Compare the2022 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2021 Lexus NX Series

Both the Discovery Sport and NX Series 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 NX Series’ 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 NX Series.

Compared to metal, the Discovery Sport’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Lexus NX Series has a metal gas tank.

Both the Discovery Sport and the NX Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 52 more horsepower (246 vs. 194) and 70 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 199) than the NX 300h’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (246 vs. 235) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 258) than the NX 300’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Both the Discovery Sport and the NX Series 300h have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All Discovery Sports have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Discovery Sport has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX Series Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Discovery Sport has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX Series’ standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 15.9 gallons).

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

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the NX Series.

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

For better traction, the Discovery Sport has larger standard tires than the NX Series (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the NX Series (245/45R20 vs. 235/55R18).

The Discovery Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the NX Series’ standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the NX Series F Sport’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the NX Series. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the NX Series.

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 NX Series; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery Sport’s wheelbase is 3.2 inches longer than on the NX Series (107.9 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery Sport is 2.2 inches wider in the front and 2.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the NX Series.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the NX 300 pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Discovery Sport S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the NX 300h AWD (27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a 1.6 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the NX 300h (8.3 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Discovery Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.4 inches higher than on the NX 300 (8.3 vs. 6.9 inches).

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

The Discovery Sport has 1.3 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more rear headroom, 2 inches more rear legroom and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX Series.

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

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

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the NX Series’ (4409 vs. 0 pounds).

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

The Discovery Sport 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 NX Series doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Discovery Sport’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The NX Series’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 NX Series doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Discovery Sport has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the NX Series. The Discovery Sport also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the NX Series.

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. The NX Series doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.