I felt that in sport mode it accentuated the fact that this isn't a sport engine. The ICE revved too high... definitely letting you know that it is a small 4-cylinder turbo. With sport mode off its more in the sweet spot of rpm for what this SUV is made for. I felt the same in the first part...
My other car is an X5 M50i, and I love my new LC. It's an awesome daily driver. I was also initially disappointed with the engine. I then took it out of sport mode... perfect!!