Land Rover Disco Sport meets its match in Iceland

Somewhere on the side of an Icelandic hill sits a €70,000 new Land Rover Discovery Sport, abandoned and entombed in icy snow. As I write this from the comfort of my hotel room I know that somewhere out there in the darkness and the blizzard lies a new Disco Sport with its engine running and Sam Smith warbling out his hits on a loop via a USB connection to an Apple iPhone6.

Maybe it should be left there, encased in ice, a motoring time capsule to future generations about the folly of believing you’re immune to nature just because you are encased in metal and resting your rump on heated leather seats.

Iced up in Iceland

In fairness the conditions were appalling. It’s claimed the Inuits have multiple words for snow. Facing into the blizzard we encountered we can see why. Far from the soft, wet and fluffy stuff that flutters down in Ireland every few years, this was like shards of icy glass being shot horizontally across the mountainside.

We were at the end of a convoy down a narrow off-road track when the vehicle in front got stuck. The incline behind meant we couldn’t go back and by the time the recovery vehicle - a Land Rover Discovery - arrived we were encased in the snowbank as well. Digging didn’t help anyone and before long the big Disco was stuck. By then our wipers had packed up under the weight of the frozen snow.

It’s surreal to sit on heated leather seats amid the electronic mod-cons of a premium car while centimetres from your nose, behind a sheet of covered glass the full force of nature is raging.

Foolishly I got out to clear the snow at one stage and along with being battered with icy snow hitting me at full force, sank to my knees. Merely opening and closing the door meant the cabin was soaked, melted snow dripping from the roof and dashboard for the next 40 minutes.

Rescue mission

It took an enormous tractor snow plough - arriving on the scene like something from Close Encounters of the Third Kind - to finally rescue us all. The Disco Sports were abandoned on the hillside. The big Disco was dragged unceremoniously to safety by the tractor plough.Perhaps it’s not the most auspicious of starts for an SUV, but the fact we had got so far in the treacherous conditions is testament to its prowess. This is the replacement for the Freelander but it feels like a much closer kin to the bigger Disco than its now defunct ancestor.

Pricing to beat premium rivals

Before we go further into the details of the car itself, it’s worth addressing one of the talking points of those with an interest in crossovers: the price. Land Rover has confirmed that prices will start at €37,100 for the entry-level 2.2-litre TD4 diesel with six-speed manual transmission and in five-seat format. That’s an eyecatching price.

Admittedly once you start moving up the trim levels, opting for the 5+2 (seven-seat) format or adding the more attractive nine-speed automatic transmission that price quickly starts to rub up towards €50,000. By the time you get to the test car we had to abandon on the hillside the price has risen to €66,300.

These prices are for the four-wheel drive versions with full terrain response, supposedly capable of tackling most rugged terrain, if not quite the Arctic challenges Land Rover’s over-eager engineers and launch team thought they could.

Later next year a front-wheel drive version will arrive and that should push the prices further down towards the early €30,000 range.

Yet the initial entry-point for the four-wheel drive is still a big draw for a brand that has lost out in the lucrative crossover market to newcomers from premium brands like Audi, BMW, Volvo and recently Lexus. The Freelander was frankly far too Tonka-toy and a big workmanlike to compare with these premium rivals. It needed a Land Rover model that could fit the budgets - and space needs - of those who wanted the Range Rover Evoque but couldn't quite make the stretch.

The option of a third row for an extra €2,000 or so should also lure family buyers eager to get out of the boxy people carriers without compromising on space.

New 119g/km engine on the way

The Disco Sport comes much closer to its rivals in terms of trim and features, along with performance. And there is better news on pricing to come. Two diesel versions are on offer from launch, the 150bhp TD4 with emissions of 149g/km and the 190bhp SD4 with 157g/km. Neither is particularly benchmark in this crossover class. However by the middle of next year a new diesel engine - named the eD4 - will be added with emissions of just 119g/km. That’s going to bring both the price tag and the annual motor tax bill down further.

The Disco Sport is the first of three new Land Rover models on the way over the next while, although it sits on a heavily modified platform it shares with the outgoing Freelander and the current Range Rover Evoque. There is a new 4x4 platform in the offing from the British car firm but it's likely to feature first in a new Jaguar SUV.

A gift to Iceland?

So back to the icy hillside, where some lucky sheep herder may come upon a new car in the near future. They should be delighted with their finds, even if they are a little cold and the leather a little puckered. It will be a useful test to see if they start or the electrics work after some time in the frozen tundra.

Disco Sport engineers need not be downhearted that it failed to conquer the blizzards of Iceland. After all, the traditional Discovery - from which the newcomer takes its name and hopes to emulate in some ways in off-road prowess - had to be towed down the hill by the tractor as well. Land Rovers are incredible off-roaders but even they are forced to bow to forces of nature.

Factfile

Format: five seat standard with optional extra two seats in third row

Arriving in Ireland: January with full range in March-April and new 119g/km engine in by the summer.

Prices:

2.2 TD4 S - 149 g/km - €37,100 (auto - €41,990)

2.2 TD4 SE 149 g/km - €43,560 (auto - €48,840)

2.2 TD4 HSE 149 g/km - €49,795 (auto - €55,370)

2.2 TD4 HSE LUXURY 149 g/km - €57,360 (auto - €63,295)

2.2 SD4 S 157 g/km €41,780 (auto - €44,985)

2.2 SD4 SE 157 g/km €48,635 161 (auto - €51,845)

2.2 SD4 HSE 157 g/km €570 €55,170 (auto - €58,375)

2.2 SD4 HSE LUXURY 157 g/km €63,095 (auto - €66,300)