Compare the2025 BMW X3VS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the BMW X3 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Land Rover Discovery Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The BMW X3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The X3 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The X3 has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The X3 offers an optional Active Park Distance Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the X3 and the Discovery Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The X3’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the Discovery Sport’s (12 vs. 6 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the X3 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Discovery Sport.

There are over 72 percent more BMW dealers than there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the X3’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks BMW higher than Land Rover.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 78 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks BMW higher than Land Rover.

The X3 30 xDrive’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 9 more horsepower (255 vs. 246) and 26 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The X3 M50 xDrive’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 147 more horsepower (393 vs. 246) and 159 lbs.-ft. more torque (428 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the X3 gets better mileage than the Discovery Sport:

The X3 M50’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer launch control.

The X3’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Discovery Sport are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the X3 has larger standard tires than the Discovery Sport (245/50R19 vs. 235/60R18). The X3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (F:255/40R21 & R:285/35R21 vs. 245/45R21).

The X3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery Sport’s standard 60 series tires. The X3’s optional 255/40R21 front and 285/35R21 rear tires have a lower 40 series front and 35 series rear profile than the Discovery Sport’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the X3 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Discovery Sport.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the X3’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (112.8 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

For greater off-road capability the X3 30 xDrive has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Discovery Sport (8.5 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the X3 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The X3 has 1 inch more front headroom, 1.1 inches more front legroom and .6 inches more front shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

The X3 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat up (31.5 vs. 6.9 cubic feet). The X3 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat folded (67.1 vs. 60 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the X3. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the X3’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The engine in the X3 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Discovery Sport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

If the windows are left open on the X3 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote or with the driver’s door power window switch. The driver of the Discovery Sport can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the X3 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the X3 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer cornering lights. The X3 also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the X3 has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the X3 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the X3 keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The X3’s Parking Assistant can parallel park by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Optional Remote Control Parking will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The BMW X3 outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by over 20 to one during 2023.