Compare the2023 Land Rover DiscoveryVS 2022 Toyota Highlander

Safety
Warranty
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 Toyota Highlander doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Discovery and Highlander 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 Highlander’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 Highlander.

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 Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum 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 Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Discovery and the Highlander 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, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

The Land Rover Discovery weighs 415 to 1015 pounds more than the Toyota Highlander. 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 Highlander’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 Highlander’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Engine

The Discovery’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (296 vs. 295) and 32 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6. The Discovery P360’s optional 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid produces 60 more horsepower (355 vs. 295) and 106 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 263) than the Highlander’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

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

	Discovery	Highlander
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	7.4 sec
Quarter Mile	15.2 sec	15.7 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

The Discovery has 5.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Highlander (23.8 vs. 17.9 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 Toyota Highlander (5). This means the Discovery produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Highlander every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Discovery P300	Discovery P360	Highlander
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	14.4 inches	13.3 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13.8 inches	13.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Discovery has larger standard tires than the Highlander (255/55R20 vs. 235/65R18). The Discovery’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Highlander (285/40R22 vs. 235/65R18).

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 Highlander L/LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Highlander L/LE/XLE. The Discovery’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Highlander XSE/Limited/Platinum.

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

Suspension and Handling

The front and rear suspension of the Discovery uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Highlander, 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 Highlander’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 Highlander doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Discovery has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Highlander doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the Highlander (115.1 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than on the Highlander.

For greater off-road capability the Discovery has a 3.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Highlander (11.1 vs. 8 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 Highlander doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Discovery has .6 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.8 inches more third row headroom and 5.8 inches more third row legroom than the Highlander.

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 Highlander doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

Cargo Capacity

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

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

Towing

The Discovery’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Highlander’s (5925 vs. 5000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Toyota Highlander 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 Highlander 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 Highlander. 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 seat and mirrors in the Highlander Limited/Platinum, 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’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Highlander doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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 Highlander’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 Highlander 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 Highlander doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Discovery’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Highlander offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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. Toyota doesn’t offer heated seats in the third row of the Highlander.

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 Highlander 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 Highlander.

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 Highlander XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum 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 Highlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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