Compare the2024 Volkswagen AtlasVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Atlas 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 Atlas 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 Atlas has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Discovery doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

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

Both the Atlas 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Volkswagen Atlas achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Discovery has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Discovery.

There are over 3 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Atlas’ warranty.

The Volkswagen Atlas’ engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Discovery’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Volkswagen vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 67 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volkswagen higher than Land Rover.

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

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

The Atlas stops shorter than the Discovery:

The Atlas’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Discovery doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas’ wheelbase is 2.2 inches longer than on the Discovery (117.3 inches vs. 115.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas is .4 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than on the Discovery.

The Atlas 4Motion handles at .84 G’s, while the Discovery Dynamic SE pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Atlas SEL 4Motion executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Discovery Dynamic SE (27.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

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

The design of the Volkswagen Atlas amounts to more than styling. The Atlas has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .33 Cd. That is lower than the Discovery (.36) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Atlas get better fuel mileage.

The Atlas has 1.9 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear headroom, .2 inches more rear legroom, 2.9 inches more rear hip room, 1 inch more rear shoulder room, .4 inches more third row headroom, .2 inches more third row legroom, 3.1 inches more third row hip room and 7.8 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

The Atlas’ cargo area provides more volume than the Discovery.

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

If the windows are left open on the Atlas the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Discovery can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Atlas to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. Heated windshield washer nozzles cost extra on the Discovery.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Atlas offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Discovery doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Atlas also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

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

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

The Atlas 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 Atlas offers an optional 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 Atlas is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Discovery doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Atlas owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Atlas will cost $2575 to $8375 less than the Discovery over a five-year period.

The Atlas will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Atlas will retain 50.34% to 51.84% of its original price after five years, while the Discovery only retains 47.9% to 49.04%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Volkswagen Atlas will be $28593 to $33173 less than for the Land Rover Discovery.

The Volkswagen Atlas outsold the Land Rover Discovery by almost 40 to one during 2023.