Land Rover Defender vs Land Rover Discovery

The short version

The Land Rover Discovery is more fuel-efficient: 21 vs 20 MPG combined in its best version.

That works out to about $200 a year less in fuel for the Land Rover Discovery (EPA estimate, 15,000 miles).

The Land Rover Discovery is the bigger car, about 25 inches longer.

Across all model years since 2005, the Land Rover Discovery has had fewer recall campaigns (17 vs 18).

The two cars

The 2026 Land Rover Defender is a standard SUV offered with 4 engines (2.0L 4-cyl turbo, 3.0L 6-cyl turbo, 4.4L 8-cyl turbo and 5.0L 8-cyl), including a hybrid version and 4-wheel drive. It measures about 187 inches long and 79 inches wide on a 119-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,819 lb (110 5 Seat 4dr SUV).

The 2026 Land Rover Discovery is a standard SUV offered with 2 engines (2.0L 4-cyl turbo and 3.0L 6-cyl turbo), including a hybrid version and 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. It measures about 195 inches long and 78 inches wide on a 115-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,846 lb (4dr SUV).

Buying used? The 2024 Defender and the 2015 Discovery have the fewest problems in our data; avoid the 2020 Discovery.