2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport earns five-star safety rating

The 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport has been awarded a new five-star safety rating nearly 10 years after it was last crash-tested by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

This generation of Discovery Sport earned five stars for safety when it was first tested in 2014 – upon its showroom introduction – but its score expired at the start of 2023.

After a comprehensive facelift in 2020 – and further updates this year intended to keep Land Rover’s mid-size SUV fresh until it goes electric in 2025 – the vehicle has been re-tested by ANCAP and its European counterpart Euro NCAP.

The new score is valid until the end of 2028 – or six years from the end of last year, when it was tested – by which time the Discovery Sport will have been replaced by an all-new model.

Although the score is being published in Australia in 2023, the car was tested in Europe last year under ANCAP and sister organisation Euro NCAP's 2020-2022 test protocols – which were superseded by stricter standards this year.

Applicable to both petrol-powered Land Rover Discovery Sport variants sold in Australia, the SUV received scores of 85 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection, 88 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, 71 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection (pedestrians and cyclists), and 83 per cent for Safety Assist technology.

The Discovery Sport’s Adult Occupant Protection rating was achieved after the SUV scored within a point of full marks in ANCAP’s full-width frontal, side-impact, oblique pole and whiplash protection tests – with penalties of less than two points for its frontal-offset and far-side impact (how the driver moves when the car is side-swiped on the passenger side) tests.

In the Child Occupant Protection category, the Land Rover received perfect scores for its 'dynamic' front and side crash tests, with the restraint systems given a small point penalty.

An 83 per cent result for the Discovery Sport’s Safety Assist technology was awarded after the SUV lost one or less one points for its seat belt reminders, car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology, speed assistance and lane-keeping systems.

According to ANCAP, the Discovery Sport achieved mixed results in the Vulnerable Road User Protection safety tests, with its scores ranging from zero (upper leg impacts) to full marks (lower leg impacts).

The AEB technology's ability to detect pedestrians and cyclists when travelling forwards lost a small amount of points.

The 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport is priced from $80,970 plus on-road costs (P250 R-Dynamic SE) and $85,540 plus on-road costs (P250 R-Dynamic HSE)