2024 Toyota Land Cruiser vs 2024 Lexus GX550

Good post! The point about the seats folding flat is a good one. However just to prevent confusion they don’t fold completely even with the rear cargo floor. However there is significantly less of a height difference between the rear folded seats and cargo floor in the GX vs LC. However what I think accomplishes this is not a different rear seat design, but rather a taller cargo floor in to order accommodate the rear 3rd row capability. This appers true of non hybrid 3rd row capable LC’s as well. I have not put a tape on it, but the wheel wells and interior accessories appear significantly closer to the floor on the GX vs the LC. However the published cargo volumes don’t seem to bear this out with the GX claiming about 2 more cubic frat of storage volume behind the 2nd row. Here are some photos first the 3 of the LC including, then the 4th is non US spec LC with 3rd row then the last two are GX both with bench and captains chairs.
 

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Well I think I’m wrong. Here are photos of someone putting a tape to it. GX has a lower cargo floor. How that translates to the folded LC seats sitting taller than the cargo floor vs the GX was a mystery. I thought surely the 2nd row seat is not that different. However looking at head room measurements, it certainly appears it is. 35” vs 42” of headroom. Is the rear seat floor taller in the LC as well or is the Gx seat thinner or both?
 

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Well I think I’m wrong. Here are photos of someone putting a tape to it. GX has a lower cargo floor. How that translates to the folded LC seats sitting taller than the cargo floor vs the GX was a mystery. I thought surely the 2nd row seat is not that different. However looking at head room measurements, it certainly appears it is. 35” vs 42” of headroom. Is the rear seat floor taller in the LC as well or is the Gx seat thinner or both?
OverTrail+ doesn’t have third row. It is conceptually an identical to LC. I did not look for other trim specifically for that reason.
 
I also have a deposit down on a GX. I might end up in a Land Cruiser instead though, because:

- GX seem to be unobtainium around here. I made my deposit in January and I don’t have an allocation yet. Dealer says he’s seeing one, maybe two Overtrail models a month. So timeline is totally unclear. I’ve seen only one of them in the wild so far.

- MSRP on the Overtrail+ I chose is $83K. I can’t get a LC much higher than $69K. I could probably write a listing of the technical differences here if I tried, but if I’m being honest I’m not sure any of them would matter to me daily.

- I sort of like the Land Cruiser ethos a bit more.

I find the engine options to be a wash, or close. Two different ways to reach about the same result. If the pricing were the same I might choose the 6 cylinder, but see above - $14K is a lot of dough, and I have another car that has an engine sound no Toyota will ever approach (a rear engine flat 6) and I drive that one when I want to scream around.

I do think the Lexus color choices are a bit better. I “ordered” Incognito with a black roof.

I’ll probably leave the deposit in on the GX, then see what the passage of time brings. If the Lexus dealer calls, I’ll decide. Or maybe I’ll find a LC on a lot along the way. No huge rush.
 
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I saw a dimension sheet comparing LC and GX the GX was 4 inches overall length longer
I was offered an OverTrail+ two weeks ago. After thinking about it for a night I decide to decline the offer. Here is my reasoning:

1. Cruising Range
GX has a significantly shorter cruising range, and on the top of that, I really do not like the gas efficiency.
2. Cost of ownership.
It comes with additional gimmicky features, which will likely to add unnecessary cost of ownership in long term. I do not feel I want to pay for it.
3. Aftermarket potential
I am specifically counting on the front and rear bumper as primary mounting points for accessories. Unlike LC's build, I feel the options to mount feature rich aftermarket bumpers on GX would be significantly limited.
4. Imaging
This is very minor, but I do not want to associate myself to other Lexus owners that tend to have a different stereotype than the typical offroad community. (a.k.a. rich soccer mom)

Having that said, there are some very desirable qualities that makes it hard for me to give away:
1. Cargo
GX has a larger cargo area, and more importantly it is FLAT. It adds many options how I can design my cargo space
2. Engine
I know it is gas hungry, but lord that is a smooth engine despite the recall on Tundra.
3. Wheel
Why LC did not comes with these wheel is beyond me. That is a proper wheel for offroad vehicle
4. Interior Quality
I know they are close, but Lexus still has superior build than Toyota

Hopfully this give you some insights
This is a good list. You’d have to factor in the increased cost of the GX on comparably positioned trims as well. The GX is around a year of in-state college tuition more expensive, if that gives you a sense of my thought process.
 
