Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2022 Land Rover Discovery

The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Discovery doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia 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.

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 Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Discovery doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The GMC Acadia has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Discovery doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Discovery doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia 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 around view monitors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Acadia the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 205 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Discovery has not been tested, yet.

GMC’s powertrain warranty covers the Acadia 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 8 times as many GMC dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

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 Acadia’s reliability 18 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 GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 36 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks GMC 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 GMC vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 92 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Land Rover.

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 14 more horsepower (310 vs. 296) than the Discovery’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Discovery doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Both the Acadia and the Discovery have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Acadia’s 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 GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The Discovery requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia 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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the GMC Acadia as an “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV). The Land Rover Discovery is only certified to “Low Emissions Vehicle” (LEV) standards.

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

The Acadia stops shorter than the Discovery:

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Land Rover Discovery only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia 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 Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Discovery’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Discovery R-Dynamic S pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Discovery R-Dynamic S (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Acadia’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Discovery’s (38.7 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 650 to 700 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery.

The Acadia is 6.2 inches narrower than the Discovery, making the Acadia easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The Acadia is 7.6 inches shorter in height than the Discovery, making the Acadia much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The Acadia 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 Acadia has .6 inches more front headroom, 1.9 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more rear headroom, 2.3 inches more rear legroom, .9 inches more third row hip room and 7.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

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

The Acadia offers a 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Discovery doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its InControl can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

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

The Acadia offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, 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 Acadia is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Discovery doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Acadia owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Acadia will cost $2180 to $6735 less than the Discovery over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $23856 to $24529 less than for the Land Rover Discovery.

Consumer Reports® recommends the GMC Acadia, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Land Rover Discovery by almost 21 to one during the 2021 model year.