Compare the2023 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 GMC Acadia

Both the Discovery Sport and Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Acadia.

The Discovery Sport’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 Acadia doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

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 Acadia’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Discovery Sport’s 6 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Acadia runs out after 100,000 miles.

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 18 more horsepower (246 vs. 228) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 258) than the Acadia’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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 GMC Acadia (6 to 7). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Acadia every 15,000 miles.

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

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 Acadia SLE/SLT’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Acadia’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 Acadia AT4. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Acadia.

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

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Acadia (8.3 vs. 7.2 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Acadia’s (4409 vs. 1000 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the Discovery Sport uses the Dynamic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Acadia doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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 Acadia’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully. Only its driver’s window closes 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 Acadia 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 Acadia 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 Acadia’s 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 Acadia 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 Acadia doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

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 Acadia.