Land Rover Discovery Sport (finally) gets Ingenium engine

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The new Land Rover Discovery Sport is finally being made available with the new Ingenium engine, and there’s a new entry and range-topping model too.

Land Rover has finally corrected the big mistake they made by fitting the shiny new Discovery Sport with the old Freelander 2.2 litre diesel engine, replacing it with the new Ingenium engine it should have had from the day it went on sale.

That means the same 2.0 litre diesel engine you’ll find in the new Jaguar XE delivering either 148bhp or 178bhp, with prices now starting at £30,695.

Eagle-eyed readers will realise that £30,695 is £1,670 lower than the Disco Sport did start at, but that’s because there’s a new entry-level model to attract buyers, which gets designated an  ‘E-Capability’ vehicle (really?) and gets blue badges, 18″ alloys with low rolling resistance tyres, final drive and gearing tweaked for economy, a manual gearbox and loses the 5+2 seating that LR trumpeted as the Sport’s USP. The upside is its lower price and official economy of 57.7mpg and 129g/km.

Land Rover’s Murray Dietsch said:

Land Rover’s new family of Ingenium engines is truly class leading. By introducing it to the Discovery Sport, we can now offer enhanced fuel economy and reduced CO2 emissions, while improving overall performance. The Ingenium engine confirms Discovery Sport’s position as the most versatile and capable compact premium SUV in the world.

The rest of the Sport range stays the same, with the 178bhp version getting the option of a nine-speed auto instead of the standard six-speed manual, but economy improves with the new engine to 53.3mpg and 139g/km.

Land Rover has also taken the opportunity to add a new model at the top of the range, with the Discovery Sport HSE Black adding the Black Pack and privacy glass to the HSE’s spec and costing £41,250.

You can now toddle off to Land Rover’s UK dealers and order a Discovery Sport with an Ingenium engine. As you should have been able to in the first place.