I am in a real quandary. Needed a 4x4 towing vehicle and went for a FL2 2012 2.2 SD4 XS which we liked and felt confident in its reliability and off-road capability. However, the boot space and extended boot space was not big enough for our trips to and from France. Reluctantly we traded it in for a RR Sport HSE 2011 TDV6 3.0 yes we like this car but deep down I feel it is over engineered and complicated for our use and is not a cheap car to run. Tax/fuel and potential reliability although ours has been good.

With the Disco Sport coming along one wonders whether that would be a better option. Running costs will be lower ie tax/fuel. Reliability should be better as less complicated ie RR has air suspension with compressors etc.

The big gotcha for me will be if the loading capacity is less than a FL2 (I went for the FL2 over the Evoque because of loading capacity originally)

Can anyone advise please.

Specs say that loadspace will be bigger in Discovery Sport with the increase in length but we are talking about 90mm plus the additional space due to the absence of intrusive suspension struts that FL2 has. Bigger but not massive change.

There are dimensions on the Land Rover website as you can look at Discovery Sport like all the other models Gone... 2013 XS TD4 Manual Firenze Red
Gone... 2008 (09MY) XS Td4 Manual Stornaway Grey
Prior... 2003 G4 Discovery 2, 1998 Disco 1 and 1997 Disco 1 Company car before that
Also gone in Nov'13, after 7.5 yrs, to new owners with time for more TLC - 1980 Series III 88
Current 2015 Discovery Sport HSE 2.0

Capacity wise it is only 2l less than the FL2 has a lower roof but longer load space so possibly more usable space rather than actual capacity. The big worry is the 90Kg lower rear axle limit on the 5 seat though the 5+2 is the same ( strange as I can't believe there is much if any difference in the suspension) perhaps the tow pack for the 5 seat gives it back my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Thanks for the replies. A shame that there is not more loading capacity as this was always an issue with the FL2. Have to wait to compare the two side by side.

The Disco Sport is more like the Evoque than the discovery if the loading is no greater. I was hoping it would have similar loading to the likes of Hyundai Santa Fe.

Oh well being a LR or RR means they will have an eager market.

I don't know what you carry, but I had a SF and I can carry the same amount in the FL2 with more careful packing, weight wise, there is no difference but the FL2 handles better fully loaded and doesn't sag at the rear when carrying 260 litres of wine plus usual caravan gear, the trick is to persuade OH she really doesn't need all that just in case stuff, stopped using the van this year and went self catering on the same site, still had stuff we didn't need, had another 20l of wine on board and still under gross weight and rear axle weight. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Disco Sport
With rear seats forward its 1698.1l

Upright its 981l

Fl2
Seats folded 1670l

Upright 755l

The wording is different in both brochures, I assume the volume of the DS is with seats moved forward to its furthest point as opposed to the Fl2 folded flat. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Whoops didn't read right, read DS max as 1668 not 1698litres SF is 2213 but the 5 seat has under boot floor stowage. but really it can't be that usable as I don't notice the smaller FL2 capacity as I only go to a level which objects won't fly forward in event of a sudden stop or other outside influence that causes a reduction in normal braking distance my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

I saw & sat in a Disco Sport in Bluewater a couple of weeks ago & to me it seemed smaller in the back plus the 2nd row of seats does not fold flat unlike the Freelander. (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

Re : the OP I swapped my RRS a few months ago for a new SD XS (& very nice it is too). The RRS was awesome, as was my previous D3 but after 100k miles everything started packing up, air compressor, alternator, diff seals, rear suspension bushes & so on - all very expensive so enough was enough, there is an awful lot of bits to go wrong.
Just a worry about the DS - it looks very low to the ground with quite big overhangs ? Note - my favourite was a D2 ES which despite its flaws was just great. Maybe one to buy and rebuild to as good as new. Can't help thinking that slab sides & boxy vertical styling is best for bashing down our overgrown lanes.

Quote:

Just a worry about the DS - it looks very low to the ground with quite big overhangs ?

Dartman the one wrote:

Capacity wise it is only 2l less than the FL2 has a lower roof but longer load space so possibly more usable space rather than actual capacity. The big worry is the 90Kg lower rear axle limit on the 5 seat though the 5+2 is the same ( strange as I can't believe there is much if any difference in the suspension) perhaps the tow pack for the 5 seat gives it back

The brochure seems to say otherwise

The 5 seat versions are only available in overseas markets, at the moment.

I'm at Gleneagles on Thursday for the customer preview event, I will make some enquiries.


I'm not sure whether I will go ahead with it, I will know for sure on Thursday. There is a nice looking Indus silver Metropolis in my dealers showroom that's taken my fancy. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

We chose a Metropolis over the D.S. on the grounds of practicality. The swept window line , and resulting shallower side windows mean the kids view of the world isn't as good. The boot looks smaller too, and I can't imagine anyone actually using the rearmost seats.

It has more style than the FL2 but the trade off appears to be substance. 2014 Barolo black Metropolis

1996 Mercedes C36 AMG
1990 Mercedes 300-24 SL

I was looking at about 10 different DS's at the plant last week. I can say for sure, they are actually bigger in the boot area than the FL2. Easier space to use due to not having the suspension turrets in the boot area.

I know we are all FL2 fans, but the DS is the more practical machine for space. The roof line is deceiving, there is more room than it looks from the outside. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........