Compare the2024 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Jeep Cherokee

Both the Discovery Sport and Cherokee 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 Cherokee’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 Sport has a standard 3D Surround Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Discovery Sport and Cherokee 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 Cherokee’s Rear Cross-Path Detection 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 Cherokee doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Cherokee 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, all wheel drive, 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 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Cherokee’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

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

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 66 more horsepower (246 vs. 180) and 98 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 171) than the Cherokee’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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

The Discovery Sport has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cherokee (17.7 vs. 15.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Discovery Sport has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Cherokee. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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 Jeep Cherokee (5 to 6). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cherokee every 15,000 miles.

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

For better traction, the Discovery Sport has larger standard tires than the Cherokee (235/60R18 vs. 225/60R18).

The Discovery Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cherokee Trailhawk 4x4’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Cherokee Altitude LUX’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Cherokee Trailhawk 4x4. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Cherokee Altitude LUX.

The Discovery Sport has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Discovery Sport offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery Sport’s wheelbase is 1.3 inches longer than on the Cherokee (107.9 inches vs. 106.6 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Discovery Sport is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cherokee.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the Cherokee pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Discovery Sport S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Cherokee (27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Cherokee (8.3 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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

The Discovery Sport has .1 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more rear headroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cherokee.

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

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

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Discovery Sport with 5+2 Seating’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Cherokee’s (4409 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Cherokee (1515 vs. 1000 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Cherokee (1670 vs. 1000 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

On a hot day the Discovery Sport’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Cherokee can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Cherokee has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Cherokee have standard heated front seats. The Discovery Sport also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cherokee.

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. The Cherokee doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.