The Freelander is no more and in its place is the Discovery Sport. I had the pleasure of driving it at its European launch in a very cold and snowy Iceland in December, where it proved its credentials in difficult conditions. Seven months later and 30 degrees warmer it was time to test it in Irish conditions.

This new SUV is the entry-level model in the Land Rover range. It has been modernised in terms of styling and it took a little time to grow on me, because I liked the solid styling of the Freelander. However, I soon comfortable with every aspect of it: the looks, the impressive wide space and the performance on the road.

Land Rover retains the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine from the older models and although there is a new Ingenium engine on the way that’s more fuel-efficient and lighter. There is little to complain about with the existing engine; it has impressive power at 150bhp and good torque at 400Nm.

On the road and coupled with the six-speed automatic gearbox, the Discovery Sport is impressive. It held the motorway at a steady 120km/hr with the engine purring at less than 2,000rpm. That gave reasonable economy and very smooth and quiet driving with the bonus of almost no wind noise.

In real driving conditions ranging from motorways to smaller rural roads and a bit of off-road, the fuel economy result was reasonably good at 12km/litre (34mpg or 8.3l/100km). That’s about 30% less than the official rating, but in practice that’s about as good as most of the competition will achieve with similar driving.

The automatic gearbox meant slightly lower economy and a higher CO2 rating at 159g/km, giving annual road tax of €570. I think that I could live with that due to the comfort of the Discovery Sport and its solid off-road ability, which included hill descent control in the SE version that I drove.

The overall feeling from driving the Land Rover Discovery Sport is one of a solid midsize SUV. There is great elbow space and the dash, while basic in some respects, has a very solid feel. The interior door cladding is practical and solid – made for work.

The centre dash screen was truly functional in terms of off-road adjustment and the large touchscreen gave easy use of the satnav, radio, climate/heating and Bluetooth mobile phone connection. The screen automatically converts to a rearview camera when you engage reverse and it was big and clear to use; I almost gave up on the rearview mirror.

The seating was solid and leather is included in the SE specification. There is good rear space, helped by the fact that the rear seats can slide, depending on legroom demands. There is also good headroom and this is one of the few midsize SUVs that I could say will take three passengers in the rear in reasonable comfort.

The boot area is big, with a top-hinged door. There is a huge well under the floor to take a spare wheel, which is not fitted. This is disappointing for a SUV that needs to tackle some off-road driving, where tyre sidewall punctures could not be solved with the pump-and-seal kit.

There is lots of safety kit on the Discovery Sport, including a novel bonnet airbag to protect pedestrians and cyclists in the event of an impact. The airbag is tucked neatly into the bonnet at the windscreen side.

Other than the top-of-the-range models, all of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport models have a lower towing rating at 2.2 tonnes. That’s slightly above most of the competition, and 200kg more than the older Freelander.

The entry price looks attractive at €37,100 or £32,395 in Northern Ireland. This is a very basic version and most buyers are expected to opt for the SE model which I drove – that costs about €10,000 more. That changes the value feeling a little, but overall it’s not much more expensive than the outgoing Freelander models, for a more luxurious and modern machine. The wait for the new Ingenium engine is the big temptation; Land Rover claims that it will be no more expensive, while cheaper to run and I expect that when it appears, there will be some stampede to the test drives – me included.

Land Rover Discovery Sport TDI 2.2

Engine 2.2L diesel

Engine power 150hp

0-100km/hr 10.3 seconds

Economy 17km/litre

Fuel tank capacity 65 litres

CO2 emissions 159g/km

Road tax band D (€570)

Main Service 20,000km/12 months

Safety rating Five stars

Towing rating 2,200kg

Warranty Three years/100,000km

Entry price €37,100

NI price £32,395