Compare the2023 Land Rover DiscoveryVS 2023 Porsche Cayenne

Both the Discovery and Cayenne have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery 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 Cayenne’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 Discovery’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Cayenne.

The Discovery has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Cayenne’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Discovery’s standard Rear Traffic Monitor uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The Discovery’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Discovery and the Cayenne have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Land Rover vehicles are better in initial quality than Porsche vehicles. With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Land Rover higher than Porsche.

On the EPA test cycle the Discovery gets better mileage than the Cayenne running its gasoline engine:

The Discovery has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cayenne E-Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (23.8 vs. 19.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery higher (7 out of 10) than the Porsche Cayenne (3 to 5). This means the Discovery produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cayenne every 15,000 miles.

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Discovery has a standard Emergency Brake Assist to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Cayenne.

The Discovery offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Cayenne; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

The front and rear suspension of the Discovery uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Cayenne, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery’s wheelbase is 1.1 inches longer than on the Cayenne (115.1 inches vs. 114 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery has a 2.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Cayenne (11.1 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Discovery to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Discovery’s minimum ground clearance is 1.5 inches higher than on the Cayenne Air Suspension (11.1 vs. 9.6 inches).

The Discovery has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Cayenne can only carry 5.

The Discovery has .4 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room and 3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cayenne.

Flexibility is maximized at the game, campground or a drive-in theatre in the Discovery when its optional tailgating rear seats are deployed, allowing people to sit facing out of the liftgate. (Do not use while vehicle is in motion.) The Cayenne doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

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

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

Pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the Discovery’s second and third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Cayenne doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

Maximum trailer towing in the Porsche Cayenne is limited to 7700 pounds. The Discovery offers up to a 8200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Discovery has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the Discovery to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Cayenne doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Discovery has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cayenne only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Land Rover Discovery has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Cayenne.

Insurance will cost less for the Discovery owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Discovery will cost $670 less than the Cayenne over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Land Rover Discovery will be $7754 to $68458 less than for the Porsche Cayenne.