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Mumbai: Mumbai : Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, Formula-1 Driver Narain Karthikeyan  and Rohir Suri, President of Jaquar Land Rover India during launch of  Land Rover Discovery sport car for Indian market in Mumbai. Land Rover today launched the first member of the Discovery family - the new Discovery Sport - with a starting price of Rs. 46.10 lakh (ex-showroom, pre-Octroi Mumbai). The company had started accepting pre-orders for the SUV last month, and claims to have received over 300 bookings already.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport was first revealed in September, 2014, with its public debut the following month. However, the excitement about the British carmaker’s SUV had been building-up since the 2013 LA Auto Show. The Discovery Sport - a compact SUV - will take on the likes of the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and the Volvo XC60. Since the idea is to be compact and yet offer more, Land Rover will offer the Discovery Sport with both, 5-and 7-seat configurations.

Though built on the same platform as the Range Rover Evoque, the Discovery Sport uses 50% new parts in comparison to the former. The focus of the engineering and design team was to build a car that would be compact, and yet hold more people and luggage. The new integral multi-link rear suspension has allowed for the engineers to give the car the 5+2 seating option. The British carmaker was candid enough to accept that the third row of seats is primarily for kids up to the age of 13.

The SUV will be offered with 2.2 TD4 & SD4 diesels putting out 147bhp and 187bhp respectively. Both the engines will come mated to the 9-speed ZF automatic transmission.

Considering the Land Rover label, it goes without saying that the SUV has brilliant off-roading capabilities. It can wade through 600mm water, while the updated Terrain Response system helps it drive on different surfaces. Interestingly, the Terrain Response now includes a Dynamic mode (with Adaptive Dynamics) for flatter cornering, and sharper steering. The car’s braking system imitates the effect of a torque vectoring differential for improved cornering stability and agility too.

Land Rover Discovery Sport Prices (ex-showroom, pre-octroi Mumbai)

TD4 S 5-Seater : Rs. 46.10 lakh
 TD4 SE 5-Seater : Rs. 51.01 lakh
 TD4 SE 7-Seater : Rs. 52.50 lakh
 TD4 HSE 5-Seater : Rs. 53.54 lakh
 TD4 HSE 7-Seater: Rs. 54.83 lakh
 SD4 HSE Luxury 5-Seater: Rs. 60.70 lakh
 SD4 HSE Luxury 7-Seater:  Rs. 62.18 lakh