Range Rover vs Lexus AWD Torture Test: One Is The Clear Winner! 

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Just imagine how well JLR would do if they formed a company-wide plan to address reliability and quality the way they engineer their off road systems?

The 4WD/AWD system in LR has never been a question of how well it works. The quality of LR itself is the dilemma

The biggest difference between the two is the longevity, one 3-5 yrs versus the other 30-50yrs.

Very good awd. But let’s be honest, if you fail at the base function of a vehicle (running, turning on, or getting you where you need to go), then having an amazing awd system doesn’t really matter very much

I've always been impressed with how well these perform offroad with regular tires. They really do have great traction systems. That being said, I bought a Lexus GX460 because I want my offroad to not mean "at the dealer in the shop, not on the road". Still impressive none the less.

The issue has never been how capable Range Rovers are. Nobody would dispute that. It always has been, and always will be the horrid reliability

Land rover buyers don't consider the engineering that goes into their four-wheel-drive systems; because they don't care, they are not needed on runs to the mall and the school

I own the 2023 GX, and paid $68K out the door...the Range Rover is $100K. Not exactly apples to apples...I also have a 2012 Land Rover LR4 for playing around. I'm still under $100K for both.

The GX460/Landcruiser Prado has never let us down off road... and we thrash it good. The Lexus/Landcruiser Prado is the world's #1 offroader... they are all over the entire world. The reliability is the elephant 🐘 in this room. Toyota is always the answer ❤

Remember the Land Rover TFL purchased a couple of years back? Did not go well😊.

Didn’t TFL have tons of issues with their Land Rover Defender? It wasn’t many years ago lol.

Land Rover/Range Rover has great 4WD/AWD systems, but what's the use of all that tech if the car it's put in breaks down almost all the time? That's why Toyota/Lexus has always been the go-to for offroad vehicles. Good offroad tech with excellent reliability.

Hey Tommy. Big wheels have Big Brakes. The Disco 3 suffered with high brake wear as a result of the smaller brake disc. As for the perceived poor reliability - Get a GAP IID tool and see that 95% of the "failures" are no different to error codes on other cars. My 2006 Disco 3 has 394k km and still going strong

I'd take the Lexus every time. It still performed well and won't break down or suffer constant faults.

On Australia they say "If you want to go out into the bush drive a Range Rover. If you want to come back bring a Toyota."

Lexus - a vehicle you can drive hard for hundreds of thousands of miles, and then your grandchildren inherit it. Land Rover - a vehicle you drive easily for several hundred miles, and then your grandchildren are still going to be paying the euro specialist mechanic's grandkids for the tab you ran up. All kidding aside, the biggest flaw I can see of the GX for offroading are not the long overhangs messing up approach and departure vs a "true" Prado, but the sub-par efficiency-to-perfomance ratio of the engine. I could imagine quite a few adventurous types have simply run out of fuel before they got where they were going. The Prado's 2.8 turbodiesel gets something like mid 20s mpg, right?

Both are capable, but if I'm 'buying', the Lexus GX is the hands-down choice. It will outlast more than 5 Range Rovers and hold its residual value much longer.

Yeah Tommy love this comparison. Too bad if only Land Rover engineers spent as much time trying to make the vehicles actually DEPENDABLE. What good is such AWD engineering when you can’t TRUST the vehicle to overland far off road - far from a dealer. Didn’t you yourselves go thru THREE brand new defenders in as many weeks???? Can’t TRUST them. I love all your TFL Slip tests too. ALWAYS great tests. 👍 👍

Thanks again for a great video. I tried to change a “sows ear to a silk purse” by putting 18” wheels and Falken Wildpeak tires on my 2008 Land Rover LR2 but the lack of underbody protection made “coming back” uncertain. Every off road adventure required some sort of undercarriage repair, the aftermarket for LR2 off road parts is essentially zero, and custom made skid plates etc were simply too costly. This totally confirming your statements. Perhaps your friends at the Denver Land Rover dealership are offering modifications for the Defender, but in the end I traded mine in on a Wrangler Rubicon and I’m quite pleased. However the Defender drives beautifully to your off road trail, and if I could custom order one with the wheels and protections available on other serious off road vehicles I likely would. Come on Land Rover, make at least one model that isn’t a mall crawling status symbol !

In warranty (and assuming good dealer support/availability) I think I'd take the Rover for the more refined ride/interior/inline 6, but out of warranty....no way in hell.

I'm sitting here in my Lexus, while my Range Rover is at the mechanic's. Oh ya, the Rover's AWD is awesome... when it works.

Low traction launch is good when all 4 wheels don't have [much] grip. Setting off from the lights on a snowy hill. Love mine.

I'll go back a few years ago to your Defender test - couldn't repair engine with 150 miles driven ??

I think almost everyone knows that the technological magic that Land Rover does with their 4x4s is incredible, they are amazing at maintaining traction and like I said, they seem almost magical. This doesn't invalidate the reliability comments though. There's more to a vehicle than performance in one system, it is an overall package and Land Rover does well when it comes to comfort and traction but not so well in other aspects.

It's all great until the warning light comes on and you're stuck in limp mode all the way to the dealer. I had three, all unreliable and usually when you needed them most. Never again. Also, the other thing they don't tell you, if you do use them off road, expect a repair bill every time.

