Compare the2024 Mitsubishi OutlanderVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Outlander 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 Mitsubishi Outlander has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Outlander 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 Sport doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Outlander has a standard Rear Automatic Emergency 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.

Both the Outlander and the Discovery Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Outlander its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Discovery Sport has not been tested, yet.

The Outlander comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Discovery Sport’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Mitsubishi’s powertrain warranty covers the Outlander 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Outlander’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Discovery Sport’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Mitsubishi pays for scheduled maintenance on the Outlander for 2 years and 30,000 miles. Mitsubishi will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Discovery Sport.

There are over 63 percent more Mitsubishi dealers than there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Outlander’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 Outlander’s reliability 40 points higher than the Discovery Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mitsubishi vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 10 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mitsubishi higher than Land Rover.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mitsubishi vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mitsubishi above average in long-term dependability. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Mitsubishi Outlander uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

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

The Outlander has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Outlander’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Discovery Sport are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Outlander SE/Black Edition/SEL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R21).

The Outlander 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 Sport doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Outlander SEL AWC handles at .87 G’s, while the Discovery Sport S pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Outlander’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Discovery Sport’s (36.1 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Outlander SE/Black Edition/SEL has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Discovery Sport (8.4 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Outlander to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Mitsubishi Outlander may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The front grille of the Outlander uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Outlander has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 1.8 inches more rear legroom, .1 inches more third row headroom and 4.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Outlander’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 Outlander SEL’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Outlander has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Outlander to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Outlander 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 Mitsubishi Outlander, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Mitsubishi Outlander outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost seven to one during 2022.