Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2015 Land Rover RANGE ROVER SPORT VS 2015 BMW X5 Near Scottsdale, AZ

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW X5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

The Range Rover Sport’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The X5 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport 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 BMW X5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Range Rover Sport. But it costs extra on the X5.

To help make backing safer, the Range Rover Sport’s optional cross-path warning system uses wide-angle radar in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The X5 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

Both the Range Rover Sport and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, front and rear parking sensors, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.

The Range Rover Sport has more powerful engines than the X5:

As tested in Consumer Reports the Land Rover Range Rover Sport V6 is faster than the X5 s/xDrive35i:

The Range Rover Sport has 5.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the X5 (27.7 vs. 22.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Range Rover Sport’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the X5:

The Range Rover Sport stops much shorter than the X5:

The Range Rover Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the X5’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Range Rover Sport has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the X5. The Range Rover Sport’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the X5.

The Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The X5 doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Range Rover Sport uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the X5, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Range Rover Sport is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than on the X5.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged handles at .86 G’s, while the X5 xDrive35i xDrive pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the X5 xDrive35i xDrive (25.8 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 26.8 seconds @ .69 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Range Rover Sport’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the X5’s (40.4 feet vs. 41.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Range Rover Sport has a 2.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the X5 (11 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Range Rover Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Range Rover Sport has a much larger cargo area than the X5 with its rear seat up (27.7 vs. 22.9 cubic feet).

The Range Rover Sport has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The X5 doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Range Rover Sport’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The X5 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Range Rover Sport’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the X5, the Range Rover Sport has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

Optional air conditioned the front and second row seats keep the Range Rover Sport’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in Summer. The X5 doesn’t offer air conditioned seats for the second row.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport won two awards in Kiplinger’s 2015 car issue. The BMW X5 only won one award.

The Range Rover Sport was selected by Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine as their 2014 4x4 of the Year. The X5 has never been chosen.