IT must take some industrial muscle to persuade a cash strapped local authority to run a new dual carriageway from the nearby motorway towards your company headquarters.

So Land Rover must have strength to spare, because the road builders are hard at work doing just that off the M40 in Warwickshire, where Land Rover is headquartered and where so many engineers have been taken on they cause traffic tailbacks on the motorway just getting to work in the morning.

They form part of a workforce that seems to do no wrong at the moment, designing prestige SUVs for a world that simply can't get enough of their mix of handsome looks, go-anywhere capability and a badge that in marketing talk is 'authentic'.

That simply means the name has hewn out a solid reputation over decades, thanks to a determination to build cars that owe as much to engineering quality as mere fashion.

But that has changed and it is Land Rover's good fortune that looks now weigh heavy in the thinking of people from China to California when they go hunting for a set of go-anywhere wheels. The company has plenty of cars that fit the bill today.

Most catwalk focused is the Evoque, still selling in expensive shed loads after launch in 2011 and still the sharpest suit in the off-road world. Drives well too.

And now comes the latest from the Land Rover stable in the shape of the Discovery Sport. A bit less obviously blinged up (in the nicest possible way) than the Evoque, it is intended to fill a more practical role.

That shows itself in the three rows of seats that come as standard on all UK-bound cars, big enough in row three to take a couple of six footers to the pub and a pair of growing children for much longer. The boot is huge with the rearmost pair of seats folded (easily) into the floor and spacious enough for a decent supermarket shop with them both occupied.

All those potential passengers sit in a car that's usefully smaller than expected and a bit lighter too, thanks to the use of aluminium for bonnet, roof and bonnet and alloy suspension parts too.

It still weighs more than 1.8 tonnes, though; enough to have you fearing for its fuel consumption. Especially as all UK cars are fitted with the more powerful of two diesel engines (no petrol in the home market) and most of them attached to an automatic gearbox.

But then factor in the nine (yes, nine) forward speeds on offer and you might be pleasantly surprised. The Discovery Sport showed 36mpg after a brisk morning run. Owners seeking better still can save £1,800 and take a manual Disco Sport. That returned an impressive 42mpg later in the day.

A smaller diesel, also destined for Jaguar models, is sure to follow sooner rather than later, as will a bigger car to replace the current Discovery, which looks much more 'industrial' alongside this latest efforts from Land Rover.

And a front-drive only model in the near(ish) future mean much lower exhaust emissions than from today's ageing but still capable diesels.

The new Discovery Sport range spans £32,395 to £42,995 with most early buyers aiming toward the top of the pile.

They will find cars equipped with a fine satellite navigation system (not before time) and enough performance to make the Sport tag more than a mere marketing ploy.

The car rides nicely too, only being upset on its big 19 inch alloys over some surfaces disturbed by tree roots. Off road the new car will tackle anything - and much more - that a caring owner will ever throw at it.

So, handsome in a restrained way, comfortable and capable. They'll need a bigger bypass at HQ soon.