Land Rover updates Discovery Sport

LAND ROVER has treated its Discovery Sport mid-sized SUV to a technology update with a selection of safety and convenience features that are scheduled to reach the Australian line-up in October.

Among the new additions are driver assistance systems, new customisation packs and a possible world-first application of the Tile tracking device for personal objects such as smart phones and key fobs.

Jaguar Land Rover's local team is still evaluating the Tile technology and is yet to make a decision on whether it will be offered with the update.

The system uses Bluetooth-connected fobs that are concealed in easy-to-lose personal items such as wallets and phones and keys, and if a user attempts to start a journey without one of the linked items on board, the Discovery Sport will alert the driver of its location.

Existing Tile users are able to use smartphones to track possessions using the gizmo but according to the British brand, it is the first application of the technolgy in a vehicle.

JLR Australia senior public relations executive James Scrimshaw told GoAuto the company was keen to offer the unique technology in the Sport update, but had to evaluate the system before making a final decision.

“The Tile is something that we definitely want but we are asking to get our test cars out here,” he said. “We just want to test it before we put out the press release.”The Tile application is supported by Land Rover's InControl Touch information and entertainment system, which also joins the Discovery Sport as part of the upgrade, bringing access to a range of applications through its 10.2-inch touchscreen.

Mr Scrimshaw said that exactly which variants would receive the technology was yet to be decided, but the Australian update would be more extensive than the additions announced for Europe and the United Kingdom.

“They will all be available to us. It just depends on which model we specify those things as standard or optional,” he said. “That car will get here around October so we've still got a few months to get everything finalised.

“We've got a little bit more that will go into our 2017 model year Discovery Sport.”In addition to Tile, navigation, entertainment and connectivity systems, the refreshed Discovery Sport will be equipped with a new Driver Condition Monitoring system that alerts the driver with visual and audible signals if drowsiness is detected.

An Intelligent Speed Limiter reads speed limit signs and asks permission to limit the vehicle speed in accordance with the law, while the new Lane Keep Assistance feature monitors the vehicle's position in the road and can apply corrective steering if it veers off-course.

A new range of customisation options have also been made available for the Discovery Sport including the Graphite pack which adds darker details to exterior details on SE variants, such as grille, bonnet lettering, roof and mirror caps. The kit also brings a unique 19-inch wheel design.

MY2017 Discovery Sport customers will have the choice of Silicon Silver, Farallon Black, Carpathian Grey and Aruba new metallic colours to set their cars apart from the versions that launched in April last year.

More details regarding Australian specification, pricing and timing will be released about the middle of May.