Compare the2024 Mazda CX-90VS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-90 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 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 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 CX-90 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 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 Sport doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

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 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 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 Sport doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the CX-90 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, 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 weighs 429 to 1138 pounds more than the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Sport 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 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 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’s standard 3.3 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 34 more horsepower (280 vs. 246) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (332 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-90 PHEV’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 77 more horsepower (323 vs. 246) and 100 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-90 Turbo S’ standard 3.3 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 94 more horsepower (340 vs. 246) and 100 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 269) than the Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

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

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 Sport requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The CX-90 Turbo S’ standard fuel tank has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Discovery Sport (19.6 vs. 17.7 gallons).

The CX-90’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 CX-90 has larger standard tires than the Discovery Sport (265/55R19 vs. 235/60R18). The CX-90 Premium/Turbo S’ tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Discovery Sport (275/45R21 vs. 245/45R21).

The CX-90’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery Sport’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CX-90 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Discovery Sport.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-90’s wheelbase is 14.9 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (122.8 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CX-90 is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Discovery Sport.

For better maneuverability, the CX-90’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Discovery Sport’s (38.1 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

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

The CX-90 has .2 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear legroom, 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.5 inches more third row headroom, 4.8 inches more third row legroom and 6.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the CX-90’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 CX-90 offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The engine in the CX-90 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.

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 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 CX-90 has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery Sport 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 Sport doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The CX-90 Premium Plus has standard front air conditioned seats and the CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus also has them in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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

The Mazda CX-90 outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost 10 to one during 2023.