Compare the2026 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2026 Mercedes GLA

Both the Discovery Sport and GLA 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 GLA’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 GLA.

The Discovery Sport’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLA.

Both the Discovery Sport and the GLA 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the GLA’s (6 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Land Rover vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. With 2 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Land Rover higher than Mercedes.

The Discovery Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 28 more horsepower (249 vs. 221) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (269 vs. 258) than the GLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

The Discovery Sport has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLA (17.7 vs. 13.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 GLA.

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

For better traction, the Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLA (245/45R21 vs. 235/55R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Discovery Sport offers optional 21-inch wheels. The GLA’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

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 GLA; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLA don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

The Discovery Sport has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The GLA’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

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 GLA’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Discovery Sport Landmark handles at .82 G’s, while the GLA 250 4MATIC pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Discovery Sport Landmark executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GLA 250 4MATIC (27.4 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a 2.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the GLA (8.4 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the GLA can only carry 5.

The Discovery Sport has .5 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLA.

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

The Discovery Sport’s cargo area is larger than the GLA’s in every dimension:

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Discovery Sport’s optional second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The GLA doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Discovery Sport has a 4409 lbs. towing capacity. The GLA has no towing capacity.

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 GLA doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Discovery Sport’s standard Keyless Entry allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless-Start standard on the GLA only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

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 GLA 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 GLA 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 GLA doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the GLA. The Discovery Sport also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the GLA.

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 GLA.

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 GLA.