Discovery Sport’s interior has been designed to provide a versatile and calming space, one in which every occupant feels equally comfortable and the driver can pay maximum attention to the road. Its highly configurable 5+2 seating is unique-in-segment.
At an early stage in the vehicle’s development programme, Land Rover designers invited a large cross-section of families to a UK development centre and watched as they climbed into a variety of existing SUVs, accessed third-row seating, synced electronic devices, attached child seats to Isofix anchor points and placed drinks containers in cup holders. The results helped shape the Discovery Sport into the most versatile premium compact SUV.
“Discovery Sport has required an incredible degree of creative intellect from both designers and engineers,” said Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Design Director and Chief Creative Officer. “In my view this vehicle looks sensational both inside and out, it’s been designed for hectic modern lifestyles with generous luggage capacity, innovative stowage solutions and configurable 5+2 seating, which have all been given equal status to create a vehicle where form and function work in perfect harmony.”
Discovery Sport’s interior is an inclusive and highly configurable space, making it perfect for demanding family schedules and active lifestyles. Land Rover designers have prioritised head-, knee- and shoulder-room, and interior space is excellent in all derivatives thanks to a wheelbase of 2741mm, while the backs of the front seats are ergonomically contoured to unlock even more knee-room.
A selection of four trim levels is available: S, SE, HSE and HSE Luxury. From SE specification, the second-row seating is offered with tilt-and-slide functionality, and is individually adjustable with a 60:40 split. This enables row-two occupants to recline their seats or slide them forwards or back by a class-leading 160mm. It also provides as much as 112mm of knee-room and 1011mm of leg-room – almost as accommodating as a Range Rover. Alternatively, load capacity can be increased as desired from 829 litres to as much as 981 litres with row-two seats in place.
Extra attention has been paid to slim-line packaging of the vehicle’s electrical architecture – mounted electrical modules and routing harness run as space-efficiently as possible, for instance – in the side panels of the load space to maximise volume. A new design of multi-link rear axle also ensures the rear suspension turrets make minimal intrusion into the luggage area.
Both these innovations have proved key in allowing Land Rover to offer unique-in-segment 5+2 seating. This provides occasional rear seating that’s not only easy to access and comfortable for third row passengers, but can also be folded away to provide luggage volume equal to that of a five-seat derivative. In fact, both second- and third rows can be folded down using one hand to create an even more spacious load area. The load-space floor has been located as low down as possible, increasing space and ensuring that even large items are easy to load and unload.
Row-two seating is naturally specified with Isofix anchor points for child car seats. The anchor points are easily accessed by quickly removing two caps and slotting the child seat’s attachment points between two guides; it makes fitting child seats and swapping them between family cars as painless as possible, increasing both safety and convenience.
A great deal of collaboration between exterior and interior designers has resulted in a significant packaging solution. For instance, row-two occupants benefit from stadium seating that’s raised 50mm relative to front-seat passengers. The result is a cabin that feels more open and inclusive for row-two occupants while still providing plenty of head-room for taller-than-average passengers.
Maximum convenience for up to seven people
Discovery Sport is available with up to four 12V power points, while as many as six USB charging sockets can be specified for all three rows. This allows multiple electronic devices to be recharged simultaneously.
Two different centre console storage solutions are available. S and SE derivatives provide space for two cups along with a separate roller storage section; HSE and HSE Luxury derivatives have a larger console that includes a sliding armrest and a roller storage section with two removable cup holders located underneath; this space can be separately and quickly re-configured to offer space to securely hold a two-litre bottle.
Storage areas have been designed to be as deep and accommodating as possible. The door speaker housings, for instance, not only complement the interior’s clean lines and ensure excellent sound quality, they also provide the maximum space for stowage. At 13.8 litres, Discovery Sport’s front and rear door housings offer more than double the stowage space of some rival SUVs.
In typical Discovery tradition, a simple but effective convenience hook allows loose items to be secured in the passenger footwell. Row-three passengers have a storage shelf, and load-space rails are available to add further versatility.
Discovery Sport customers can choose from two air-conditioning systems: a manual interface is fitted to entry-level models, while dual-zone climate control with an LCD interface for the driver and front-seat passenger is also available. For dual-zone systems, the air vents for row-two occupants are mounted mid-way up the B-pillar for more effective cold-air distribution. If both dual-zone climate control and 5+2 seating are specified, an independent control unit is available, allowing row-three occupants to set their desired temperature and fan speed; row-three air vents are also positioned mid-way up the C-pillar.
Other convenience features include a sensor to detect and automatically clear windscreen misting, and an air-quality sensor that switches to re-circulation mode should high pollution levels be registered. ECO mode optimises the air-conditioning system – along with other vehicle settings – for maximum efficiency.
