Compare the2023 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Kia Sportage PHEV

Both the Discovery Sport and Sportage PHEV 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 Sportage PHEV’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.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Sportage PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Sportage PHEV’s (6/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 258) than the Sportage PHEV’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

Both the Discovery Sport and Sportage PHEV have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Discovery Sport has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Discovery Sport has 6.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage PHEV (17.7 vs. 11.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sportage PHEV.

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

For better traction, the Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sportage PHEV (245/45R21 vs. 235/55R19).

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

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Sportage PHEV’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

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 Sportage PHEV; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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 Sportage PHEV’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

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

The Discovery Sport has 1.7 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more rear headroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage PHEV.

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

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

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 Sportage PHEV’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

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 Sportage PHEV’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 Sportage PHEV 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 Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

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

Both the Discovery Sport and the Sportage PHEV have standard heated front seats. 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 Sportage PHEV.

Insurance will cost less for the Discovery Sport owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Discovery Sport will cost $525 to $1565 less than the Sportage PHEV over a five-year period.

The Discovery Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Discovery Sport will retain 45.39% to 45.58% of its original price after five years, while the Sportage PHEV only retains 45.04% to 45.21%.