EURO NCAP Awards five stars to the new Land Rover Discovery Sport.

• Discovery Sport achieves maximum safety rating following rigorous tests
• First Land Rover to feature all-new safety features, such as Pedestrian Airbag and Autonomous Emergency Braking System

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has been awarded the maximum five star safety rating from Euro NCAP.

Discovery Sport features a number of cutting-edge safety features, such as an all-new pedestrian airbag which is a first in the small-SUV segment. This feature deploys from the upper-rear surface of the bonnet within 60 milliseconds upon detection of a pedestrian impact to reduce the risk of serious pedestrian injury.

Another first for Land Rover is the Autonomous Emergency Braking system, which uses a digital stereo camera mounted next to the rear view mirror to detect objects that could pose a collision threat, delivering visual and audible warnings and automatically applying the brakes if a collision is imminent.

All seating positions are assessed to ensure a high standard of occupant protection for people of all ages, including young children. Even in the third row, retractor pretensioners are fitted as standard for enhanced protection.

Murray Dietsch, Director of Land Rover Programmes, 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.”

The Discovery Sport also features a full suite of active and passive safety systems, including Dynamic Stability Control, Electronic Traction Control, Roll Stability Control, Anti-lock Braking Systems, Reverse Traffic Detection, Emergency Brake Lights, Lane Departure Warning and Seatbelt Reminders. Optional features also include Blind Spot Monitoring with Closing Vehicle Sensing, Active Speed Limiting and Reverse Traffic Detection.

The new compact SUV features a rigid, high-strength steel and boron body shell, with a roof that will support more than 4.5 times the vehicle weight. Discovery Sport also has a comprehensive occupant safety package including driver and passenger airbags, driver knee airbag, and side curtain and thorax airbags.