Land Rover Discovery Sport

P300e

Martyn Collins finds adding a new plug-in hybrid version brings few compromises but welcome savings for the Discovery Sport.

Land Rover Discovery Sport

P300e

Martyn Collins finds adding a new plug-in hybrid version brings few compromises but welcome savings for the Discovery Sport.

SECTOR LARGE SUV PRICE £47,000-£51,620 RANGE 38 miles CO2 44g/km CHARGING 100mins (0-80%, 7kW)

Until now, the only plug-in hybrid Land Rover models were the biggest Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Land Rover has now added plug-in hybrid versions of the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, taking it right into the fleet heartland.

Outside, the PHEV of the Discovery Sport looks like the rest of the range although the P300e, as it is called, is fitted with sportier R-Dynamic styling additions. Look closer, and instead of just the one filler cap on the right, of the standard car, there’s also one on the left for electrical hook-up.

Inside, it gets the much-improved Discovery Sport interior that debuted with the facelifted range. The digital instruments now have an extra gauge to show how much charge is available.

Plug-in hybrid versions of the Discovery Sport also benefit from JLR’s new Pivi or Pivi Pro (as fitted to our HSE specification test car) multimedia systems. Highlights of this new tech include over-the-air updates and its own battery backup. JLR claims it’s much faster, and it can now work out the most efficient routes, including where best to deploy its electric-only power.

Perhaps the biggest change inside is that if you need the practicality of seven-seats, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The extra electric motor and battery has to go somewhere and so the P300e has just five seats.

Powering the front wheels of the Discovery Sport is a 200hp, 1.5-litre three-cylinder version of the Ingenium petrol engine. This is combined with a 15kWh lithium-ion battery and 109hp electric motor, powering the rear axle, via eight-speed automatic transmission, totalling 309hp.

Top speed is 130mph, with acceleration to 62mph taking just 6.2 seconds. However, the performance figures aren’t what this Discovery Sport will be bought for. Fleet drivers will be more interested to hear that this Discovery Sport SUV has a combined WLTP consumption of up to 141mpg and emits from just 44g/km WLTP CO2 emissions and it can travel on full electric power for 38 miles, bringing a 10% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) rating. However, on our mixed test route we got around 34 miles on a charge. More impressive, is the fact this Land Rover can be charged from 0-80% via a domestic AC 7kW wall box in 100 minutes and approximately seven hours via an AC 2.3kW three-pin socket.

Even starting with just electric power, this Land Rover feels plenty quick off the mark. Then, as speed builds, the petrol engine seamlessly cuts in. In fact, most of the time you can only tell you’ve got added petrol power when the rev counter registers. There are also new driving modes including Hybrid and one for full EV power.

This Land Rover plug-in weighs 229kg more than the standard SUV, and there’s perhaps more body roll than standard – then again this is no sports car. However, the steering remains pleasingly precise and the ride, even on the 20-inchers of our test car, was still refined.

The Discovery Sport P300e is available in three trim levels. The £49,210 R-Dynamic SE and £51,620 HSE are expected to be the best-sellers – all the standard kit you will ever need. However, even if you go for the entry-level £47,000 S, you won’t be short of equipment.

As with the facelifted Discovery Sport launched last year, this plug-in is still great to drive, with impressive savings that are sure to attract fleet buyers.