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Lexus GX vs Volkswagen Touareg

What's the difference?

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Lexus GX
Lexus GX

2025 price

Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen Touareg

$79,990 - $148,950

2024 price

Summary

2025 Lexus GX
2024 Volkswagen Touareg
Safety Rating

Engine Type

Fuel Type
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Fuel Efficiency
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Seating
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Dislikes
  • Drinks A LOT of fuel
  • Can get noisy in the cabin
  • Can’t fully hide its size or weight

  • Disappointing ride quality
  • PHEV elements frustrating to use IRL
  • Limited appeal compared to other R models
2025 Lexus GX Summary

If you’re into big, boxy 4WDs, you’ll know they’re a bit like Halley's Comet – as in, a new one only comes around once in a very, very, very long while.

Which makes this a bit of a golden era for these big brutes. Because not only are we getting new ones, we’re getting a whole bunch of them and at pretty much the same time. 

There’s the new LandCruiser 300 Series, which arrived a couple of years back. There’s the new Prado, which is around the corner. Then there’s the new Y63 Nissan Patrol, which has just been revealed. And that’s without mentioning the litany of Chinese rivals, either already here, or set to arrive soon.

But this one, the Lexus GX, is probably my favourite. Or at least it was when I first sampled it at its global launch, thanks to its thumping twin-turbo V6 engine, its tough, capable look, and its cabin swimming in clever tech. Sure, it drank like a sailor on shore leave, but you can’t win 'em all. 

No surprise I’m dead-keen to unleash it on local roads here in Australia to see if those fond memories hold up. 

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2024 Volkswagen Touareg Summary

It’s big, it’s fast, it’s luxurious, Volkswagen’s Touareg has always been a stand-out large SUV.

This one, the full-fat R is the latest take on the halo Volkswagen model. It has big shoes to fill.

See, top-spec Touaregs in the past are hardly rivals to the Toyota LandCruisers and Hyundai Palisades of this world. They’re a different breed, with the first-generation Touareg powered by a variety of engines up to a 5.0-litre turbo-diesel V10, and the second-gen version packing petrol and diesel V8s in its upper levels.

They were the ultimate sleeper family SUV, ridiculous engines with rich VW Group lineage in a seemingly mainstream family-friendly package.

But this third-generation version can’t quite replicate the over-engined craziness of its predecessors. It has to think outside the box as emissions regulations crack down the world over.

This Touareg R is a plug-in hybrid. A performance-focused one at that. Can it hope to replicate the unhinged nature of its forebears and find an appropriate place atop the hierarchy of Volkswagen’s R models? Let’s find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Lexus GX 2024 Volkswagen Touareg

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