Compare the2024 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Acura RDX

Both the Discovery Sport and RDX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery Sport 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 RDX’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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Discovery Sport. But it costs extra on the RDX.

Both the Discovery Sport and RDX have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Discovery Sport has Rear Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The RDX’s Rear Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The Discovery Sport’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 RDX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Discovery Sport and the RDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the RDX’s (6 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Land Rover vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. With 4 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Land Rover higher than Acura.

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery Sport higher (7 out of 10) than the Acura RDX (6). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the RDX every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Discovery Sport’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the RDX:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport offers optional 21-inch wheels. The RDX’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Discovery Sport has a standard full size spare (not available on 7-Passenger) so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the RDX; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the RDX AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the RDX (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Discovery Sport is 6.4 inches shorter than the RDX, making the Discovery Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the RDX can only carry 5.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Discovery Sport’s available middle row seats recline. The RDX’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RDX’s (4409 vs. 1500 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the Discovery Sport uses the Dynamic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The RDX doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Discovery Sport has a much higher standard payload capacity than the RDX (1515 vs. 838 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the RDX (1670 vs. 838 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The RDX’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Discovery Sport offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The RDX doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Discovery Sport has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The RDX doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the RDX.

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