But the Range Rover comes at a price: up to $100,000 or more.
Now, a new downscale sibling gets a big helping of panache too: the new Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Range Rover is actually part of the Land Rover brand and vehicles classified as Land Rovers tended to be more utilitarian in appearance.
The Discovery Sport is a clean-sheet design, and Land Rover says it ushers in a new look for the Discovery line. It’s on the smaller side, sharing a chassis with the Range Rover Evoque.
The interior is where the Discovery Sport really shines, with a bit of Range Rover-style and comfort. There’s plenty of room for five and two more in an optional small third-row seat.
Modern power comes from under the hood in the form of a 2-liter, turbo-charged four-cylinder. That means good power with decent fuel economy and a tidy displacement that saves on taxes in the European market.
It’s not nearly as smooth or powerful as the sixes and eights in bigger Range Rover models, but it gets the job done.
The whole package starts at a base price that’s under $40,000.
So if Range Rover is the prestige name, why wouldn’t Land Rover just add that to all their vehicles? As it turns out, there’s plenty of prestige to the Land Rover name as well.
Beginning in the years after World War II, Land Rovers quickly got a reputation for being able to tackle almost any terrain, often in very challenging conditions.
Most Discovery Sports will probably stay pavement-bound, although an advanced all-wheel drive system is standard, just in case.
SUVs are hot again and the ones with trim dimensions are the hottest among them. Add some flair from the high-end Range Rover line and this new Land Rover model probably has the goods it needs to succeed.
