Compare the2023 Lincoln NautilusVS 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Nautilus 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 Land Rover Discovery Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Nautilus are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Discovery Sport doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Nautilus are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Lincoln Nautilus has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Nautilus has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Nautilus (except Standard) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Discovery Sport only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Nautilus and the Discovery Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Nautilus the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Discovery Sport has not been tested, yet.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Nautilus 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Lincoln dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Nautilus’ warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Nautilus’ reliability 43 points higher than the Discovery Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Nautilus first among midsize premium suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Discovery Sport isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in long-term dependability. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Nautilus’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 4 more horsepower (250 vs. 246) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Nautilus’ optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 89 more horsepower (335 vs. 246) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (380 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Nautilus gets better mileage than the Discovery Sport:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Lincoln Nautilus uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Nautilus has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better traction, the Nautilus has larger standard tires than the Discovery Sport (245/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Nautilus’ optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (265/40R21 vs. 245/45R21).

The Nautilus’ optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery Sport’s optional 45 series tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Nautilus’ wheelbase is 4.3 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (112.2 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

The Nautilus Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Discovery Sport S pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Nautilus uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Nautilus has .4 inches more front headroom, 3.7 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 1.5 inches more rear legroom and 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat up (37.2 vs. 6.9 cubic feet). The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat folded (68.8 vs. 60 cubic feet).

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

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Nautilus. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Nautilus’ available liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Nautilus 2.7 Turbo can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Nautilus can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Discovery Sport can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Nautilus’ standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

If the windows are left open on the Nautilus the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Discovery Sport can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its InControl can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Nautilus offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Nautilus (except Standard) also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Nautilus has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Nautilus Reserve/Black Label keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Nautilus Reserve/Black Label offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Discovery Sport.

The Nautilus Reserve/Black Label offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Nautilus (except Standard)’s optional Enhanced Active Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Nautilus is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Lincoln Nautilus, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Lincoln Nautilus outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by over three to one during 2022.