Compare the2023 Ford ExplorerVS 2023 Land Rover Discovery

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Explorer 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 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 Explorer are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Discovery doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Ford Explorer 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 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Explorer 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 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Explorer (except Base/XLT/Limited/Timberline) offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Explorer and the Discovery have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Explorer the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 55 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Discovery has not been tested, yet.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Explorer 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 15 times as many Ford dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Explorer’s warranty.

The Explorer has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Discovery doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 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 Ford vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Explorer has more powerful engines than the Discovery:

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Explorer turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Discovery P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Explorer gets better mileage than the Discovery:

The Explorer can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 3 miles. The Discovery can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

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

The Explorer 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 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Explorer, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Discovery.

The Explorer stops much shorter than the Discovery:

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Explorer can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Discovery doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Explorer’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Discovery doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Explorer’s wheelbase is 4 inches longer than on the Discovery (119.1 inches vs. 115.1 inches).

The Explorer ST 4WD handles at .86 G’s, while the Discovery R-Dynamic S pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Explorer ST 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Discovery R-Dynamic S (26.4 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Explorer’s turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Discovery’s (38.4 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The Ford Explorer may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 500 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery.

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

The Explorer has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 3.9 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 1.6 inches more rear legroom, 3.4 inches more rear hip room, 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room, 1 inch more third row headroom and 7.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

The Explorer’s cargo area provides more volume than the Discovery.

The Explorer’s cargo area is larger than the Discovery’s in every dimension:

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

On a hot day the Explorer’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Discovery can only operate 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 Explorer’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Discovery 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 see further while navigating curves, the Explorer Platinum has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Discovery doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Explorer to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Explorer (except Base/XLT) offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Discovery doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Explorer ST/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Discovery’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

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

Insurance will cost less for the Explorer owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Explorer will cost $440 to $7210 less than the Discovery over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Explorer will be $17951 to $24387 less than for the Land Rover Discovery.

The Ford Explorer outsold the Land Rover Discovery by over 153 to one during 2022.