Of the many potential hurdles to fall at here, the first does not trouble the new Discovery Sport.
Emphatically, this still feels like a modern Land Rover – and in a segment now oversubscribed with top-hatted saloon cars, the appeal of that single fact cannot be understated.
The Evoque’s success has given the manufacturer licence to repeat much of the formula. Even with its bigger skin, this is a purposeful device – not so much rugged as street tough, but simultaneously lean and big-shouldered enough to justify its visual presence.
For those switching from the smallest Range Rover, it’s worth mentioning that the edges are more apparent here – especially in the quality of the secondary ride, which occasionally stumbles from crisply rugged to downright bony, a vice not helped by the Sport’s wider failure to isolate you from the audible machinations of the suspension.
This chivvying at the comfort levels does the car a disservice if for no other reason than that the primary ride – its capacity to soak up the low-frequency hillocks of UK roads at a cruise – is generally stellar.
