Compare the2025 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester 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 Subaru Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move 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 Forester (except Base/Premium) offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking 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 Forester 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Forester 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 3 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Forester’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 31 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 70 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Land Rover.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Forester uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Forester has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Forester’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 maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 3.3 feet tighter than the Discovery Sport’s (35.4 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

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

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 pounds less than the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The front grille of the Forester 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 Forester has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 4.2 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear legroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat up (29.6 vs. 6.9 cubic feet). The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Discovery Sport with its rear seat folded (74.4 vs. 60 cubic feet).

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

The engine in the Forester 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Subaru service is better than Land Rover. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 27% lower rating, Land Rover is ranked 22nd.

The Forester Touring’s standard easy entry system 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.

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

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

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Forester Touring 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 Subaru Forester outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by almost 49 to one during 2023.