Compare the2023 Land Rover DiscoveryVS 2022 Honda Pilot

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

Safety

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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 Honda Pilot doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Discovery and Pilot 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 Pilot’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 Pilot.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Discovery’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pilot doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The Discovery has a standard 3D Surround Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Pilot only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

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 Pilot doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Discovery and the Pilot 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Land Rover Discovery weighs 544 to 1119 pounds more than the Honda Pilot. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Pilot’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 Pilot’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Discovery’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Pilot’s camshafts. If the Pilot’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

Engine

The Discovery’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (296 vs. 280) and 33 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6. The Discovery P360’s optional 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid produces 75 more horsepower (355 vs. 280) and 107 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Discovery has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (23.8 vs. 19.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 Honda Pilot (3). This means the Discovery produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Pilot every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Discovery P300	Discovery P360	Pilot
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	14.4 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13.8 inches	13 inches

The Discovery’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Pilot are solid, not vented.

The Discovery stops much shorter than the Pilot:

	Discovery	Pilot
70 to 0 MPH	170 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Discovery has larger standard tires than the Pilot (255/55R20 vs. 245/60R18). The Discovery’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pilot (285/40R22 vs. 245/60R18).

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 Pilot EX-L’s standard 60 series tires. The Discovery’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Pilot SE/Touring/Elite/Black Edition’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Pilot EX-L. The Discovery’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Pilot SE/Touring/Elite/Black Edition.

The Discovery offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Pilot; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Discovery has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

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

The Discovery has a standard 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 Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Discovery has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Discovery’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Pilot doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery’s wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than on the Pilot (115.1 inches vs. 111 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery has a 3.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (11.1 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Discovery to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

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 Pilot 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 Pilot doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

Cargo Capacity

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

Towing

The Discovery’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (5925 vs. 3500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Honda Pilot 4WD is only 5000 pounds. The Discovery offers up to a 8200 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Discovery uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Pilot uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the Discovery is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Pilot. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Pilot, 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 Pilot 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 Pilot’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Discovery and the Pilot 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 Pilot prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Discovery’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Pilot’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Discovery’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 Pilot’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Pilot 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 Pilot doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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

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. Honda doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Pilot.

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 Pilot doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

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

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Land Rover Discovery has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Pilot SE/Elite//Black Edition offers wireless charging.

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 Pilot doesn’t offer an automated parking system.