Compare the2023 Nissan PathfinderVS 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Pathfinder 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 Nissan Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder 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 Nissan Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Pathfinder has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Pathfinder Rock Creek/SL/Platinum has a standard Around View® Monitor 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 Pathfinder 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, driver alert monitors 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, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Pathfinder its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Discovery Sport has not been tested, yet.

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

There are over 5 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Pathfinder’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan 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 Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 79 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Land Rover.

The Pathfinder’s standard 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 38 more horsepower (284 vs. 246) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Pathfinder Rock Creek’s standard 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 49 more horsepower (295 vs. 246) and 1 lbs.-ft. more torque (270 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

The Pathfinder 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.

The Pathfinder’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Discovery Sport are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Pathfinder has larger tires than the Discovery Sport (255/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Pathfinder’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (255/60R18 vs. 245/45R21).

The Pathfinder has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Pathfinder’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (114.2 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Pathfinder is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 2.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Discovery Sport.

The Pathfinder has standard seating for 8 passengers; the Discovery Sport can only carry up to 7.

The Pathfinder has 2.8 inches more front headroom, 5.2 inches more front legroom, 3.5 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 3.7 inches more rear shoulder room, 3.4 inches more third row headroom, 2.4 inches more third row legroom and 11.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Pathfinder’s middle and third row seats recline. The Discovery Sport 5-Passenger doesn’t offer reclining middle row seats and no Discovery Sport model offers reclining third row seats.

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

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

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Pathfinder. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Pathfinder Platinum’s liftgate can be opened just by waving your foot, 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.

Maximum trailer towing in the Land Rover Discovery Sport is limited to 4409 pounds. The Pathfinder offers up to a 6000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Pathfinder Platinum’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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

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

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Pathfinder Platinum 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 Pathfinder Platinum has a 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 Sport doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Nissan Pathfinder will be $1006 to $11273 less than for the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The Nissan Pathfinder outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by over 9 to one during 2022.