Compare the2024 Ford ExplorerVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Ford Explorer 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 Ford Explorer 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 Explorer 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 Ford Explorer 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 Explorer has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Discovery Sport 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 Explorer (except Base/XLT/Limited/Timberline) offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist 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 Explorer 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.

The Ford Explorer has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Discovery Sport has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Explorer 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Discovery Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 14 times as many Ford dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Explorer’s warranty.

The Explorer 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 Sport 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’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Ford 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 Ford vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The Explorer’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder produces 54 more horsepower (300 vs. 246) and 41 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Explorer ST/King Ranch/Platinum’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 154 more horsepower (400 vs. 246) and 146 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

The Explorer V6 Turbo’s standard fuel tank has 2.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Discovery Sport (20.2 vs. 17.7 gallons).

The Explorer 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.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Explorer, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a nine-speed automatic is available for the Discovery Sport.

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

The Explorer ST’s optional 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 Explorer has larger standard tires than the Discovery Sport (255/65R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Explorer’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (275/45R21 vs. 245/45R21).

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Explorer can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Explorer’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 Explorer’s wheelbase is 11.2 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (119.1 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Explorer is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Discovery Sport.

The Explorer ST 4WD handles at .85 G’s, while the Discovery Sport S pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Explorer ST 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Discovery Sport S (26.4 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Explorer Timberline has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Discovery Sport (8.7 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Explorer to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Explorer 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 Explorer has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 3.9 inches more front legroom, 4.5 inches more front shoulder room, 1.8 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom, 6 inches more rear shoulder room, 4.5 inches more third row headroom, 6.6 inches more third row legroom and 7.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

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

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

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Explorer’s available 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.

Maximum trailer towing in the Land Rover Discovery Sport is limited to 4409 pounds. The Explorer 4WD offers up to a 5600 lbs. towing capacity.

The engine in the Explorer 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.

The Explorer (except Base/XLT/ST-Line)’s optional easy entry system raises the steering wheel and 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Explorer’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its InControl can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Explorer Platinum has standard 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 Explorer has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Explorer 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 Explorer (except Base/XLT/ST-Line/Timberline) 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 Explorer ST/King Ranch/Platinum offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Discovery Sport.

The Explorer (except Base/XLT/ST-Line) 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 Explorer ST/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

The Ford Explorer outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost 60 to one during 2023.