Compare the2023 Toyota HighlanderVS 2023 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Highlander 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 Toyota Highlander 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 Highlander 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 Highlander has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Highlander Limited/Platinum has a standard Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Highlander (except L/LE/XLE/XSE) offers an optional Panoramic 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 Highlander 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

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 Highlander 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.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Highlander 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.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Highlander for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Discovery Sport.

There are over 6 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Highlander’s 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 Highlander’s reliability 41 points higher than the Discovery Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in initial quality. With 21 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 Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Highlander’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (265 vs. 246) and 41 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Highlander uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

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

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Highlander is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the Discovery Sport.

For better maneuverability, the Highlander’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Discovery Sport’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

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

The Highlander has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, 1.7 inches more third row headroom and 2.4 inches more third row legroom than the Discovery Sport.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Highlander’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 Highlander’s cargo area provides more volume than the Discovery Sport.

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Highlander Limited/Platinum’s 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 Highlander’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Discovery Sport’s (5000 vs. 4409 pounds).

If the windows are left open on the Highlander the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Discovery Sport can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Highlander Platinum has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Discovery Sport 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 Highlander has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Highlander 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 Highlander Limited/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 Highlander Limited/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 Highlander 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 Toyota Highlander, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Highlander outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost 35 to one during 2022.