The way people discuss pricing on the LC is off base. I've said it in other threads, but if your "LC" price is the First Edition, plus options, plus fees, plus dealer mark up and your comparison price is the other vehicle's base model price with nothing added, you are going to come to the conclusion the LC is a bad value.

You have to be minimum Premium + to compare the GX to the "Land Cruiser" Trim and that's a $69K base price vs. $63k, even with the Premium Package on the LC you are at $67,500 and at that price the LC has options on it the GX doesn't.

For me the biggest positive for the GX is the 3rd row. Lack of 3rd row is the #1 thing I regret about the new LC.
 
The way people discuss pricing on the LC is off base. I've said it in other threads, but if your "LC" price is the First Edition, plus options, plus fees, plus dealer mark up and your comparison price is the other vehicle's base model price with nothing added, you are going to come to the conclusion the LC is a bad value.

You have to be minimum Premium + to compare the GX to the "Land Cruiser" Trim and that's a $69K base price vs. $63k, even with the Premium Package on the LC you are at $67,500 and at that price the LC has options on it the GX doesn't.

For me the biggest positive for the GX is the 3rd row. Lack of 3rd row is the #1 thing I regret about the new LC.
Agree. There’s a large price jump between the LC Premium Package and the GX Overtrail. The First Edition and the Overtrail are more comparable, but then ask yourself if what you’re paying for there matters to you. EKDSS is cool on paper but not having it would never stop me from doing anything I’d try to do in one of these.

Third row bothers me less. I’m coming off a Tahoe I’ve had 8+ years. I’ve had people in that third row maybe a dozen times and more than half of them was one extra person who could have sat in row two if I didn’t have captain’s chairs.
 
Agree. There’s a large price jump between the LC Premium Package and the GX Overtrail. The First Edition and the Overtrail are more comparable, but then ask yourself if what you’re paying for there matters to you. EKDSS is cool on paper but not having it would never stop me from doing anything I’d try to do in one of these.

Third row bothers me less. I’m coming off a Tahoe I’ve had 8+ years. I’ve had people in that third row maybe a dozen times and more than half of them was one extra person who could have sat in row two if I didn’t have captain’s chairs.
I have some thought for the third row expectation.

Personally, I am welcome to the third row. However, most of the third row in this class of the car comes with limitation. I am buying Land Cruiser for "cruising the land". If I genuinely need that third row, where am I gonna place their luggage/bags... etc? In the midsize SUV you never really have reasonable space for it. Just looking at GX550 third rows you will see. A meaningful third row that can go for an extended trip is go one class up for full size SUV like Sequoia. (not even Sequoia has enough cargo space)

However, I feel with large SUV it also comes with a different limitation. The car will no longer be that maneuverable anymore for many situation, and gas mileage will drop by at least 20~30%. So I reach a conclusion that for LC/GX500 the third row option is only meaningful if you intend to use the car for street driving and mall crawling, which really Grand Highlander / TX500 could actually do a better job in that.

BTW, the Lexus dealer told me Toyota really only make about 10% of the GX550 in OverTrail, as the majority of their clients are not buying the car for offroading. I'd say it is rare, but then I found the FE trim is probably equally rare given in my area they havn't really been able to ship much for the past few month due to quality hold. 1958, however, are stockpiling in the dealer's lot not selling well from what I can see.
 
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I have some thought for the third row expectation.

