Compare the2024 Cadillac EscaladeVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery

The Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Discovery doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Cadillac Escalade 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 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 Escalade are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Discovery doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Escalade 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 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Escalade offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Discovery doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Escalade and the Discovery have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, around view monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Cadillac Escalade weighs 490 to 1150 pounds more than the Land Rover Discovery. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Escalade 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Cadillac dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escalade’s warranty.

The Escalade has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Discovery doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Escalade first among large premium suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Discovery isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 33 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 Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Escalade’s 6.2 V8 produces 124 more horsepower (420 vs. 296) and 165 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 295) than the Discovery’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Escalade’s 6.2 V8 produces 65 more horsepower (420 vs. 355) and 91 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 369) than the Discovery P360’s optional 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid.

The Escalade’s 3.0 turbo diesel produces 165 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 295) than the Discovery’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Escalade’s 3.0 turbo diesel produces 91 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 369) than the Discovery P360’s optional 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac Escalade is faster than the Discovery P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Escalade gets better mileage than the Discovery:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escalade V8’s fuel efficiency. The Discovery doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Cadillac Escalade uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The Discovery requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Escalade 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 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is available on the Cadillac Escalade, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Discovery.

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

The Escalade stops shorter than the Discovery:

For better traction, the Escalade has larger tires than the Discovery (275/50R22 vs. 255/55R20).

The Escalade’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escalade has standard 22-inch wheels. Smaller 20-inch wheels are standard on the Discovery.

The Cadillac Escalade’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Land Rover Discovery only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Escalade 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 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Escalade has a standard full size spare so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare costs extra on the Discovery. Without the option you must depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Escalade’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the Discovery (120.9 inches vs. 115.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Escalade is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the Discovery.

For better maneuverability, the Escalade’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Discovery’s (39.7 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The Escalade offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Discovery can only carry 7.

The Escalade has 2.9 inches more front headroom, 5.4 inches more front legroom, 3.9 inches more front hip room, 5.1 inches more front shoulder room, 4.3 inches more rear legroom, 5.5 inches more rear hip room, 5.1 inches more rear shoulder room, .3 inches more third row headroom, 1.4 inches more third row legroom, 7.4 inches more third row hip room and 15.6 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

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

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

The Escalade’s minimum standard towing capacity is much higher than the Discovery’s (8000 vs. 5925 pounds).

The Escalade 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Escalade can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Discovery can’t be towed flat on the ground.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Land Rover. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 65% lower rating, Land Rover is ranked 30th.

The Escalade’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Discovery does not have an oil pressure gauge.

If the windows are left open on the Escalade the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Discovery can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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

The Escalade 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 Discovery.

The Escalade 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 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport’s Adaptive Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Discovery’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

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

The Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV outsold the Land Rover Discovery by almost 30 to one during 2022.