The Land Rover Discovery Sport is scheduled to be launched on September 2, and it steps into the mid-size luxury SUV segment that’s dominated by the likes of the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3. In terms of basic technical details, this is how the Discovery Sport fares in comparison to the Q5, XC60 and the X3.

Under the hood

We will consider the smaller diesel units of every car for the comparison.

The engine in the Discovery Sport is a 2.0-litre oil-burner, available in two states of tune – 147.5bhp/40.7kgm and a more powerful 188bhp/42.8kgm. Transmission duties are undertaken by a nine-speed automatic gearbox that also does duty on the brand’s Evoque SUV. The X3, on the other hand, is the first car to be powered by BMW’s TwinPower 2.0-litre diesel unit. It delivers 187bhp, and a similar 40.7kgm of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox.

The Volvo too gets a 2.0-litre diesel unit; it makes 181bhp and 40.7kgm of torque. Putting all the power on to the tarmac is an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Moving onto Audi, the Q5’s 2.0-litre diesel motor is the tamest of all; outputs stand at 174bhp and 38.7kgm of torque. Power is sent to the wheels via a seven-speed automatic gearbox.

Matter of size

It’s quite a mixed bag here. While the X3 is the longest overall, and has the longest wheelbase, it is the Discovery Sport which is the widest and the tallest. The Volvo has maximum ground clearance, while the Q5 sits closest to the road. Technically, these dimensions do reflect that the X3 is likely to have the best legroom, and the Discovery Sport might offer the best shoulder and headroom, but a lot depends on how the cabin is set up and packaged.