The first thing you notice when you lay eyes on the Discovery Sport is that there isn’t much to notice.

Sure, Land Rover has penned a good looking vehicle here with smooth and modern lines. Sure, handsome but unsurprising elements like a snazzy grille, xenon headlights and circular LED signature lights adorn the front end, and you’ll find the same circle theme within the taillights. Sure, the rear roof spoiler adds a little something, as do the 20-inch rims with big 245/45-sized boots all the way around.

But let’s be honest – there is simply nothing exciting or groundbreaking going on here. Following the lead of almost every other manufacturer out there, Land Rover has come up with a sleek, relatively aerodynamic crossover that doesn’t really evoke any emotion or stand out in any way. And I’ll say it every time I see one – I’m not a fan of the fake side vent.

A spacious interior with excellent headroom greets you. Land Rover’s choice of materials are nice – the combination of stitched panels and some interesting soft-touch plastics on the dash (that have a strange rough texture) makes things feel middle of the road – not entry level but certainly not top of the line either.

I loved the front seats – power-adjustable, heated, cooled, with memory settings – they’re comfortable (even on the long road trip we took). The Discovery also gets a nice steering wheel but it gets a bit busy with all the controls on it. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the eight-inch touchscreen – beautiful graphics, responsive and it works quite well – but it’s still not the most intuitive user interface. The stereo sounds good, and there’s a dual-zone climate control system too.

You will find no shortage of charging possibilities in the Discovery Sport – from a USB plug next to one of the cupholders in the console to a 12V plug and three USB connections at the back of the console, any devices you and your family have will never run out of juice. This was handy for us, as each of our kids has an iPad and after two hours of “I spy with my little eye” I was ready to hand over all parenting duties to Apple.

Speaking of the back seats, the very first thing you notice once you plop yourself into the comfortable seats is the incredibly airy feeling thanks to the huge panoramic roof. It doesn’t open but has a powered sunshade and when it’s open, it almost feels like there isn’t a roof overhead. I love it! And if those seats aren’t comfortable enough, they slide fore and aft and recline. Heck, they’re even heated!

Connect with Autos.ca