Compare the2024 Mazda CX-90VS 2024 Land Rover Discovery

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-90 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 CX-90 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 Mazda CX-90 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 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The CX-90 Premium has a standard Secondary Collision Reduction 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 CX-90 Premium Plus/Turbo S Premium has standard Rear Smart City Brake Support 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.

Both the CX-90 and the Discovery have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and available around view monitors.

The Mazda CX-90 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 a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Discovery has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Mazda’s powertrain warranty covers the CX-90 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Discovery. 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 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Mazda dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CX-90’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The CX-90 has more powerful engines than the Discovery:

As tested in Car and Driver the CX-90 PHEV 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid is faster than the Discovery P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the CX-90 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Discovery:

The CX-90 PHEV can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The Discovery can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the CX-90’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Discovery doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Mazda CX-90 uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended on CX-90 PHEV for maximum performance). The Discovery requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The CX-90 stops much shorter than the Discovery:

For better traction, the CX-90 has larger standard tires than the Discovery (265/55R19 vs. 255/55R20).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-90’s wheelbase is 7.7 inches longer than on the Discovery (122.8 inches vs. 115.1 inches).

The CX-90 Premium Plus handles at .85 G’s, while the Discovery Dynamic SE pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-90 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Discovery Dynamic SE (27.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-90’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Discovery’s (38.1 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The CX-90 offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Discovery can only carry 7.

The CX-90 has .3 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more rear headroom, 2 inches more rear legroom and 6.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery.

The CX-90’s cargo area provides more volume than the Discovery.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-90 Turbo S has standard 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 CX-90 has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the CX-90 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The CX-90 Premium Plus has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, 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 Mazda CX-90 outsold the Land Rover Discovery by almost 13 to one during 2023.