For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Dodge Durango are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Discovery Sport doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Durango has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Durango has standard Rear Park-Assist with Stop that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Discovery Sport doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
Both the Durango and the Discovery Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems and front parking sensors.
The Dodge Durango weighs 665 to 1278 pounds more than the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.