Compare the2024 BMW X5VS 2024 Land Rover Discovery

The X5’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Discovery doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

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 X5 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 BMW X5 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 X5 has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Discovery doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The X5 has a standard PostCrash iBrake, 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 X5 offers an optional Active Park Distance Control 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 X5 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

The BMW X5 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 X5’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the Discovery’s (12 vs. 6 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the X5 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW 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 72 percent more BMW dealers than there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the X5’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the BMW X5 xDrive50e’s reliability 23 points higher than the Discovery and the BMW X5 is rated 52 points higher than the Discovery.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. With 11 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks BMW 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 BMW vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Land Rover is rated below average.

The X5 has more powerful engines than the Discovery:

As tested in Car and Driver the X5 M60i xDrive 4.4 turbo V8 hybrid is faster than the Discovery P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the X5 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Discovery:

The X550e xDrive can travel with zero emissions for 40 miles. The Discovery can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the X5’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Discovery doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the BMW X5 as an “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV). The Land Rover Discovery is only certified to “Low Emissions Vehicle” (LEV) standards.

The X5’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Discovery doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the X5 M Sport’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Discovery:

The X5 stops much shorter than the Discovery:

For better traction, the X5 has larger standard tires than the Discovery (265/50R19 vs. 255/55R20).

The X5’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Discovery’s standard 55 series tires. The X5’s optional 275/35R22 front and 315/30R22 rear tires have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile than the Discovery’s optional 40 series tires.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the X5 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Discovery doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The X5 M60i offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Discovery doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The X5 M60i xDrive offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Land Rover doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Discovery.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the X5’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Discovery (117.1 inches vs. 115.1 inches).

The X5 M60i xDrive handles at .86 G’s, while the Discovery Dynamic SE pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the X5 M60i xDrive’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Discovery’s (39.4 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The X5 has 1.3 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom and .4 inches more rear headroom than the Discovery.

The X5 has a much larger cargo volume than the Discovery with its rear seat up (33.9 vs. 9.1 cubic feet).

The X5’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the tailgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Discovery’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Land Rover. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 51% lower rating, Land Rover is ranked 30th.

If the windows are left open on the X5 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 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the X5 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Discovery doesn’t offer cornering lights. The X5 also offers optional 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 X5 has standard extendable sun visors. The Discovery doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the X5 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Discovery doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The X5’s Parking Assistant Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Control Parking will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Discovery’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The X5 is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Discovery doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® chose the BMW X5 as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The BMW X5 outsold the Land Rover Discovery by over 30 to one during 2023.