Compare the2022 Honda PilotVS 2022 Land Rover Discovery

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Pilot 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 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Pilot deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Pilot’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Discovery’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the Pilot and the Discovery have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the Pilot 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 5 times as many Honda dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Pilot’s warranty.

The engine in the Pilot has a single overhead cam for simplicity. The engines in the Discovery have dual overhead cams, which add to the number of moving parts and the complexity of the cylinder heads.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Pilot’s reliability 28 points higher than the Discovery.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 36 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Land Rover.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 54 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Land Rover.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Pilot is faster than the Discovery P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Pilot gets better mileage than the Discovery:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Pilot’s fuel efficiency. The Discovery doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Both the Pilot and the Discovery have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All Pilots 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 P360 doesn’t offer a way to disable start/stop.

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

The Pilot has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Discovery doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Pilot, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Discovery.

The Pilot stops much shorter than the Discovery:

The Pilot has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Discovery doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Pilot (except LX)’s optional drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Discovery doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Pilot Elite 4WD handles at .80 G’s, while the Discovery R-Dynamic S pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Pilot Elite 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Discovery R-Dynamic S (27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Pilot’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Discovery’s (39.4 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The Honda Pilot may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 to 850 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery.

The Pilot uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Discovery doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Pilot has standard seating for 8 passengers; the Discovery can only carry 7.

The Pilot has .1 inches more front headroom, 1.8 inches more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 1 inch more rear legroom, 1.6 inches more rear hip room, 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room, 1 inch more third row headroom, 2.6 inches more third row hip room and 10.4 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Pilot’s middle and third row seats recline. The Discovery’s third row seats don’t recline.

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

The Pilot has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Discovery doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Pilot’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. An easy entry system costs extra on the Discovery.

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

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Pilot to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Pilot Touring/Elite/Black Edition has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Discovery doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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

The Honda Pilot has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

The Honda Pilot outsold the Land Rover Discovery by over 40 to one during the 2021 model year.