Compare the2023 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Toyota Rav4

Both the Discovery Sport and Rav4 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 Rav4’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 Rav4.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Discovery Sport has standard Rear Traffic Monitor and Rear Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Toyota charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Rav4.

The Discovery Sport has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Rav4’s blind spot costs extra.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Rav4 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, and driver alert monitors.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport weighs 415 to 900 pounds more than the Toyota Rav4. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Rav4’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 Rav4’s (6 vs. 5 years).

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 43 more horsepower (246 vs. 203) and 85 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

Regenerative brakes improve the Discovery Sport’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Discovery Sport has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (17.7 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 Toyota Rav4 (6). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Rav4 every 15,000 miles.

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 Rav4.

For better stopping power the Discovery Sport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4:

For better traction, the Discovery Sport has larger standard tires than the Rav4 (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rav4 (245/45R21 vs. 235/55R19).

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 Rav4 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 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 Rav4 LE/XLE. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited.

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 Rav4; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

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 Rav4’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Discovery Sport 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery Sport’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Rav4 (107.9 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery Sport is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the Rav4.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the Rav4 Limited pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Discovery Sport S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Rav4 can only carry 5.

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rav4’s (4409 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Rav4 (1515 vs. 1100 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Rav4 (1670 vs. 1230 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 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 Discovery Sport SE 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

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 Rav4 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Rav4.

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 Rav4’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 Rav4 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

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. Only the Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/TRD Off-Road offers wireless charging and it costs extra.