Compare the2022 Land Rover DiscoveryVS 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser

Safety
Warranty
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Land Rover Discovery 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 Toyota Land Cruiser doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

Both the Discovery and Land Cruiser have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery 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 Land Cruiser’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.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Discovery uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Land Cruiser uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Discovery and the Land Cruiser have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

Warranty

The Discovery comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Land Cruiser’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Discovery’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Land Cruiser’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Discovery gets better mileage than the Land Cruiser:

			MPG
Discovery
	AWD	3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cyl. Hybrid	18 city/24 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/22 hwy
Land Cruiser
	AWD	5.7 DOHC V8	13 city/17 hwy

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Discovery’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available P360). The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery higher (7 out of 10) than the Toyota Land Cruiser (3). This means the Discovery produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Land Cruiser every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Discovery’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Land Cruiser:

	Discovery P300	Discovery P360	Land Cruiser
Front Rotors	14.3 inches	15 inches	14 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	14.4 inches	13.6 inches

Tires and Wheels

The Discovery’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Land Cruiser’s standard 60 series tires. The Discovery’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Land Cruiser’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery has standard 20-inch wheels. Only 18-inch wheels are available on the Land Cruiser. The Discovery offers optional 22-inch wheels.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Land Rover Discovery has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Toyota Land Cruiser has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The front and rear suspension of the Discovery uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Land Cruiser, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the Land Cruiser (115.1 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Land Cruiser.

For greater off-road capability the Discovery has a 2.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Land Cruiser (11.1 vs. 8.9 inches), allowing the Discovery to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Land Rover Discovery may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 650 to 850 pounds less than the Toyota Land Cruiser.

Unibody construction lowers the Discovery’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Land Cruiser uses body-on-frame design instead.

The front grille of the Discovery uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

Flexibility is maximized at the game, campground or a drive-in theatre in the Discovery when its optional tailgating rear seats are deployed, allowing people to sit facing out of the liftgate. (Do not use while vehicle is in motion.) The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

Cargo Capacity

The Discovery’s cargo area provides more volume than the Land Cruiser.

	Discovery	Land Cruiser
Third Seat Folded	45 cubic feet	41.4 cubic feet

The Discovery has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

Pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the Discovery’s second and third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Discovery’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Land Cruiser’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

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

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Toyota Land Cruiser is limited to 8100 pounds. The Discovery offers up to a 8200 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Discovery has a maintenance free battery for long life without checking the battery’s water level. The Land Cruiser doesn’t have a maintenance free battery, so the water level in the battery’s cells must be checked often to prevent damage.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Land Cruiser, the Discovery offers an optional driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Discovery offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Discovery’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Land Cruiser has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The power windows standard on both the Discovery and the Land Cruiser have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Discovery is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Land Cruiser prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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

The Discovery’s power mirror controls are mounted on the door for easy access. The Land Cruiser’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

The Discovery offers optional heated front, second and third row seats, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Toyota doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Land Cruiser.

The Discovery HSE has standard front air conditioned seats and offers them optionally in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Discovery HSE offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Land Cruiser.

The Discovery’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

The Land Rover Discovery outsold the Toyota Land Cruiser by 85% during 2020.

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