Foton Tunland vs Lexus LM 500H

What's the difference?

The 2018 Tunland is a big improvement on any Chinese ute we’ve driven. Foton has done a commendable job in selecting known brand components and bringing them together into one cohesive package that delivers robust performance. Although it doesn’t quite equal the sum of its parts (mostly owing to poor safety features and some technical quirks), it’s still a lot of 4x4 dual cab ute for not a lot of money, and it's worthy of a test drive.

The Lexus LM 500h is luxurious, comfortable, practical, easy to drive and expensive. While it may appear to be the ultimate family car, with only four seats it's limited in terms of how many kids and their friends you can carry. On top of that, the privacy screen introduces accessibility issues to the kids you wouldn't encounter on other vehicles. If you are thinking of a Lexus people mover as your next family car I'd suggest looking at the LM 350h which has seven seats and no privacy screen. If you’re looking at a business class executive van the LM 500h would be perfect. 

This is a big ute with an imposing presence, much like the Ford Ranger with which it shares similar dimensions (if not looks). Compared to the Ranger Wildtrak, the Tunland is 115mm shorter in wheelbase and 45mm shorter in overall length, but 20mm wider and 22mm taller. Ground clearance of 210mm is 27mm less and its kerb weight undercuts the Wildtrak by 250kg.

The Tunland uses traditional body-on-frame construction with a steel ladder-frame chassis, coil-spring twin-wishbone front suspension, leaf-spring live rear axle, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes and hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion steering. 

Chrome body highlights include the grille, driving lights, side mirrors, door handle inserts and body badges. The dashboard and interior trim feature strongly textured grey surfaces with a tasteful mix of piano black, chrome, satin chrome and carbon fibre-look highlights. 

There’s good comfort for driver and front passenger, with a height-adjustable steering wheel and multi-adjustable driver’s seat with adequate under-thigh support that doesn’t feel too short like a Triton. The driving position is a big improvement on other Chinese utes we’ve tested, and is on par with many of the major players. The rear bench seat’s low cushion height results in raised upper thigh angles and knees, but also aids in providing unusually generous headroom, even for tall adults sitting in the higher centre position. 

The LM 500h doesn't look real. More like a concept vehicle with its vertical face wearing that enormous grille. Feels like if you watched it for long enough you’d catch it transforming into some kind of robot. Yet, at the same time its styling is elegant and prestigious.

I have a confession to make. I used this Lexus as my office. Its interior is that comfortable and spacious. I'm also a parent and there were times where it was the quietest place to get some work done.

It also let me observe people's reactions as they walked past with their dogs not knowing what was going on inside behind those tinted windows. The people that noticed were clearly car enthusiasts as they knew what they were looking at and couldn't pass without gaping it awe.

The LM 500h’s interior is superbly plush with thick carpets, beautiful copper metallic trim and nappa leather seats.

As I’ve said, the cockpit up front is less luxurious than the extravagant first class section in the back behind that dividing wall.

And yes, I’ve seen large screens before but nothing that stretches the width of the vehicle.

Figures used here are provided by Foton Motor Australia Ltd and differ slightly from those shown in sales brochures. With a claimed kerb weight of 2000kg and 2925kg GVM, the Tunland is rated to carry a decent payload of up to 925kg.

It’s also rated to tow up to 3000kg of braked trailer, and with its 5925kg GCM, can tow that weight without having to reduce its peak payload, which gets a big tick from us.

Load tub dimensions of 1520mm length, 1580mm width and 440mm height provide more than a cubic metre of enclosed load volume. There’s also 1140mm between the wheel arches (not wide enough for a standard Aussie pallet) plus four sturdy tie-down points for securing loads.

Cabin storage options includes a bottle holder and pocket in each front door, a shallow tray inset in the centre dash pad, an overhead sunglasses holder and single glovebox. The centre console has an open cubby up front, two cup holders in the centre and a small lidded box at the back which doubles as a well-placed armrest.

Rear doors also have bottle holders and storage pockets, plus there are flexible storage pockets on the rear of each front seat and a fold out dual cup holder on the rear of the centre console. The rear bench seat’s base cushion also swings up through 90 degrees to reveal two hidden storage areas beneath for the wheel-changing tools and other smallish items.

You might be able to take Lexus out of Toyota but it's very hard to take Toyota out of Lexus and this particularly applies to the practicality of the LM 500h.

Every day I discovered new compartments, tray tables and storage areas. There are so many cabinets, lockers and hidey holes that we almost left my belongings (an entire family of plushie toy capybaras) behind because there are so many places to check.

