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Land Rover Discovery Sport vs Lexus NX

What's the difference?

VS
Land Rover Discovery Sport
Land Rover Discovery Sport

$39,800 - $68,996

2020 price

Lexus NX
Lexus NX

$59,888 - $95,999

2023 price

Summary

2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport
2023 Lexus NX
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Inline 4, 2.5L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
8.1L/100km (combined)

6.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
7

5
Dislikes
  • Bit exxy
  • Bit thirsty
  • So-so warranty

  • Driver-assist tech could use some Aussie road tuning
  • Hard to tell apart from previous design
  • NX 250 engine needs the open road to truly shine
2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport Summary

Land Rover’s Discovery Sport occupies a close to unique position in Australia’s premium, mid-size SUV market.

At less than 4.6m long it sits at the more compact end of the segment, but offers seating for seven. Okay, Land Rover labels the layout ‘5+2’, a refreshingly up-front concession that the third row is a kids-only zone. But it’s there.

Then the Disco Sport adds all-wheel drive with multi-mode ‘Terrain Response 2’ off-road capability. Go anywhere Land Rover cred, combined with seven-seat flexibility, and a price tag sitting just over $60K, before on-road costs.

There are several mainstream equivalents, and even some more modestly priced Euro alternatives. So, is this Land Rover, which received a substantial mid-life upgrade in 2019, a demonstrably superior package? We lived with one for a week to find out.

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2023 Lexus NX Summary

As far as clichés go, attempting to make “a silk purse from a sow’s ear” couldn’t be more apt than when contemplating the original NX of 2014.

What was essentially the Lexus-fication of the vocal, fidgety and thirsty old Toyota RAV4 may have worked a treat sales-wise, but proved trickier when assessed against the lens of a BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 rival.

The earliest NX just wasn’t refined enough.

This was especially true following the reborn RAV4 arrival in 2019, proving to be embarrassingly more competent – even compared to most luxury midsized SUV alternatives.

Now, finally, the NX redesign has followed suit, moving on to a variation of the Toyota’s stronger, quieter and more advanced TNGA architecture (dubbed GA-K) as a starting base.

Speaking of which, let’s dive straight into the least-expensive version, the NX 250 Luxury 2WD auto, to find out if the most popular Lexus model in Australia has finally found its mojo.

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Deep dive comparison

2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport 2023 Lexus NX

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