2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport

The Discovery Sport is Land Rover's volley into the compact luxury crossover category, expanding Land Rover's Discovery sub-brand with a vehicle less overt about its crossover-ness than the LR4, which is sold as the Discovery in other markets.

What sets Discovery Sport apart from its BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLK competitors is that Land Rover's engineers managed to find space for a third of row of seats in the back so that this Rover can accommodate seven people to the five that will fit in any other vehicle in this class.

On the surface, the Discovery Sport's 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine and nine-speed automatic transmission aren't out of the ordinary (though most others in its competitive set come with no more than eight-speeds), but what's nifty is Rover's decision to use the transmission's first gear as a low-speed crawler ratio. That gives the Disco Sport low-range off-road gearing -- without a secondary transfer case gearset -- to complement its 8.3 inches of ground clearance and "terrain response" 4WD system.

Where the Disco Sport falls behind its competition is in not offering a power-up under the hood: BMW's X3 can be had with a 300-hp turbo six-cylinder, the Audi SQ5 gets a supercharged V6, and the Benz GLK 350 uses a 302-hp V6.

Natural Resources Canada fuel consumption estimates are 11.9/9.0 L/100 km (city/highway).

On the plus side of the inside, the touchscreen infotainment system is one of the easiest to master in its class, but it lacks a few tech features available in competitors for similar pricing.

Speaking of which, the Disco Sport's MSRP kicks off at $41,790 for the SE with its auto stop/start, hill start assist, rain-sensing wipers, power-folding side mirrors, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch wheels, electric parking brake, push-button start, tilt-and-telescopic steering column, eight-way power front seats and leather upholstery.

HSE trim is priced at $46,790 and adds HID headlights with washers, fog lights, 10-way power front seats, front and rear parking sensors with backup camera, panoramic sunroof, 19-inch wheels, heated steering wheel, autonomous emergency braking, heated front seats and driver and front passenger seat memory.

Finally, the HSE Luxury model goes for $50,290 and includes a garage door opener, power tailgate, intelligent keyless entry, configurable mood lighting and an 11-speaker stereo.