Compare the2023 Land Rover DiscoveryVS 2023 Cadillac Escalade

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row 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 Cadillac Escalade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Discovery and Escalade 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 Escalade’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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Discovery. But it costs extra on the Escalade.

The Discovery has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Discovery has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport has a rear cross-path warning system.

The Discovery’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Escalade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

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 Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Discovery and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Discovery have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery higher (7 out of 10) than the Cadillac Escalade (3 to 6). This means the Discovery produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Escalade every 15,000 miles.

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

The Discovery stops shorter than the Escalade:

For better traction, the Discovery’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Escalade (285/40R22 vs. 275/50R22).

The Discovery’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escalade’s 50 series tires.

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

The Discovery R-Dynamic S handles at .79 G’s, while the Escalade Sport Platinum 4WD pulls only .67 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Discovery R-Dynamic S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery has a 3.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Escalade (11.1 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Discovery to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Discovery’s minimum ground clearance is 1.1 inches higher than on the Escalade Air Suspension (11.1 vs. 10 inches).

The Land Rover Discovery may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 750 to 850 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The Discovery is 1 foot, 4.8 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Discovery easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 Escalade uses body-on-frame design instead.

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 Escalade doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

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

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 Escalade doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

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 HSE/Metropolitan offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Escalade doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Discovery has standard heated front and optional heated second and third row seats, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Cadillac doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Escalade.

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

The Discovery will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Discovery will retain 50.7% to 50.86% of its original price after five years, while the Escalade only retains 49.34% to 50.01%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Land Rover Discovery will be $16197 to $23101 less than for the Cadillac Escalade.