Compare the2024 Mercedes GLCVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLC 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.

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

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLC 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.

The GLC has standard NECK-PRO front head restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO front head restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GLC has a standard Maneuvering Brake Function 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.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The GLC offers optional Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.

Both the GLC 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Mercedes GLC 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 Sport has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

There are almost 2 times as many Mercedes dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the GLC’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mercedes 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 Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 89 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Mercedes higher than Land Rover.

The GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 9 more horsepower (255 vs. 246) and 26 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

The GLC’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 GLC’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (F:255/45R20 & R:285/40R20 vs. 245/45R21).

The GLC’s optional 285/40R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery Sport’s optional 45 series tires.

The GLC’s 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 Sport doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GLC’s wheelbase is 5.2 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (113.1 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

The GLC 300 4MATIC handles at .87 G’s, while the Discovery Sport S pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The GLC has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 1.6 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more rear headroom and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

The GLC has a much larger cargo volume than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat up (21.9 vs. 6.9 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the GLC. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The GLC’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Discovery Sport’s (5291 vs. 4409 pounds).

The engine in the GLC is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Discovery Sport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Discovery Sport, the GLC has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GLC’s standard easy entry and exit feature raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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

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

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

Optional air-conditioned seats in the GLC keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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

The GLC’s Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

Motor Trend selected the GLC as their 2017 Sport Utility of the Year. The Discovery Sport has never been chosen.

The Mercedes GLC outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost 13 to one during 2023.