Compare the2026 Land Rover Discovery SportVS 2026 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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Both the Discovery Sport and Rav4 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 Rav4’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 Rav4.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Discovery Sport has standard Rear Traffic Monitor with Rear Traffic Braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Rav4 SE/Woodland/XLE/XSE/Limited/GR Sport offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the Discovery Sport and the Rav4 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 and rear cross-path warning.

Warranty

The Discovery Sport comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rav4’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Discovery Sport’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Rav4’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Engine

The Discovery Sport has more powerful engines than the Rav4:

	Horsepower	Torque
Discovery Sport 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	249 HP	269 lbs.-ft.
Rav4 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	226 HP
Rav4 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	236 HP
Rav4 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	324 HP

Fuel Economy and Range

The Discovery Sport has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (17.7 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Discovery Sport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4:

	Discovery Sport	Rav4	Rav4 Plug-In Hybrid
Front Rotors	13.7 inches	12 inches	12.9 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	11.1 inches	12.4 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Discovery Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rav4 (245/45R21 vs. 235/65R17).

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 Rav4 LE’s standard 65 series tires. The Discovery Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 XSE’s 50 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 Rav4 LE. The Discovery Sport’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Rav4 XSE.

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 Rav4; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

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 Rav4’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Discovery Sport has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Discovery Sport’s wheelbase is 2 inches longer than on the Rav4 (107.9 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

The Discovery Sport Landmark handles at .82 G’s, while the Rav4 Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Discovery Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Rav4 GR Sport (8.4 vs. 7.5 inches), allowing the Discovery Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The Discovery Sport offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Rav4 can only carry 5.

The Discovery Sport has 1.6 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear legroom than the Rav4.

Cargo Capacity

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The Discovery Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rav4’s (4409 vs. 1750 pounds).

While the Rav4 GR Sport is not recommended to tow, any Discovery Sport can tow a minimum of 4409 pounds.

Servicing Ease

The Discovery Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 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.

Ergonomics

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. Smart Key System standard on the Rav4 doesn’t offer a sensor on the cargo door or the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

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 Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

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 Rav4 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

The Discovery Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota only offers heated mirrors on the Rav4 SE/Woodland/XLE/XSE/Limited/GR Sport.

When the Discovery Sport is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Rav4’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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 Rav4 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Toyota Rav4 offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Discovery Sport features standard power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Rav4’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

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 Rav4.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Toyota charges extra for Homelink® on the Rav4.

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 Rav4 Woodland/XLE/XSE/GR Sport/Limited offers wireless charging.

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