Discovery Sport gets highest rating from Euro NCAP

The Land Rover Discovery Sport, which is slated to launch in 2015, achieved the five star safety rating from Euro NCAP. The all new Discovery Sport will replace the ageing Freelander globally, and will become the cheapest Land Rover upon its launch.

The SUV comes loaded with several new-age safety features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking system. Using a digital stereo camera, which is mounted next to the rear view mirror, this braking system detects the collision threat, sends visual and audible warnings and instantly applies the brakes.

The car gets pedestrian airbag, first-in-the-segment, that detects a pedestrian impact and deploys from the upper-rear surface of the bonnet in 60 milliseconds only. With the 5+2 seating configuration, the SUV offers a high-level protection to the passengers. The third row gets retractor pretensioners as standard.

Features like ABS (Anti-lock braking system), DSC (Dynamic stability control), roll stability control, emergency brake lights, electronic traction control, reverse traffic detection, seatbelt reminders and lane departure warning further enchance its safety qoutient. While features including active speed limiting, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring with closing vehicle sensing, and reverse traffic detection are optional.

What also helped the vehicle achieve is its highest rating is the solid, high-strength steel and boron body construction with a lightweight roof. The 2015 Discovery Sport also gets a comprehensive occupant safety package that includes driver and passenger airbags, thorax airbags, driver knee airbag and side curtain.

Automakers including Land Rover, Ford, Volkswagen and Porsche have achieved the highest rating in the latest round of Euro NCAP tests. The Land Rover Discovery Sport will take on likes of BMW X3, Audi Q5 and the Mercedes ML-Class.

The director of Land Rover Programmes, Murray Dietsch said: "The vehicle safety team worked tirelessly to ensure that the Discovery Sport delivered levels of safety never before seen in the small SUV segment. We have introduced some cutting edge safety technologies such as the all-new pedestrian airbag and an innovative Autonomous Emergency Braking system, in addition to our tried-and-tested Land Rover safety systems. All of our products are tested to stringent in-house safety standards that go significantly beyond the legal and consumer testing standards. As a family vehicle, safety was really a key motivator when designing this car. We are proud to have made no compromises on this."