Compare the2024 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2023 Kia Sorento

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

Both the Discovery Sport and the Sorento have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, 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.

The Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Sorento’s (6/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

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 Discovery Sport’s reliability 25 points higher than the Sorento.

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 55 more horsepower (246 vs. 191) and 88 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 181) than the Sorento’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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

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 Kia Sorento (5). This means the Discovery Sport produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sorento 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 Sorento.

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

	Discovery Sport	Sorento
Front Rotors	13.7 inches	12.8 inches

The Discovery Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sorento LX’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sorento LX. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Sorento.

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 Sorento; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Discovery Sport offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Sorento’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento (8.3 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Discovery Sport’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Sorento X-Line (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches).

The Discovery Sport is 8 inches shorter than the Sorento, making the Discovery Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Sorento’s (4409 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Discovery Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sorento uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Discovery Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sorento doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Discovery Sport’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sorento’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The Discovery Sport’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Sorento’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The Discovery Sport’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Sorento’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 Sorento 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 Sorento doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sorento offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 is only available on the Sorento Prestige.

The Discovery Sport has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige.

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. Only the Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige offers wireless charging.