of date satnav system, no option to remove the third row of seats (except outside the UK), the lack of room in the third row of seats. Once the new engine comes out the first generation of DS with the PSA engine will plumett in value, there was also a rumour that the new engine wouldn't arrive in the DS for at least 18 months..

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Endre2

well, if somebody is looking for space, I would prefer the new crossover Renault Espace.
I think it's really, really cool. No AWD though, and that's the main reason I didn't buy it. And my wife thought the car was too big (almost 5 meters long). Sales starting in march 2015.

That my friend is like comparing apples with pears and in my view pointless.