When one says the name Toyota Land Cruiser, people instantly think of all the things they’ve seen this iconic nameplate do over the decades. In 2021, Toyota discontinued the U.S version, but now it is back! This resurrected Land Cruiser takes on a whole new form – smaller, more affordable, and sharing many elements with its also-new luxury sibling, the Lexus GX. So, who wins in a 2024 Lexus GX vs. 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser battle? Let’s find out!
Pricing and Equipment
Now before we jump into it, let’s talk about pricing, which is an important point.
The former Land Cruiser cost close to $100,000, and while this new model is still expensive, it cost a good deal less than that. Our Land Cruiser is the standard trim with the Premium package, which costs just over $68,000.
MSRP (Land Cruiser 4×4): $61,950 | Options: $5,000 | Destination: $1,395 | Total: $68,295
The Lexus GX largely picks up where the Land Cruiser lets off, with the Overtrail+ trim adding up to a total price of $81,415 as tested.
MSRP (GX 550 Overtrail+): $75,900 | Options: $4,165 | Destination: $1,350 | Total: $81,415
By the way, if you want to get the best price from local dealerships and access to invoice pricing info for these two models or any vehicle, we have a tool on our website to do just that. Click here for more information!
Exterior Design
Now to address the elephant in the room right off the bat, yes, they do share some exterior body panels, but that’s largely confined to the sides. The front designs are very different, and each continues with modern interpretations of the classic design cues. That means a spindle up front for the Lexus and the heritage style grille for the Toyota. The Land Cruiser can also be had with the heritage circular headlights, but this trim comes with the less-retro rectangular full-LED lighting. GX also has LED lighting, and both have LED foglamps as well.
The designs look tough, and both have the goods to back it up as well. We will show off all their capability more later in the comparison, but for now know that they both have 8.7-inches of ground clearance and metal skid plates.
As far as the wheels, both have 18-inch alloys, but the tires are different. The Land Cruiser, for now, comes standard with all-season tires while the GX Overtrail comes with 33-inch all-terrain tires.
Like I already mentioned, the boxy side profiles look almost identical even though they cite different lengths due to bumper designs.
Lengths: LC: 193.7-inches | GX: 197.4-inches
Speaking of bumpers, they are one of the things that visually distinguish these two in the rear, along with the LED taillights. Capability-wise there are differences for towing since they don’t have the same powertrain. Land Cruiser’s max towing is 6,000 lbs which is 2,000 lbs less than the GX.
Additional Features
Now as far as some other features, both also have the latest safety packages, which include every single active safety system as standard equipment. Only traffic jam assist is optional on both.
Warranty-wise, both have reputations of being bullet-proof, but if you need to utilize them, the Lexus has the longer coverage for both basic and powertrain.
LEX: Warranty: Basic Warranty: 4yr/50k mi | Powertrain: 6yr/70k mi | Comp Main: 2 visits
SEQ: Warranty: Basic Warranty: 3yr/36k mi | Powertrain: 5yr/60k mi | Comp Main: 2yrs/24k
As cool as the exteriors are, we still have some luxurious and practical interiors to explore.
Interior Design
Now, walking up the vehicles, both are obviously going to have smart entry systems to unlock the doors, and these versions have fixed running boards to help you climb inside.
But before we do that, let’s look inside the interiors and talk about the seats you see. The Overtrail+ GX comes with NuLux faux leather seats with contrast Ultrasuede inserts, and surprisingly, it’s the Toyota that has real leather seats finished in Java brown.
As far as adjustability though, it’s the Lexus with the advantage since it has a power adjusting thy extension as well as massaging abilities. Both are heated, ventilated, and have memory.
Let’s fully climb inside and talk about the overall cabin materials. While the Land Cruiser is quite nice and extremely solid feeling, you can tell that Lexus added more luxury and finer details to this package.
Now after we start them up, you will be greeted by two 12.3-inch displays that get different graphics, and when you look up, there are also head up displays projected out.
As 80,000 SUV’s, we also have the expected rain-sensing wipers, and power adjusting steering wheels with heating.
Storage and Technology
Now the next major area to evaluate is interior storage, where they are largely the same, including with the available cool boxes for in-car refrigeration. The only thing missing that I wish the Land Cruiser had been the same passenger storage shelf that the GX has.
Both of them have wireless phone charging pads
Speaking of shifters, going against the trend of electronic shifters, both SUV’s have traditional ones, and when you shift into reverse, they both display the same 360-degree cameras. The angle selections are excellent, and the trail camera functions truly help with driving both these two off the beaten path.
For the climate controls, we do have some differences. While they have the same number of adjustments, the Lexus has many of the controls inside of the display, which is not as ideal on this kind of SUV as the physical controls on the Land Cruiser.
Furthermore, the GX Overtrail does without 3-zone climate for some reason, which is something that the LC has.
Alrighty, that brings us to the audio systems, so let’s sample them. The Land Cruiser’s 14-speaker JBL is fine but the GX’s 21-speaker Mark Levinson is top notch and really impresses.
GX: 21-speaker Mark Levinson Premium audio
LC: 14-speaker JBL Premium audio
Now moving on to the screens, these are obviously very important aspects of a modern interior, and they are largely the same. In the Lexus, we have 14-inch touchscreen panels, but I do think it should it be noted that the climate controls take up a decent amount of the GX’s real-estate, so it doesn’t feel any larger than the LC’s 12.3-inch display.
Both though are running the latest version of Toyota’s new software, which includes dynamic built in navigation, as well as wireless AA and ACP.
