Tata-owned Land Rover’s Discovery Sport SUV is set for India launch on 02 September 2015, announced Rohit Suri, President, Jaguar Land Rover India.

Within the initial two days of the pre-launch bookings of this premium versatile vehicle, 200 orders have already been received and the company is extremely grateful for this overwhelming response from its discerning, distinguished and loyal Indian customers, the President said.

The Discovery Sport is the first model under the Discovery umbrella and is expected to replace the Freelander 2 models. The new SUV from Land Rover is designed to take on competitive models such as the Volvo XC60, BMW X3 and Audi Q5. The compactly designed SUV comes in 7- or 5-seater options. Although built with the same architecture as the Range Rover Evoque, many of the parts and equipments fitted in the new Discovery Sport are contemporary and original.

The engineering and design team focused on building a vehicle that offered compactness and yet could hold added luggage and/or passengers. The multilink rear suspension featuring in the SUV offered the engineers the flexibility to design a 7-seater option as well as a 5-seater option. However, the company candidly admitted that the third row could comfortably seat only children of up to 13 years.

The British car maker’s Discovery SUV will be available in India in three engine variants, including the 2.2SD4 and TD4 diesel versions, which will be available in either 6-speed manual transmission or 9-speed auto transmission and the 2.0 Si4 petrol versions. The safety features of the new Discovery sport include autonomous emergency braking system and pedestrian airbag. The body shell is made of a combination of light-weight aluminum and high-strength steel for both a stylish look and added robustness.

Other sporty features included in the vehicle are leather seats, touch screen control panels, bi-xenon headlamps, sunroof for a panoramic view and the dual-zone climate controlled air-conditioning system. The SUV also features the Terrain Response system, the 4-wheel drive system delivers for off-road credibility. This enables the Discovery Sport SUV to negotiate smoothly over a variety of surface conditions.

There is a lot more in the offing from Jaguar Land Rover India as it is all set to launch the Jaguar XE soon too.