Its the Best Against the Best: Discovery Sport Takes on the Competition!

Discovery Sport has been launched and the Land Rover has christened it as a versatile SUV. We have already seen the pre-launch response of the premium SUV with more than 200 advance bookings done for the car so far. Now let’s see how it stands against or say will it be able to continue this incredible feat in presence of the prominent cars in this segment Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz M-Class?

Exteriors

The looks battle is certainly not Land Rover’s territory till now, but with the Discovery Sport in it’s lineup, things are indicating towards a brighter future. This all new SUV is attracting a lot of prospective buyers, thanks to its dynamic poise which is the latest from the British manufacturer. Speaking of the competition, there is enough style that each one of the others carry. 

• The Q5 impresses with its elegant setup, simple yet sturdy character line, but it is due for an update and looks a little dated when compared to its little sister Q3.

• X3 is recently being updated and the front and rear is now more aggressive than the previous generation, they are stylish and well with the times. 

• Speaking of the M-Class, it is currently in its newest generation and implies the latest headlamp and taillamp cluster from the manufacturer. Also the exterior lines gives it a upper hand in terms of style appeal.

Interiors

Inside the cockpit of Discovery, one will find reminiscence of the elder sibling, Range Rover Sport. A good thing that goes well with the off-roader image of the vehicle. The layout is simple, but make its mark at the same time, but if someone is looking for style, this layout might disappoint. There are enough creature comfort like the touch screen infotainment/navigation system assisted by a 17 speaker 825W Meridian surround sound system. Though the USP of the cabin is not the sound system, instead, its the 5+2 seating setup that only the Landy offers across its rivals.

• Q5 again stands the same trouble out-dated interiors just like the exteriors. It comes loaded with adequate features, but lags in that new age feel like the Discovery Sport or the M-Class.

• Like Q5, X3 also has dated interiors, but it too has enough creature comfort and tech to keep one updated. When compared to the Sport, there isn’t a large gap in the difference because of the simple interiors of the Land Rover.

• The M-Class is the one that will impress you the most with its latest generation of interiors along with the updated COMAND infotainment system.

Underpinnings

Discovery Sport stays true to the history of Land Rover and is the most capable off-roader among other three. It can dive into one of the most hostile off-road situations and come out smiling, but the question stands. How often do one takes a 65 lac-worth of car off-roading? Seldom, I guess. And then Discovery Sport is powered by a 2.2 litre diesel motor good for only 188 bhp which is a lot less than its competitors that are similarly priced, still it manages a 0-100 kmph in 8.9 seconds. Though it gets the most advanced gearbox (9-speed AT) and the Terrain Response system makes it a great handler on all sorts of terrain, but still the price seems too much of asking.

• Q5 is powered by a 3.0 litre V6 diesel that produces 241.4 bhp of power and a hefty torque of 580 Nm. All of this coupled to the state-of-art Quattro, makes it a grippy road runner and is considerably faster than the land Rover. The 0-100 kmph comes in 6.5 seconds.
• X3 is powered by a straight 6 that produces an even superior 258 bhp of max power and this enables it to achieve a 0-100 kmph sprint in 5.9 seconds.
• Trickling down the lineup, the M-Class gets a 3.0 V6 that produces mighty 619 Nm of torque at a mere 1200-2400 rpm bracket, thereby propelling it to 100 kmph in just 7 seconds.

Dimensions

Land Rover looks quite imposing with its true blue SUV setup and at 4700 mm, it is a 2nd biggest in this lot.

Q3 is a nick smaller than the Sport at 4629 mm.

The X3 hangs in the middle with 4657 mm.

M-Class tops the size battle with its 4804 mm overall length.

Watch out the Launch Video here

Also See: Discovery Sport Launched at Rs. 46.10 lacs