Personally, I am welcome to the third row. However, most of the third row in this class of the car comes with limitation. I am buying Land Cruiser for "cruising the land". If I genuinely need that third row, where am I gonna place their luggage/bags... etc? In the midsize SUV you never really have reasonable space for it. Just looking at GX550 third rows you will see. A meaningful third row that can go for an extended trip is go one class up for full size SUV like Sequoia. (not even Sequoia has enough cargo space)

However, I feel with large SUV it also comes with a different limitation. The car will no longer be that maneuverable anymore for many situation, and gas mileage will drop by at least 20~30%. So I reach a conclusion that for LC/GX500 the third row option is only meaningful if you intend to use the car for street driving and mall crawling, which really Grand Highlander / TC500 could actually do a better job in that.

BTW, the Lexus dealer told me Toyota really only make about 10% of the GX550 in OverTrail, as the majority of their clients are not buying the car for offroading. I'd say it is rare, but then I found the FE trim is probably equally rare given in my area they havn't really been able to ship much for the past few month due to quality hold. 1958, however, are stockpiling in the dealer's lot not selling well from what I can see.
Final sentence is spot on. We also own a Grand Highlander, which has a pretty big third row and good storage behind the 3rd row. It is a fantastic "mall crawler" if you actually use a 3rd row on a regular basis neither the LC or GX is really a very good option.
 
I have some thought for the third row expectation.

Personally, I am welcome to the third row. However, most of the third row in this class of the car comes with limitation. I am buying Land Cruiser for "cruising the land". If I genuinely need that third row, where am I gonna place their luggage/bags... etc? In the midsize SUV you never really have reasonable space for it. Just looking at GX550 third rows you will see. A meaningful third row that can go for an extended trip is go one class up for full size SUV like Sequoia. (not even Sequoia has enough cargo space)

However, I feel with large SUV it also comes with a different limitation. The car will no longer be that maneuverable anymore for many situation, and gas mileage will drop by at least 20~30%. So I reach a conclusion that for LC/GX500 the third row option is only meaningful if you intend to use the car for street driving and mall crawling, which really Grand Highlander / TC500 could actually do a better job in that.

BTW, the Lexus dealer told me Toyota really only make about 10% of the GX550 in OverTrail, as the majority of their clients are not buying the car for offroading. I'd say it is rare, but then I found the FE trim is probably equally rare given in my area they havn't really been able to ship much for the past few month due to quality hold. 1958, however, are stockpiling in the dealer's lot not selling well from what I can see.

Not 25%-30% though. Third row equipment probably weighs about as much as an adult human.

Agree on the Overtrail build %; my dealer said the same. But he also said that half the orders are coming in for those, which was a real misread by Toyota and explains why the wait is so long.
 
I can’t imagine Toyota won’t adjust build %, subject to parts availability, to increase OT/OT+ sales. That’s the GX I’d be interested in as well. They’re just not on the ground here yet. Interesting actually that there’s apparently an untapped market for a luxury brand off roader. Nobody else is doing this so they might just be a bit surprised. Or maybe it’s all early adopters wanting the OT/OT+.
 
I can’t imagine Toyota won’t adjust build %, subject to parts availability, to increase OT/OT+ sales. That’s the GX I’d be interested in as well. They’re just not on the ground here yet. Interesting actually that there’s apparently an untapped market for a luxury brand off roader. Nobody else is doing this so they might just be a bit surprised. Or maybe it’s all early adopters wanting the OT/OT+.
Traditionally even hard core machine like LX500/600 owners of these cars still wouldn’t offroad with their babies. That is just the kind of consumers Lexus connects to. People buying these car fantasizing these wild experience crawling rocks and sands when in real life a small scratches on their plastics will drive them nuts. and they would much appreciate a massage chair than a manual sway bar disconnect. That is probably why Lexus has to put eKDSS on it rather than a more practical Sway bar disconnect.
 
