Compare the2025 Toyota Highlander HybridVS 2024 Land Rover Discovery Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid 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 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 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 Highlander Hybrid 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 Highlander Hybrid has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening 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.

The Highlander Hybrid has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, 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 Highlander Hybrid Limited/Platinum has a standard Parking Support Brake 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 Highlander Hybrid and the Discovery Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, 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 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 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 Sport has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Highlander Hybrid 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.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Highlander Hybrid for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota 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 Sport.

There are over 6 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Highlander Hybrid’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 Highlander Hybrid’s reliability 45 points higher than the Discovery Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in initial quality. With 22 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 statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 121 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is ranked 28th.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Discovery Sport requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Highlander Hybrid 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 Highlander Hybrid’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 a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Highlander Hybrid’s wheelbase is 4.3 inches longer than on the Discovery Sport (112.2 inches vs. 107.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Highlander Hybrid is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the Discovery Sport.

For better maneuverability, the Highlander Hybrid’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Discovery Sport’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

The front grille of the Highlander Hybrid 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 Highlander Hybrid offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Discovery Sport can only carry up to 7.

The Highlander Hybrid has .1 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.7 inches more third row headroom, 2.4 inches more third row legroom and 7.9 inches more third row shoulder room than the Discovery Sport.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Highlander Hybrid’s middle and third row seats recline. The Discovery Sport 5-Passenger doesn’t offer reclining middle row seats and no Discovery Sport model offers reclining third row seats.

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

The Highlander Hybrid’s cargo area is larger than the Discovery Sport’s in almost every dimension:

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

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

If the windows are left open on the Highlander Hybrid the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Discovery Sport can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Highlander Hybrid 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 Highlander Hybrid Limited/Platinum 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 Highlander Hybrid Limited/Platinum has a 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.

Insurance will cost less for the Highlander Hybrid owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Highlander Hybrid will cost $15 to $1500 less than the Discovery Sport over a five-year period.

The Highlander Hybrid will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Highlander Hybrid will retain 55.94% to 57.42% of its original price after five years, while the Discovery Sport only retains 50.87% to 51.79%.

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

The Toyota Highlander outsold the Land Rover Discovery Sport by over 54 to one during 2023.