The Land Rover Freelander has made a Viking like exit in favor of the new Discovery Sport, the latter is actually a clever re-branding by the folks over at Land Rover and exactly what the Freelander should have been but never was.
This very interesting video about the technical capabilities of the Discovery Sport actually hides a dark secret, the entire platform is based upon Ford’s decade old C1 platform, albeit heavily modified for off-road use, which also underpinned the Freelander. And a couple of Volvo’s.
Land Rover may be under new ownership but the company’s roots still hark back to its Ford era and that’s no bad thing because Ford did good work at the company and paved the way for the success Land Rover enjoy’s today.
Its just that when you position your self as a premium player in the off-road sector, its rather like taking off your Le Chameau’s and revealing a pair of tatty sock with holes. Thankfully the Discovery Sport is no worn out sock.
The Discovery Sport will go on sale in the UK next year, Q1.