Compare the2021 Kia SorentoVS 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Discovery Sport doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sorento are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sorento Prestige/X-Line has a standard Parking Collision Avoidance-Rear that use rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Sorento Prestige/X-Line has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Discovery Sport only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Sorento and the Discovery Sport 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Sorento comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Discovery Sport’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year and 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 4 times as many Kia dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sorento’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 92 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is ranked 33rd, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2019 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 10th in reliability, above the industry average. With 95 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is ranked 30th.

The Sorento 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the Discovery Sport P290’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento 2.5T AWD Auto turbo 4 cyl. gets better fuel mileage than the Discovery Sport turbo 4 cyl. (21 city/28 hwy vs. 19 city/24 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Sorento uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Sorento offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the Sorento SX/Prestige/X-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (255/45R20 vs. 235/60R18).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sorento’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (110.8 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 300 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The Sorento is 6.7 inches narrower than the Discovery Sport, making the Sorento easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The Sorento has .8 inches more front headroom, 2.3 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom, 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.4 inches more third row headroom, 4 inches more third row legroom and 5.9 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

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

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

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Sorento’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind 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.

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

The Sorento is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.