Compare the2025 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2024 BMW X3

Both the Discovery Sport and X3 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery Sport has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The X3’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Discovery Sport. But it costs extra on the X3.

Both the Discovery Sport and X3 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Discovery Sport has Rear Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The X3’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Discovery Sport and the X3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, 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 driver alert monitors.

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 258) than the X3 s/xDrive30i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the X3.

For better stopping power the Discovery Sport’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the X3:

The Discovery Sport has a standard full size spare (not available on 7-Passenger) so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the X3; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare or run-flat tires, either of which has mileage and speed limitations.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the X3 xDrive30i pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Discovery Sport’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the X3’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the X3 (8.4 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Discovery Sport is 4.9 inches shorter than the X3, making the Discovery Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the X3 can only carry 5.

The Discovery Sport has .2 inches more rear headroom and 1.7 inches more rear legroom than the X3.

The Discovery Sport’s cargo area provides more volume than the X3.

The Discovery Sport’s cargo area is larger than the X3’s in every dimension:

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the Discovery Sport uses the Dynamic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The X3 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Discovery Sport has a much higher standard payload capacity than the X3 (1515 vs. 902 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the X3 (1670 vs. 941 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport’s standard Keyless Entry allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Comfort Go standard on the X3 only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Discovery Sport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X3 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Discovery Sport offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X3 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Discovery Sport has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The X3 doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the X3.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Land Rover Discovery Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the X3.

Insurance will cost less for the Discovery Sport owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Discovery Sport will cost $205 less than the X3 over a five-year period.