Up above, both SUV’s include auto-dimming rearview mirrors, but only the Land Cruiser gets the smart camera functionality. GX luxury has that feature, as well as a panoramic sunroof, but you’ll notice this high-end Overtrail+ just has the regular-sized option the same as the Toyota.
Rear Seats and Cargo
Now, as you’d expect, as we move to the rear areas, many elements will be the same, but they are not the same. Legroom is the same, and although Lexus reports more headroom, there is no difference when sitting back there.
GX: 36.7-inches of legroom | 43.1-inches of headroom
LC: 36.7-inches of legroom | 39.4-inches of headroom
Both have rear air vents, although they are in different locations, and the Toyota has controls back here as previously mentioned. Other amenities include 2 USB ports for charging, but heated back seats only on the GX.
These versions come with bench seating and only the GX 550 has window sunshades.
Now this is where you might be expecting us start talking about third rows, but neither of these two have one. On the LC it is not offered at all, and on the GX you cannot get one on the Overtrail trims, meaning these are both 5 passenger vehicles as equipped.
Now moving around back to the cargo, both have hands-free power tailgates, and can pop the rear glass independently.
Once open, you will find very similar amounts of space. While we don’t yet have official specs for the Land Cruiser, as you have probably noticed by now, there is a raised floor due to the hybrid system packaging. That means that the Toyota will have some reduction of space compared to the GX.
GX: 90.5 cu.ft (max)
LC: TBD
Now let’s take them out on the road and see how they stack up there!
Powertrains
So, throughout the video, some things these two have in common and some they don’t, and here they have different ways of achieving very similar power figures. This next-gen Land Cruiser joins several other Toyota’s in being hybrid-exclusive, with a 2.4L Turbo 4 and electric components making 326 hp.
The GX, for now at least, is 6-cylinder exclusive with a 3.4L Twin-Turbo V-6 making 349 hp. That give it about a 7% hp advantage but the monster torque figures are too like award any points.
GX: 3.4L Twin-turbo V-6: 349 hp | 479 lb.ft of torque
LC: 2.4L Turbo I-4 + electric motor: 326 hp | 465 lb.ft of torque
As far as the transmissions are concerned, we have 8 and 10-speed automatics, respectively. Both are smooth and responsive, and power is put to the ground via full-time 4WD systems. And speaking of 4WD, we did get the privilege to take both off-road and they are extremely capable. Their bones and technologies are the same, so we have rear locking diffs, multi-terrain select, crawl control and even a front stabilizer bar disconnect on the Land Cruiser.
Test Drive and Fuel Economy
But owners of these machines won’t always be off-road, so let’s talk about on-road manners. While the Lexus has adaptive dampers that the Land Cruiser doesn’t have, the tires actually offset that advantage when it comes to ride quality, which we would say is about equal. Since they are both body-on-frame SUV’s at the end of the day, you will feel small vibrations enter the cabin and there is moderate body roll.
Here at Car Confections, something we like to do is take sound level readings for all the models we test so that we can compare them. At 55 MPH, the Land Cruiser has a pretty serine environment measuring in at 57.6 dB in Southern California. The GX came in louder at 59.6, however these are unofficial measurements since they were taken in other states outside of our home state. We look forward to getting official readings soon when we have these two back in Kentucky.
GX: 59.6 dB @ 55 MPH (Arizona)
LC: 57.3 dB @ 55 MPH (So Cal)
Finally, when it comes to fuel economy, the Toyota’s hybrid system makes a big difference here. It achieves 6 MPG better overall which adds up especially considering that both use premium fuel.
GX 4×4: 15/21/17 MPG
LC 4×4: 22/25/23 MPG
Resale and Reliability
In our reviews and comparisons, we are also adding in reliability and resale information to give you a better picture of the overall value beyond just the original MSRP.
Reliability: beginning with reliability, we developed the Combined Reliability Index, which takes into account several studies from trustworthy sources, and combines them in a way that gives a more realistic picture. Lexus ranks 10 slots above the industry average for all brands in reliability, while Toyota is the very top brand for reliability, 16 slots above average.
Resale: we also put Mason’s economics degree to work to develop a detailed Predicted Resale Value tool. After 5 years and 60,000 miles, Toyota has the 2nd highest predicted resale value of 64.5%, which is 10.7 percentage points better than the Mitsubishi’s projected percentage of 53.8%.
Value: resale is obviously important because it determines how much money you get back, but we can’t forget about the price difference at the original purchase. This GX costs $13,120 more than the Land Cruiser.
I want to emphasize that if money, reliability or resale value matter less to you personally, feel free to disregard these points. And if you’d like to check out all our data about reliability and resale values, as well as learn about our methodology, make sure to head to www.carconfections.com/resale and www.carconfections.com/reliability. Buying a car is a big decision, and this is a great place to compare all the makes you might be cross-shopping.
2024 Lexus GX vs. 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser winner!
Well, there you have it! Even after considering everything, it’s still super close! But let’s talk about who should be “your” winner:
GX:
- V-6 non-hybrid powertrain
- Lexus prestige and dealerships
- Luxury features: Massaging seats, Mark Levinson audio
LC:
- Hybrid: similar power with way better fuel economy
- 3-zone climate, digital camera mirror
- Iconic nameplate known around the world
Now we want to know your opinions, so make sure to head to the comment section and let us know which one you would pick!
Thanks for joining us for another Car Confections Comparison! We’ll catch you next time as we sample the latest automotive delicacies!
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