Jeep Grand Cherokee vs Land Rover Discovery Sport

What's the difference?

A wise man* once said "Being first can sometimes feel like being wrong" and perhaps that's how it is with the 4xe, but at least Jeep Australia is giving the large SUV hybrid realm a good ol' try.

* Former CarsGuide Big Kohuna, Glen Knowles.

The company's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is not perfect by anyone's standards, however, it is a definite move in the right direction.

It's a quiet and refined drive, it retains the brand's renowned 4WD capability, and even its hefty price-tag likely won't dissuade Jeep loyalists from giving it a go.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e has a beautiful and practical cabin space. The powertrain didn't always convince me on the road but it does offer decent economy, if you charge it often.

The media system left a lot to be desired and having to pay around $15K extra for all of the customisations means it's not as affordable as what it initially seems. Still, if you’re looking for a plug-in hybrid with a great cabin and on-road looks, this is a good option.

As with any vehicle, some will like it, some won’t, and some simply won’t care all that much. 

The 4xe certainly has a distinctive Jeep look to it.

A few exterior design cues hint at its PHEV leanings: the plug-in point on the front left-hand panel and a ‘4xe’ designation on the rear door.

The updated Disco Sport gets new underpinnings which are shared with the Range Rover Evoque.

The body has seen a minor facelift but honestly, it’s so slight only die-hard fans will notice anything different. Overall, it still has the styling that people know and love.

It’s once you head inside that the facelift becomes far more apparent. Gone is the more traditional looking e-shifter and in its place is a rather nubby-looking one.

The dashboard looks more streamlined and features wider padded accents and in our test model, we have the Oyster and Black upholstery which does make it look quite luxurious. There are a few too many blank spaces for me personally but it looks slick.

Accentuating the dashboard is a floating-effect multimedia system and a large digital instrument cluster – both of which look great but there are no other control buttons or dials. I’m not a fan of the fact that you’re 100 per cent reliant on the tech screens and I'll explain why in the Practicality section.

The optioned panoramic roof makes the cabin feel airy and it's cool that it has a memory function – it will close when you turn off the car but reopen upon starting again.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV retains the regular model’s level of functionality but adds a reasonably classy touch to everything.

All seats offer adequate comfort, support and room.

There are plenty of storage spaces, cupholders etc, and charging points - two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 12V socket in the front and two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 230V point in the back.

Controls are generally easy enough to locate and operate although some buttons are positioned in awkward places – including drive-mode buttons under the steering wheel – and it sometimes takes a few finger-stabs at the multimedia touchscreen to get to where you want to go in the operating system.

In terms of packability, the rear cargo area has a listed 1067 litres of space, and, with the second row folded and out of the way, that space opens up to 2004 litres.

With it's 4597mm length, 2173mm width and 1727mm height, the Discovery Sport is technically classed as a medium SUV but the cabin space is much larger than it has any right to be.

Both rows have ample head- and legroom for both my 168cm (5ft6') height and those much taller. When you have a co-pilot, you’re also not jostling for elbow room and it’s easy to slide in and out of because of the 212mm ground clearance.

The amenities up front are good with the update seeing more decent sized individual storage options.

There are two cubbies in the centre console as well as two cupholders and a medium-sized middle console. The glove box can hold more than a manual and the storage bins with their single drink bottle holders are also larger than before.

The powered front seats are comfortable and the optioned heat functions are most welcome on the cooler days we've been having lately.

The back seats also have superior padding comfort but you sit on top of, rather than in, them which is typical of an SUV.

The amenities and storage are what you would expect for the grade level with a fold-down armrest with two cup holders and small storage cubby, directional air vents, reading lights, map pockets and small storage bin in each door.

There is also an accessory hole to attach device holders on the backs of the front seats - perfect for hooking up a screen for little ones on a long journey.

The P300e loses points on its practicality with the multimedia system. You eventually get used to using it while on the go, even though the lack of buttons/dials means more time is spent with your eyes on the screen.

That's when the screen turns on. The display has cut out a few times this week and the wireless connectivity for Bluetooth and the connection for Apple CarPlay (wireless or wired) drops out a lot.

The P300e I'm driving is brand-spanking-new, so it may just be a case of something that needs calibrating but for a lot of the Land Rovers I've sampled in the past, the media system seems to be the area with the biggest teething issues.

That being said, the built-in satellite navigation is top-notch and easy to use. The directions also get displayed on the instrument cluster and optioned HUD.