Of course, I'm talking about the rear compartment here because up front there's not much storage. In fact, it proved to be quite a problem in that I had nowhere to put my bag with somebody sitting next to me and no area behind the front seats to stow it, either.

Talking of seats, the LM 500h only has four of them, with two up front and two in the rear. Up front, the seats are supportive and large, but the rear seats - those are, well... have a look at the images.

We’re talking two large captain's chairs that look as though they’ve been removed from the first class section of a plane.

And while this might be suitable for businesses shuttling a couple of executives to and from meetings, for a family, even with two children, the extra couple of seats a third row offers would come in handy.

The LM 350h has seven seats over three rows and no privacy screen. A far better choice for families.

For device charging there are USB ports up front and in the rear. There are wireless phone chargers for those in the back seats but not up front.

The LM 500h has a cargo capacity of 752 litres with all seats in place.

The Lexus LM 500h sits at the top of its range and is without a doubt one of the most expensive people movers on Earth with its list price of $220,888.

As you would imagine the standard features list is as extensive as it is extravagant.

For starters, while the regular LM 350h has two rows of seating in the rear (seven seats all up, including the front two), the 500h has the third row removed and just two super luxurious and enormous fully reclining seats fill the entire space. It’s like a theatre back there.

That theatre theme keeps going with a media screen in the back so large it stretches the width of the vehicle. Seriously, it's a 48-inch screen to watch movies or connect to your device.

The sound system is probably the best I’ve experienced - a spine tinglingly incredible 23-speaker Mark Levinson set-up.

What else can I tell you? Those rear seats are upholstered in beautifully soft semi-aniline leather. They’re heated and ventilated with a massaging function and... ridiculously comfortable.

There’s four-zone climate control, windows which have an electronic shade that turns the glass opaque, there are wireless phone chargers in the doors and carpet throughout so thick you sink down into it as you step inside.

Our LM 500h was upholstered in the 'Solis White' leather which also brings contrasting and mesmerising copper metallic trim.

Oh, and there’s a wall with an electric glass screen that can be raised or lowered to separate the rear passengers from the driver.

I should have mentioned this earlier. The kids loved it, but these parents spent a lot of time telling the 10- and three-year old not to put the screen up again.

The rear occupants, aka the kids, can also lock the screen in place. Which they did, and so sound proof is the dividing wall that we can only just hear their uproarious laughter.

Up front, the cockpit is comfortable but it’s clear all the space and luxury is for those being driven around.

Still, the front seats are leather with heating and ventilation, there’s a 14-inch media screen and 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, plus a head-up display. Sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.

One of the Tunland’s strong points is its Euro 5-compliant 2.8-litre four-cylinder Cummins ISF turbo-diesel, which Foton claims is the first ute in the world to be powered by this engine. It delivers 130kW at 3600rpm and 365Nm across a pretty flexible 1600-3200rpm torque band.

The smooth-shifting six-speed German automatic behind it is from another premium OEM supplier in Friedrichshafen AG, better known as ZF. Its gearing and shift protocols are well matched to the engine’s characteristics, offering a choice of full-auto mode or sequential manual shifting. Console buttons also provide a choice of Economy, Sport or Snow driving modes.

American OEM giant Borg Warner supplies the part-time, dual-range 4x4 transfer case, while another  major US supplier - Dana - has its stamp on the front drive-shafts and live rear axle assembly, featuring a 3.9:1 final drive and limited-slip differential. There’s no locking rear diff option available.

The LM 500h is a petrol-electric hybrid with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which makes 202kW/460Nm and works in concert with two electric motors.

The front motor makes 64kW/292Nm and the rear makes 76kW/169Nm. The combined maximum power output of the two motors and the petrol engine is 273kW.

The LM 500h is all wheel-drive and has a six-speed automatic transmission.

Foton’s official combined figure is 8.7L/100km but our ‘real world’ road test figures based on fuel bowser and trip meter readings came in at 12.2 (after 503km) and 12.1 (after 297km). Based on those figures, you could expect a driving range of around 620km from its 76-litre tank. However, after only 500km the fuel gauge needle was nudging the red zone and the low-fuel warning light came on, so we weren’t game to find out if there was another 100km-plus of driving available from the theoretical fuel remaining. 

Lexus says after a combination of urban and open roads the LM 500h should use 6.6L/100km. In our own testing we found consumption was higher at 9.4L/100km.

