Compare the2024 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 BMW X5

Both the Discovery Sport and X5 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Discovery Sport has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The X5’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Discovery Sport. But it costs extra on the X5.

Both the Discovery Sport and X5 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Discovery Sport has Rear Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The X5’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Discovery Sport and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

On the EPA test cycle the Discovery Sport gets better fuel mileage than the X5 M50i (19 city/23 hwy vs. 16 city/22 hwy).

Both the Discovery Sport and the X5 have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Discovery Sports have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. A disable switch for start/stop is only offered on the X5 M50i.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Land Rover Discovery Sport higher (7 out of 10) than the BMW X5 (3). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the X5 every 15,000 miles.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Land Rover Discovery Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the X5.

The Discovery Sport has a standard full size spare (not available on 7-Passenger) so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the X5; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare or run-flat tires, either of which has mileage and speed limitations.

The Discovery Sport S handles at .82 G’s, while the X5 xDrive40i pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Discovery Sport’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the X5’s (38.7 feet vs. 41.3 feet).

The Land Rover Discovery Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 to 1000 pounds less than the BMW X5.

The Discovery Sport is 1 foot, 1.3 inches shorter than the X5, making the Discovery Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Land Rover Discovery Sport amounts to more than styling. The Discovery Sport has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .34 Cd. That is lower than the X5 (.36 to .38). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Discovery Sport get better fuel mileage.

The Discovery Sport’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the Discovery Sport uses the Dynamic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The X5 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Discovery Sport has a much higher standard payload capacity than the X5 (1515 vs. 827 lbs.).

The Discovery Sport has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the X5 (1670 vs. 1030 lbs.).

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Discovery Sport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X5 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Discovery Sport offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X5 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Discovery Sport has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The X5 doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the X5.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Land Rover Discovery Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the X5.