The Land Rover Defender is on a roll, having competed against the Land Cruiser and the Jeep Wrangler. Here, we put it against its younger sibling, the Land Rover Discovery. The Discovery was launched years after the Defender and it made quite a name for itself as the flagship model. That being said, let’s indulge in the Defender vs Discovery debate to see who wins.
Note: We’ll only be looking at the first two generations of these legends as those make the best overlanding machines.
Both the Land Rover Defender and Discovery have been known to offer a range of engine options ranging from 4- to 8-cylinder engines. You can also find these SUVs with turbodiesel engines.
It should be known that the onwards from their first generations, the Defender has more diverse engine offerings. The Discovery ditches the 4-cylinder and you only get V8 petrol engines and 5-cylinder turbodiesels.
Both these vehicles offered manual and automatic options and they come with 4-wheel drive systems.
In terms of horsepower and torque, the Land Rover Discovery beats the Defender in every generation.
The first-gen Discovery beats the Defender when it comes to the towing capacity. But on average, both of these vehicles can tow pretty much the same at around 3500 kgs.
This is where the Land Rover Defender pulls one back as the decade-old models do 10-11L/100km whereas the Discovery can only manage half of that.
Both the Defender and Discovery have always been able to manage a 0-60 mph time of around 10 seconds, if we look at their top-spec models. Overall, the Discovery is quicker.
Enjoying the read? Check out the Land Rover Defender vs Toyota Land Cruiser battle here:
The Land Rover Discovery has been known for its stellar interior design and amenities, while the Defender has a reputation of being more rugged. The Discovery’s interior has often been compared to that of the Range Rover.
The Discovery is much more quieter and it is also a lot roomier when it comes to comfortable seating and stowage. It is built for families which is why it’s more sophisticated.
The Land Rover Defender has a more comfortable suspension and it is more powerful. This makes it a lot more fun to driver. but which is better offroad in the Defender or Discovery battle? Well, that honor also goes to the Discovery, despite the Defender’s credentials. However, the Defender does have better height clearance and its approach/departure angles though.
The Land Rover Defender holds its value better as older Discovery models tend to cost half the price. As a result, the Dicovery gets the win here if you’re looking to convert one to a camper. A 20-30 year old model will be quite cheap.
By the looks of it, the Discovery completely demolishes the mighty Land Rover Defender. This shouldn’t be a surprise since its a more luxurious version of the legendary offroader. The Defender wins in the power, acceleration, interior, driving and pricing departments.
Meanwhile, the Defender manages to grab a win in the fuel economy race, and the two Land Rovers tie together when it comes to towing capacity and engines. Overall, they’re both spectacular overlanding machines.
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