Compare the2023 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Ford Escape

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

Safety

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Both the Discovery Sport and Escape have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery Sport 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 Escape’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 Sport. But it costs extra on the Escape.

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

Both the Discovery Sport and the Escape have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport weighs 539 to 982 pounds more than the Ford Escape. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The Discovery Sport comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Escape’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Escape’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

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

Engine

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 65 more horsepower (246 vs. 181) and 79 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 190) than the Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

The Discovery Sport has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escape FWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Discovery Sport has 2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escape AWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 15.7 gallons).

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery Sport higher (7 out of 10) than the Ford Escape (5 to 7). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Escape every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Escape.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Discovery Sport	Escape
Front Rotors	13.7 inches	13 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Discovery Sport has larger standard tires than the Escape (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Escape (245/45R21 vs. 225/65R17).

The Discovery Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escape’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Escape’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Escape. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Escape.

The Discovery Sport has a standard full size spare (not available on 7-Passenger) so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Escape; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Discovery Sport offers an optional 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 Escape’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery Sport’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Escape (107.9 inches vs. 106.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery Sport is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 2.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Escape.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the Escape AWD pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Discovery Sport S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Escape (27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Escape (8.3 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Escape can only carry 5.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Discovery Sport’s available middle row seats recline. The Escape’s rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

The Discovery Sport’s cargo area is larger than the Escape’s in almost every dimension:

	Discovery Sport	Escape
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	8.9”/38.5”/69.7”	n.a./37.8”/68.5”
Max Width	52”	57.3”
Min Width	43.5”	41.4”
Height	31.4”	34.8”

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Discovery Sport with 5+2 Seating’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Escape doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Escape’s (4409 vs. 2000 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The Discovery Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Escape 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.

Ergonomics

The Discovery Sport’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 Escape’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

On a hot day the Discovery Sport’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Escape can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Discovery Sport has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Escape doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

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

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 Sport offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Escape doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Discovery Sport has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Escape doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Escape and aren’t offered on the Escape Base.

When the Discovery Sport with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Escape’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Discovery Sport’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 Escape offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Discovery Sport has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Escape, and aren’t available on the Escape Base. The Discovery Sport also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Escape.

The Discovery Sport has a standard center folding armrest for the middle row passengers. A center armrest helps make middle row passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Escape S doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The Discovery Sport has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Escape Active/ST-Line/Platinum.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Discovery Sport has available rear a/c vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Escape S doesn’t offer rear vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Land Rover Discovery Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Escape and isn’t available on the Escape Base.

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