Liz Dobson - Chilled out in new Land Rover SUV

Land Rover decided that the international launch for the its new compact SUV should be cool, really cool, minus 20 degrees cool.

Yip, it decided that Iceland in the Northern Hemisphere winter would be an ideal location for the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Two weeks into its five-week international launch the British-based company faced photographers being snowed into a café for 12 hours, writers stuck on the side of the road for hours during a storm, and an average temperature of –20.

But by early January, four weeks into the event, when I headed to Iceland, Land Rover was assured of one thing – the vehicles were up to the task of the conditions.

A replacement for the Freelander 2 small off-roader, the Discovery Sport is partially based on the company's global success, the top-selling Range Rover Evoque.

The Evoque and Discovery Sport share the same front but the from A-pillar back the new player in the compact SUV segment has its own identity.

The Evoque is famous for it’s wedge-shaped rear but the Discovery Sport is more of "baby" Range Rover – and that look will go down well with Kiwi buyers who can’t afford the large luxury SUV.

Launched to the European market late last year, the Discovery Sport goes on sale here in mid-May, priced from $78,500.

At 4589mm long, 1724mm high and 2173mm wide, it is 91mm longer than the Freelander 2, though its wheelbase has been extended 80mm. With a shorter front and rear overhang, the floorplan is large enough that it can take an optional third row of seats - with Land Rover calling it a 5 + 2 – rather than a seven-seater.

At the Iceland launch, I persuaded a 1.85m tall Land Rover support staff member to test the third row of seats, and by moving the middle row forward, he had enough head and legroom to be able to sit comfortably.

The Discovery Sport is likely to follow the Evoque by being a major player in the compact crossover market. At the Iceland event, the Discovery Sport's chief engineer, Nick Veale, told me that the only problem they'd encounter would be the ability to manufacturer enough to keep up with worldwide demand.

Veale said the main competition for the Discovery Sport would be European premium brands Audi Q3 and BMW's X5.

The Discovery Sport will be available in two engine models - a 2-litre, four-cylinder petrol paired with a nine-speed auto transmission, and a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder diesel that also has that auto gearbox or a six-speed manual transmission.

To cope with the Icelandic elements the Discovery Sports were all fitted with studded tyres.

The result was a noisy ride on the dual highway from the country’s main airport to the outskirts of the capital Reykjavik then I turned the 2-litre petrol Discovery Sport onto a snow-covered gravel one-way road for a jet-lag busting drive for an hour to our isolated hotel.

The next morning, the 9am sunrise revealed us snowed in after two storms during the night but two snow ploughs came to our rescue and we international motoring writers headed out in the diesel models.

With a ‘high’ of 2 degrees, an average of minus two – and a wind chill factor of “get me back to the New Zealand summer”  - I was thankful for the Discovery Sport’s heated seats.

But the four-wheel-drive wasn’t just a large heater, instead it proved its 600mm wading ability across an ever-rising river.

It also spent most of the day driving on snow-covered tarmac roads, then off-roading to Volcano Lookout – thought no lava was on show that day.

As a Game of Thrones fan, driving on the snow-covered black rock landscape of Iceland often felt as if I was heading to the Wall  (although I didn’t spot any White Walkers or Jon Snow).

But there was a New Zealand connection that far from home – the brown colour available for the Discovery Sport called Kaikoura and Veale told me that the SUV had extensive testing at New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground in Cardrona.