The Land Rover Discovery Sport to go for is a petrol that pulls away cleanly on the test drive, while the 2.0 Ingenium diesel, which dilutes its oil with diesel on cars up to 2020, is the one to avoid.
9 known faults, 3 rated high severity in our database; owners report 35.7 mpg, 79% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Paste the Land Rover Discovery Sport advert and we read it against its 9 known faults, the MOT history and the DVLA record, then tell you what to ask the seller and what to look at on the day. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check a Land Rover Discovery Sport advert (free) →An Ingenium petrol is the Discovery Sport to buy, as the lesser risk: the High oil dilution and stop-start faults are both diesel ones. That's a judgement on the diesel rather than a clean record for the petrol, which has far fewer reports either way, and a 2016 to 2018 automatic petrol still falls under the known hesitation fault, so test for it properly. Early 2017 petrols also had no room for a spare wheel, with a slimmer one offered to order from September 2017.
The diesel is the one to be wary of. Known faults cover 2015 to 2020 cars: too many filter regenerations wash diesel into the sump, the oil service warning comes on far too early, the DPF light cuts the power, and AdBlue can need topping up every 4,000 miles. Three owners of nearly new cars reported failed balancer shafts, and two ended up with a replacement engine. Only one report names the diesel, so listen for engine noise on a petrol too.
The very first cars, built before the Ingenium engines arrived in September 2015, used Ford's 2.2-litre SD4 diesel. It sits outside the oil dilution fault, but there's little on record to judge it by, and the B-pillar ticking and rear brake disc corrosion faults still apply from 2015. There's nothing on record for cars built after 2020, so don't assume the diesel's oil problem was cured on a newer one; ask for the same oil change evidence and run the same checks.
The Ingenium petrol is the safer engine, as it isn't part of the oil dilution fault that runs through 2015 to 2020 diesels, though a 2016 to 2018 automatic petrol falls under the hesitation fault below. The early Ford 2.2 SD4, only in the oldest 2015 cars, sits outside it too. The 2.0 Ingenium uses a timing chain at the back of the engine that's vulnerable to stretching and failing if the oil's diluted by failed DPF regenerations, so change the oil every 10,000 miles, ignoring the long official interval.
Avoid the 2.0 Ingenium diesel unless its history shows oil and filter changes at roughly that 10,000-mile spacing. It's the engine with the High known fault: excess DPF regenerations dilute the oil with diesel, and owners saw oil change warnings at 3,300, 8,500 and 12,000 miles. One owner who mostly drove long distances still needed three oil changes by 27,000 miles, so long runs aren't a guaranteed cure.
Automatics carry two High known faults on early cars. On 2015 to 2018 Ingenium diesel autos, stop-start can shut the whole car down at lights, the gear selector vanishes and the car can roll backwards when you try to pull away. On 2016 to 2018 automatics the engine and gearbox can hesitate badly when you accelerate into a gap, worst on the 240PS diesel. One late 2016 car also had three separate gearbox selector faults, the last seizing it at about 30mph.
Four-wheel-drive cars use a Haldex coupling that needs its fluid and filter changed every 40,000 miles or 48 months. Skip that and the filter gauze blocks up and the pump gives out, leaving a Traction Reduced warning on the dash and the front wheels doing all the work. One owner's went at 57,000 miles. A two-wheel-drive car doesn't have the coupling, so this one doesn't apply.
Get a proper look at the rear brake discs, because corrosion eats them early on 2015 to 2019 cars, usually between 15,000 and 35,000 miles, helped along by aggressive original rear pads. Rust or pitting on the disc face is the giveaway, and so is a pad wear warning at low mileage. One 2015 car went through three sets of discs and pads by 35,000 miles, so ask for receipts showing when the rears were last done.
