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Lexus GX vs Volvo XC90

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Lexus GX
Lexus GX

2025 price

Volvo XC90
Volvo XC90

$49,999 - $79,800

2021 price

Summary

2025 Lexus GX
2021 Volvo XC90
Safety Rating

Engine Type

S/C & T/C 4CYL, 2.0L
Fuel Type
-

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
-

8.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
-

7
Dislikes
  • Drinks A LOT of fuel
  • Can get noisy in the cabin
  • Can’t fully hide its size or weight

  • Hybrid battery could be bigger
  • Media screen is overly busy
  • Charging cable storage bag seem an afterthought
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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2021 Volvo XC90 Summary

The last time I reviewed a plug-in hybrid Volvo I pretty much got death threats. OK, not quite, but my review and video of the XC60 R Design T8 made some readers and viewers very angry and they even called me names, all because I never charged the battery. Well, there’ll be no need for me to flee to a safe house this time, because not only did I charge the XC90 R-Design T8 Recharge I’m reviewing here, but I plugged it in nearly all the time I wasn’t driving it. Happy now?

I say nearly all the time, because during the three-week test of this plug-in hybrid XC 90 we took it away on a family holiday and didn’t have access to power and you’ll most likely face that situation too as an owner.

So how was the fuel economy of this big seven-seat SUV PHEV over hundreds of kilometres and being used as a family workhorse? The result blew me away and I can see why people were so furious with me in the first place.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Lexus GX 2021 Volvo XC90

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