The charging options are excellent with the front row getting three USB-C ports and a large wireless charging pad. The rear gets two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports plus a 12-volt socket and the boot also has a 12-volt socket. Totally spoiled for choice.

The boot is a great size at 897L with all seats in use and that jumps up to 1749L when the rear seats are folded flat. The rear row also has a 40/20/40 split, which opens up storage opens.

There is a temporary spare tyre housed underneath the flat floor and a powered tailgate comes standard in this model, which I always like.

The Discovery Sport is offered in four grades and the model on test in this review is the plug-in hybrid mid-level P300e.

The P300e is priced from $102,125 before on road costs but the addition of the plug-in hybrid powertrain means that it is actually $8855 more expensive than the flagship HSE.

In terms of its rivals, the P300e sits towards the middle of the line-up with the Volvo XC60 Recharge Plus PHEV coming in as the most affordable at $92,990 before on-road costs, then the Lexus NX450+ PHEV at $93,498. Sitting at the more expensive is the Audi Q5 55 TFSIe at $106,600 and then the BMW X3 xDrive30e M Sport PHEV at $111,800.

However, our test model does have a few optioned extras which ups the price tag and its position in the pack.

Those options include:

- A Technology Pack for $4700 which adds a digital rearview mirror, head-up display, and a 360-degree camera system with wade sensors.

- A fixed panoramic roof for $3040.

- Upgraded Meridian Surround Sound System for $2220.

- Upgraded 20-inch alloy wheels for $2080.

- Heated front seats for $860.

- Home charging cable for $520.

- Titanium mesh trim for $420.

All of that brings the grand total to $117,290, before on roads. Which is no small lump of change for what is essentially just a baby Land Rover.

Standard luxury and practical features include powered front seats with a three-position memory function for the driver, synthetic leather upholstery, keyless entry, push-button start, powered tailgate, temporary spare-tyre, and dual-zone climate control.

Technology includes an 11.4-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, Android Auto, wireless charging pad, Bluetooth connectivity, and DAB+ Digital Radio.

The update also sees wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay, an Amazon Alexa app, as well as new USB-C ports, as opposed to USB-A ports from the previous model.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine, two electric motors (one on each axle) and a 17.3kWh battery.

Combined engine and electric outputs for power and torque are 280kW and 637Nm, respectively. The 4xe has it over any of its stablemates equipped with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine because that yields 210kW and 344Nm.

The 4xe has an eight-speed automatic torque-converter transmission and regenerative braking.

Drive modes include 'Hybrid' (with combined engine and electric motor providing “maximum instant torque and impressive acceleration”, according to Jeep), 'Electric' (“zero emissions”) and 'eSave' (aims to save battery power). 

There are a few options available when it comes time to charge the 4xe.

The 4xe vehicle has a Mode 2 charging cable so you can charge it at home in less than 10 hours, according to Jeep.

With a full charge, the 4xe has a claimed driving range, on electric charge alone, of 52km.

Jeep reckons a Mode 3 (wall box) single-phase electric vehicle charger will fully charge the 4xe in less than three hours.

If out and about and looking for a charge, a 4xe driver can use the onboard 'UConnect' system to locate an appropriate public charging station.

The Discovery Sport P300e has a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder plug-in hybrid turbo-petrol engine with an eight-speed auto transmission and is an all-wheel drive.

The engine produces a combined power output of 227kW and 540Nm of torque. On paper, it’s punchy and can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.6 seconds but in practice, it’s not always great at using that power.

As mentioned, the 4xe has a listed electric-only driving range of 52km.

On our official test day, we drove just under 50km on a full electric charge and then the rest of the trip was courtesy of the good ol’ petrol engine.

Jeep's official figure for the combined cycle is just 3.2L/100km, but that's predicated on keeping the hybrid battery charged at all times. On fuel-only we recorded 11.6L/100km.

The 4xe has a 72-litre fuel tank (you need 95RON premium to fill it), so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 620km out of a full tank.

Add an approximate electric range of about 50km on a full charge to that figure and you have a total estimated driving range of 670km.

The official combined fuel cycle consumption figure is 2.1L/100km and my real-world usage sits a 4.8L/100km after doing some open-roading and lots of urban trips this week. For an SUV of this size and with it's power, that's pretty darn good.

The trick is to regularly charge it for maximum fuel economy gains and that's not always practical.

Officially, you get up to 66km of pure electric range in this but expect closer to 47km in the real world. 