On a diesel, the service record matters more than anything: you want oil and filter changes around every 10,000 miles, not the 21,000-mile gap the car's indicator was first set to. Watch the dash for an early oil service message, a DPF warning or restricted performance, and ask the seller how often it's needed AdBlue. On a 4x4, ask for receipts for the Haldex fluid and filter change at 40,000 miles.
Drive it over bumps and round corners listening for a tick behind the front seats. That's the B-pillar fault on 2015 to 2018 cars, which Land Rover fixed by re-welding the pillar and riveting the seatbelt anchor points, so ask for proof it's been done. Open and shut the powered tailgate a few times, run the heater and air con on every fan speed, and leave the infotainment on all drive, since 2016 to 2018 cars can switch it off and reboot.
Ask for proof that recall work was done: the 2016 model year diesel fix for the engine harness rubbing on the EGR bracket, the 2016 model year fix for the engine cover fouling the fuel line, the fix for wiring chafing on the charge air cooler bracket of 2.0 diesel automatics, and the diesel SCR catalyst that wasn't controlling soot. On an automatic, wait at a junction until stop-start cuts in, check it restarts cleanly, then pull briskly into a gap and feel for hesitation.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
It's a good buy as an Ingenium petrol with its recall and B-pillar paperwork in order, provided a 2016 to 2018 automatic passes a careful hesitation test, while the 2.0 Ingenium diesel is the version to skip. It's got a five-star Euro NCAP rating, and from September 2015 the range switched to Ingenium engines with chain-driven camshafts, replacing the Ford 2.2 SD4 in the earliest cars. On the diesel, that chain can stretch if failed DPF regenerations dilute the oil.
Diesel oil dilution can show up anywhere between 3,300 and 27,000 miles. Land Rover told one owner it had moved the oil service from 21,000 miles to whenever the engine needs it, which it put at around 10,500 miles. Exhaust gas recirculation trouble followed on several diesels: one car's EGR cooler, first playing up at 17,500 miles, has since been replaced three times, and another owner paid £800 for a new EGR on a city-driven 2015 car.
Build quality is the other weak spot. Dashboard plastics creak, and several owners reported rattles from the doors, rear seats and load area, some of which dealers couldn't cure. Tailgates that won't shut or lock (2016 to 2019), heater motors killed by water getting in through the scuttle (2017 and 2018) and an infotainment screen that reboots itself (2016 to 2018) are all known faults, and the low-speed ride is firm.
Real-world economy on this generation: Land Rover Discovery Sport 35.7 mpg, Land Rover Discovery Sport 35.8 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Land Rover Discovery Sport advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 35.7 mpg across the Land Rover Discovery Sport engines with data, about 79% of the official figure, from 1,405 submissions.
Land Rover Discovery Sport Real MPG by engine →It's a huge improvement on the Freelander it replaced, and the way it drives is where that shows most. Roadholding is strong on tarmac and it handles tidily for an SUV, so it's a car that's easy to enjoy on a winding road rather than one you just put up with.
Off the tarmac it's every bit as capable. It stays composed and keeps its grip on tracks and rough ground, which is what the Land Rover badge promises, and it means this is an SUV you can take down a muddy lane without a second thought.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport to go for is a petrol that pulls away cleanly on the test drive, while the 2.0 Ingenium diesel, which dilutes its oil with diesel on cars up to 2020, is the one to avoid. Our database holds 9 known Land Rover Discovery Sport faults, 3 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Get a proper look at the rear brake discs, because corrosion eats them early on 2015 to 2019 cars, usually between 15,000 and 35,000 miles, helped along by aggressive original rear pads. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Land Rover Discovery Sport fault before you travel.
Owners report 35.7 mpg on average, about 79% of the official figure, from 1,405 submissions. Chain (2.0 INGENIUM): no fixed replacement interval, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Land Rover Discovery Sport Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Land Rover Discovery Sport buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 95 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Land Rover Discovery Sport is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
Looking at a Land Rover Discovery Sport right now? Check the advert before you go and see it.