Worth noting my driving environment was mainly a hilly suburban one filled with school drop offs. Achieved some personal bests this week, with one long run to Sydney’s outskirts, only to return in nightmarish peak hour traffic.

Premium (95 RON) fuel is required and the tank size is 60 litres. In theory the driving range is a smidge more than 900km, which drops to around 640km using our real-world average.

It’s a tight build free of rattles and squeaks, but the ride is too firm when empty or lightly loaded, particularly in the leaf-spring rear suspension which feels every small bump and delivers a sharp kick in your back over larger ones.

Otherwise, the chassis performance is more than adequate with its four-wheel disc brakes and steering that’s responsive and nicely weighted. Engine refinement and noise insulation are not best in class, but at highway speeds the combined engine, tyre and wind noise is certainly low enough to allow conversations without raised voices. The Cummins fairly lopes along here, with only 1800rpm at 100km/h and 2000rpm at 110km/h.

It’s also quite an agile and energetic performer around town, particularly in Sport mode. Maximum torque of 385Nm from the Cummins diesel is far from the strongest in this category, but the Tunland’s relatively low kerb weight helps to compensate for it with brisk getaways from standing starts and good throttle response in city and suburban driving. 

To test its GVM rating we strapped 770kg into the load tub, which with driver was only about 50kg short of its 925kg payload limit. The rear springs compressed 50mm while the nose rose 18mm. This resulted in a near-level ride height and noticeably improved ride quality, with no major decline in steering or braking response.  

With this load it was a competent performer on a variety of sealed and unsealed surfaces, including some bush tracks on which we engaged in both high and low range 4x4. Back on the bitumen, it also coped well with our two kilometre, 13 per cent gradient set climb, maintaining the 60km/h speed limit in third gear at 2250rpm all the way to the top. 

Engine braking on the way down, though, was compromised by the auto transmission’s unusual shift protocols. With second gear manually selected (in sequential shift mode) it over-rode that selection and shifted up to third when the engine reached 3250rpm on over-run. We tried it again several times and got the same result.

Not sure if it’s an engine protection measure on Foton’s part (redline is 4000rpm) but it’s not a nice surprise when you’re heavily loaded on a steep descent and relying on engine braking to help restrain your speed.

Our only other gripes were poor radio reception on the AM band (too bad if you like talkback) and the cruise control, which stopped working during our test and would not switch back on. 

Quite simply, driving the LM 500h is like piloting a limousine on stilts. Superbly comfortable, but with an elevated driving position that offers outstanding forward and side visibility, the LM 500h is an easy vehicle to drive for long periods of time.

A digital rear vision mirror means visibility behind is good and unobstructed by the privacy screen or the seats.

The drawbacks are down to the lack of space up front, with the driver’s chair limited in its ability to recline or slide back due to the bulkhead behind it.

And that's compounded by the lack of cabin storage for bags if the front passenger seat is taken.

As for the rear passengers there aren't many people movers offering this level of comfort, except perhaps the Zeekr 009.

Variable suspension that adjusts continuously keeps the vehicle composed and provides a high level of comfort for those in the rear. At the same time, the LM stays nice and flat through roundabouts while remaining civilised over speed bumps.

And then there's the acceleration, which, while not supercar-like is incredibly brisk for a van. The all-wheel drive system provides outstanding traction in wet and slippery conditions, too. 

Our family used the LM daily for everything from school runs to shopping trips and weekends away and not only was it fun to drive, our lucky rear passengers enjoyed sitting high and being able to see clearly out their windows along with the luxury of a giant movie screen.

The Lexus  LM 500h is yet to be tested by ANCAP so it doesn't have a safety assessment score. There is, however, a high level of safety tech onboard including AEB which can detect pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other vehicles, emergency steering assist, lane keeping assistance, road sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors as well as six airbags.

For child seats there are ISOFIX points and top tether anchor mounts on the two rear seats. We have a forward facing child seat and found it easy to install.

A space-saver spare wheel is located under the boot floor.

Expect a three year/100,000km warranty and service intervals of six months/10,000km whichever occurs first. Roadside assistance is also available.

Lexus covers the LM 500h with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. 

The Lexus Encore Platinum program is complimentary for LM owners for three years, providing 24-hour roadside assist, a loan vehicle or pick-up/return service at service time, 'On Demand' vehicle evaluation options, valet and airport parking benefits as well as exclusive offers and event opportunities.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 15,000 kilometres, and impressively, pricing is capped at $695 per service over five years.