Land Rover has released photos of its latest new vehicle, the 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport, and the big news is that it gets seven seats.

REPLACING THE FREELANDER, and sitting alongside the Discovery4, the 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport, as you can see in the picture, has departed from the concept vehicle shown at the New York Motor Show last April, but that’s by-the-by (concept cars rarely make it to production without being watered down), because Land Rover has confirmed the compact SUV will arrive as standard with 5+2 seating. In the UK, at least.

“The camouflage reveals that the Discovery Sport will in fact have two seats in the third row, enhancing its versatility and appeal as a compact, family SUV,” Land Rover said in a statement.

While the camouflaged prototypes look very little like the Discovery Vision Concept, it looks a whole lot more conventional, practical and is likely to have, and perhaps more so than the Evoque, real off-road ability. Although, whether it will be offered with laser-guided Terrain Response system shown on the concept, remains to be seen.

“As you would expect from a Discovery, the versatile Discovery Sport will feature  5+2 seating in the UK, offering spacious load space and configurable seating, while still retaining a more compact footprint than traditional 5-seat SUVs,” said Gerry McGovern, Design Director and Chief Creative Officer for Land Rover.

The New Discovery Sport compact SUV will go on sale complementing the existing Discovery in 2015. Pricing and full specifications haven’t been announced, yet while rumours on the internet have suggested the Discovery Sport will be available with Jaguar’s new Igneium 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, it won’t be. That engine is being launched exclusively in the Jaguar XE, meaning the Discovery Sport will likely have to make do with the current Freelander’s 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, four-cylinder, at least in the short term.