Lexus LX Overtrail vs Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport

Yes, to a striking degree. The Lexus LX 500d and the LandCruiser 300 are built on the same GA-F ladder platform and share the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel, 227kW and 700Nm, the 10-speed automatic, full-time four-wheel drive and a 3,500kg braked tow rating. The LX is the luxury expression: Lexus wraps that hardware in a quieter, plusher cabin, adds equipment such as Active Height Control, and sells it about a segment up in price. So the Overtrail and the GR Sport are the off-road picks of two ranges that are, under the panels, the same machine. What you are really choosing between is cabin and badge, not capability.

The premium is real, and so is what it buys, but it is not capability. For roughly $38,000 more driveaway than the GR Sport in mid-2026, the LX Overtrail gives you a markedly quieter, better-finished cabin, quilted leather, Active Height Control adjustable air suspension, standard all-terrain tyres and the Lexus Encore ownership program. What it does not buy is a harder-working off-roader: the GR Sport out-angles it, clears more ground, and publishes a tow-combination mass the Lexus does not. It also costs more to service, $695 a visit against $420. If the cabin and the quiet matter to you, the money is well spent. If capability per dollar is the test, it is not.

Closer than the price gap implies. Both run front, centre and rear locking differentials with low range, so the core hardware is matched. The GR Sport leads on published geometry: a 31-degree approach angle to the Lexus's 21, 245mm of ground clearance against 210, and Toyota's e-KDSS sway-bar disconnect for articulation. The Overtrail answers with Active Height Control, which raises the body on its air suspension, and standard 265/70R18 all-terrain tyres the GR Sport does not fit. On a technical track the GR Sport's angles and clearance give it the edge at standard height; the LX narrows it when raised. For the money, the Toyota is the sharper tool.

Both are rated to tow 3,500kg braked and 750kg unbraked, so on the headline they match. The GR Sport pulls ahead on the details that decide a heavy tow: it publishes a 6,750kg gross combination mass, so you can do the weigh-bridge maths, and it allows a heavier 350kg tow-ball download against the LX's 250kg. Lexus does not quote a combination mass for the LX at all, which makes loading to the limit a guess. Both share the 110-litre fuel tank and the 8.9L/100km diesel claim, so touring range is similar. For a big caravan, the documented Toyota is the safer bet.

The LandCruiser 300 GR Sport, and it is not close. On 2026 pricing, Toyota caps its scheduled services at $420 a visit against Lexus's $695, which works out to about $4,200 over five years against $6,950, a saving of roughly $2,750 before you count the $38,000 you did not spend to buy it. Both cars run the same 6-month or 10,000km service intervals, which are short by class standards, and both carry a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. The Lexus counters with the Encore ownership program and its dealer experience. If running cost is the priority, the Toyota wins the sale before it leaves the driveway.

Neither carries an ANCAP star, for different reasons. ANCAP awarded the standard LandCruiser 300 five stars in 2022, but it specifically excludes the GR Sport because Toyota does not submit its GR performance models for testing. The Lexus LX has never been ANCAP-tested in Australia. Importantly, that means untested, not unsafe: both cars fit ten airbags and the same active-safety suite, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and a 360-degree camera. If a current ANCAP result is a hard requirement, one of the rated LandCruiser 300 grades, such as the Sahara, carries the five-star rating the GR Sport does not.

The LandCruiser 300 GR Sport, without much agonising. It shares the LX Overtrail's platform, diesel V6 and triple-locked off-road hardware, then beats it on the numbers that decide a hard track: a 31-degree approach angle against 21, and 245mm of clearance against 210. It publishes a tow-combination mass the Lexus does not, and in mid-2026 it costs around $38,000 less to buy and hundreds less per service. The Overtrail's Active Height Control and standard all-terrain tyres are genuine advantages, but they do not close a $38,000 gap for a capability-first buyer. The saving funds tyres, a winch, recovery gear and a lot of diesel.

The Lexus LX Overtrail, for its roughly $38,000 premium in mid-2026. It spends that premium exactly where you would want it: a markedly quieter, better-finished cabin, quilted leather, and Active Height Control that softens the highway and raises the body for a track. You still get the triple-locked off-road hardware and standard all-terrain tyres, so it is no soft-roader, and the Lexus Encore program adds a concierge layer of ownership. You accept a roughly $38,000 driveaway premium over the mechanically identical GR Sport, dearer servicing, and no ANCAP star. If refinement and the badge lead your brief and the budget allows, it is the clear pick, and the cabin alone can justify it.

This one leans to the GR Sport, but not unanimously. For towing, the Toyota is the sounder choice: it publishes a 6,750kg combination mass and allows a heavier 350kg tow-ball download, where Lexus quotes neither, and both are rated to 3,500kg braked. For the family, the two are line-ball, both five-seaters with near-identical boot space seats-up and the same safety kit. The LX makes the comfort case, a quieter, plusher cabin for long trips, while the GR Sport makes the money case, around $38,000 cheaper in mid-2026 and hundreds less per service. Pick the GR Sport if the van and the budget lead; pick the LX if cabin comfort does.