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OverTrail+ doesn’t have third row. It is conceptually an identical to LC. I did not look for other trim specifically for that reason.
Good point! It looks like the Overtail may be the king when it comes to lowest cargo floor. Looking at it vs. a regular GX550 with a 3rd row vs. a Non US LC250 vs. a US LC250, Overtrail seems to have a cargo floor much lower relative that vent for the inverter on the passenger side of the cargo area. The seats definitely don't fold even with the cargo floor though.
 

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Agree. There’s a large price jump between the LC Premium Package and the GX Overtrail. The First Edition and the Overtrail are more comparable, but then ask yourself if what you’re paying for there matters to you. EKDSS is cool on paper but not having it would never stop me from doing anything I’d try to do in one of these.

Third row bothers me less. I’m coming off a Tahoe I’ve had 8+ years. I’ve had people in that third row maybe a dozen times and more than half of them was one extra person who could have sat in row two if I didn’t have captain’s chairs.
Very well said. It took about 30 days of shopping, but was able to get a LC Trim with Premium pack for $1K below MSRP. Looking high and low in Texas for a GX550 Overtrail the average quote I was getting was $83K and was told it would be 6 to 9 months.
 
While I've already placed a deposit for the forthcoming 2024 Lexus GX 550, I'm open to switching, depending on the features and design that the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser unveils. Anyone else in the same boat?
There are lots of reviews on YouTube comparing the two vehicles. I would definitely check that out
 
There are lots of reviews on YouTube comparing the two vehicles. I would definitely check that out

I think the information on this forum even on this thread is pretty thoughtful. I’ve watched all those YouTubers and did not find them very thoughtful after I drove both vehicles back to back. It seams like well over half of them are trying to bait folks for clicks with stupid claims like the Lexus is a cheaper/better buy.
 
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Looking high and low in Texas for a GX550 Overtrail the average quote I was getting was $83K and was told it would be 6 to 9 months.
I’m in Denver; I’ve had a deposit on a GX Overtrail for 9 months ($83K) and I don’t even have an allocation number yet.
 
By next year the 4Runner to LC to GX550 will be a continuum of the same base truck with overlap between models. Typically the higher one goes in price point the less intent there is to modify. All these vehicles come out of the same high quality Japanese factories and will have much the same fundamental high quality.

One big advantage of going lower in this continuum is avoiding most of Toyota's safety electronics. I assume those features are unavoidable with Lexus.

I can't see doing extensive travel in this size vehicle with a family that needs three rows. It's too small. But the third row could certainly be useful with kids around town.

As a vehicle to build on I expect the non-hybrid 4 cylinder upcoming 4Runner will be the value point. Some of these will be built up to a cost approaching the GX500, but will be very different vehicles.
 
I’ve got another gripe with a common complaint many other of the reviewers seem to Ding the Land Cruiser relative to the GX. They claim that the powertrain is not as well sorted. Complaints that it can is hesitant on Transitioning between electric and gas and shifting too early. I experienced none of this And was a total mystery what they’re talking about. Then one day I switched from normal to Eco mode and There it was, Slight hesitation and slightly early upshifts. Switch back to normal and it’s all gone. No hesitation and normal shifts. Guaranteed those jokers were driving around in eco mode anti try and max out mpg and in sport mode on the GX trying to max perform the twin turbo.
 
I’ve got another gripe with a common complaint many other of the reviewers seem to Ding the Land Cruiser relative to the GX. They claim that the powertrain is not as well sorted. Complaints that it can is hesitant on Transitioning between electric and gas and shifting too early. I experienced none of this And was a total mystery what they’re talking about. Then one day I switched from normal to Eco mode and There it was, Slight hesitation and slightly early upshifts. Switch back to normal and it’s all gone. No hesitation and normal shifts. Guaranteed those jokers were driving around in eco mode anti try and max out mpg and in sport mode on the GX trying to max perform the twin turbo.
I guess people can assert that Toyota doesn’t know what they’re doing with 4 cylinder hybrid engines. But they just come off silly.

In other news, Chevy delivered an updated small block V8 and people are wondering if it will provide good service in their pickup trucks. (Not really)
 
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