The P300e has a Type 2 CCS charging port which means you can hook this up to a fast charger. On a 50kW system, you can go from 0-80 per cent in as little as 30 minutes but on a 7kW system, going from 0-100 per cent jumps up to to two hours and 12 minutes.

Expect to leave it on charge overnight on a standard domestic socket.

The driving range based on the official combined fuel cycle is obscene, and I can't see it happening in real life - so, based on my fuel economy figure and the 58L fuel tank, expect a theoretical driving range of up to 1208km.

We’re all time-poor, right? So, why should I take up your time and rattle on about the 4xe for a thousand words when I can get the essence of it across to you, the reader, in a few sentences? Call me, Mr Thoughtful.

This is generally a big, quiet and refined, easy-steering large SUV, but it feels bulky at times and tends to be quite fussy on irregular surfaces, exhibiting a jittery ride on even brief sections of light corrugations on dirt tracks.

The 4xe’s PHEV set-up is smooth and highly responsive on-road and you can switch between the aforementioned drive modes to suit the circumstance.

Driving range on electric only is listed as 52km. I only recorded a total distance of just under 50km, and it’s a very quiet and smooth drive while relying on electric power.

It regenerates power rather quickly down big hills and via braking, but we’d exhausted all electric charge by the time we’d reached our 4WD test track.

As expected, this Grand Cherokee tackled every off-road challenge without any strife. 

The air suspension, set to full off-road height, is a bonus.

Our 4WD test track consists of difficult set-pieces, including one small steep rocky hill that I’ve seen heavily modified vehicles struggle to conquer and, to the Jeep’s credit, it climbed the incline, no sweat.

The 4xe’s efforts were only ever hampered by its 'all-season' Continental CrossContact tyres (275/45R21) which are much better suited to blacktop driving and the fact the 4xe costs upwards of $129,950 and I didn’t want to risk any damage to it.

The 4xe has a listed wading depth of 610mm but our test track was dry so I never had the chance to do any water crossings. 

The Grand Cherokee has a solid enough rep as a towing vehicle but, take note, the 4xe is rated to tow 2722kg.

The Discovery Sport P300e has the goods on paper when it comes to power and it does... once you're up to speed. That's when you can punch it and feel confident at overtaking or keeping your speed consistent on hills.

It's when you're accelerating from a full-stop that it becomes a bit lacklustre as there's serious lag between accelerating and actually moving forward. Accept that you will have to accommodate for this inaction whenever you are joining or crossing traffic from a standstill.

Besides this little hiccup in the power delivery, handling on the whole is good.

The Disco Sport is easy to manoeuvre and you don’t feel like you’re driving something big, despite the ample cabin space. It also handles itself well in corners without too much roll.

The switch between the electric and petrol components isn’t always the smoothest but when it’s in its electric mode it’s blissfully quiet. The cabin feels refined too because you don’t get a lot of external noise in the cabin at all.

The wide windows and higher ride means visibility is great and the optioned digital rearview mirror adds another viewpoint if the back window isn’t clear.

The Disco Sport proves to be nimble and easy to park with the optioned and clear 360-degree camera system, and the sensors at the front and rear are sensitive.

The Discovery Sport plug-in hybrid variant is not covered by its siblings' five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2022, so the P300e is unrated but features some good safety gear.

Standard items include AEB, blind spot monitoring, driver attention alert, tyre pressure monitoring, rear collision warning, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, intelligent seatbelt warning, and adaptive cruise control.

The traffic sign recognition tech is dreadfully intrusive, which impacts the driving enjoyment. I turn the warning sound alerts off each time I hop in as it's like a small child is hitting the same piano key over and over again - just to give you a sense of the sound itself and resulting annoyance.

It has seven airbags but interestingly, and unusually, the seventh one is a pedestrian airbag.

This model misses out on lane departure warning but for any families, there are ISOFIX mounts on the rear outboard seats plus three top tethers and you should be able to get three seats back if they’re not too big.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a five-year/100,000km warranty and a lifetime roadside assist service.

Servicing is set at 12-month/12,000km intervals and capped price servicing keeps what you pay for each appointment at $399 for the first five.

The Discovery Sport comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty and the battery is covered by an eight-year/ 160,000km warranty which is a usual term to see for this class now.

There is a five-year capped-price servicing program which costs a flat $2100, or $420 which is both reasonable for the class and is more affordable than a pay-as-you-go option. There is also a five-year roadside assistance program as a part of your servicing plan through Assist Australia.

Servicing intervals are great at every 12 months or 20,400km, whichever occurs first.