I heard a safari guide said “if you want to go on a safari, take a Land Rover. If you want to get back, take a Land Cruiser.”

I’ll bet that 95% of the time people rag on LR reliability it’s because they don’t have any ownership experience, let alone using them for all their intended purposes. I owned an ‘01 Discovery from 2009 to 2012. It was not a very reliable vehicle. It was also slow and not very comfortable. Fast forward to last year when (after a careful amount of trepidation) I bought a 2010 Range Rover HSE. What a difference a few years made. This car, even at 13 years old, is well made. It is very comfortable, plenty fast enough for me, and has been relatively reliable. Don’t get me wrong, Land Rover products REQUIRE maintenance. Moreover their maintenance WILL BE more expensive than some non-luxury models. But I’ve had my car now for 15 months and would happily drive it and maintain it for several more years. I also have to drive my RR in the mud and ruts in my property to put trash in my burn pile. It hasn’t gotten stuck yet. I’ve also rescued other stuck people multiple times with my RR. No sweat. It is the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven.

Started the video with the question of Rover reliability, then never addressed reliability. Traction tests don’t = long term reliability.

Go to the most off-grid countries in the world and it will be hard to find a Land Rover. In those countries you will find mostly Toyota, and some Nissan

That Land Rover will be melted down twice into new vehicles through the years while that Lexus is still on this earth cruising 75+ mph’s down the highway

I have a 2010 LR4 v8 and it’s been absolutely reliable. i love it. just place an order for 2023 RR v8 LWB and for sure am getting it under warranty, especially since it has a BMW v8 now 😂

I wouldn’t even consider the unreliable Range Rover vs. the GX. The GX is THE MOST reliable vehicle made in the world- PERIOD. You have the option to drive GX for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles. Then trade it in for half of what you paid for it. Good luck getting the Range Rover to 100k miles.

The Range Rover is nice until they break or until out of warranty then they're very expensive.. They are amazing capable of road but lease and return.. The GX is old school Prado and a gaping hog as to looks and weight but yes will last for many years trouble free and it is old school tech and proven..

Even with all those offroad tech things, serious offroad people are just not the target market for these Range Rovers. It is there to brag to your friends about at the gold club.

Back in summer of 21 i was shopping for a true 4x4 and even though i had family making me choose between a Range Rover and a G class Mercedes i didn't pick neither and went ahead and bought a brand new 21 Land Cruiser...

Too bad the reliability is garbage. The GX 460 is one of the most reliable vehicles money can buy.

I’d take a Lexus over a RR all day any day

Nice to see that a Range Rover performs well "in a controlled environment." That must be what it was designed for because mine is useless and scary in any snow, ice or other inclimate weather. I once got stuck in my own driveway in a couple of inches of snow. Like the car, but don't buy one because you think they are capable in any practical, real world, difficult situation.

In the Rover, curious what the "low traction launch" does electronically and if mechanically. The thing that comes to comes to mind in the GX that I can see doing the same that wasn't mentioned is the 2nd Start, its for low traction surface as well.

My JLR SUV just blew up 3 days ago at 67k miles for the second time..... I'm with the Australians when they say that "if you want to go into the bush, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, take a Toyota." P.S. I used to have a Montero Limited and it was equally impressive, but actually reliable.

I've got a 17 GX460 premium. Driven in snow and ice a good amount. The 4WD system tolerates *enough* wheel spin that you don't absolutely COOK your brakes. The Landrover is VERY hard on its brakes with that little spin-tolerance per wheel. Looks good on rollers; not nearly as good in the real world.

Rover is great off road. Problem is, when you need it you’ll probably be in the loaner car from dealership you bought it from while they are fixing yours.

I would still take the Lexus off road any day way more after market support and I like the body on frame with a solid rear axel, plus it won’t leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere

Terrain response has always been a very good system. That being said ... "LR / RR" and ""reliability" really don't go together in one sentence. So is "LR / RR" and "high resale value".

"If you want to go into the jungle take a Range Rover; if you want to come back take the Lexus"...

19"+mud terrains as a spare set of wheels for mud plugging - why not? The full optioned offroad spec has centre and rear diff. locks - awesome!

it's crazy to see that the most viewed part of the video is right when the Lexus GX shows up, in a video about the Range Rover, people's interest is in the GX/Prado. Speaks for itselfs!

18s and a skid plate is not what anyone actually buying a Range Rover wants, Tommy lol. They know their market

Land Rovers have awesome 4WD systems but my personal experience was that I couldn't chase my own FJ with the unexperienced LR Disco4 owner behind the wheel after we swapped vehicles on a rugged mountain trail. The Disco just can't take that beating of the trail bumps, which the Toyota absorbed way easily. The air suspension doesn't allow you to lift to the maximum and drive faster and you still have the lower control arms scraping the ground. Finally, the Disco passed everywhere where the FJ went, but waayyy too slowly and carefully. The LR's V8 sounds and pulls good though!

I’ve just taken delivery of a new generation Ranger in the UK and it is on 20” wheels. It was a dealer stock order and all their unsold stock orders for months ahead were ordered with the 20” wheels, because “kids love them” according to the sales manager who configured the orders. But what does he know, because he omitted to order them with the wireless charging, inverter and auxiliary switched with USB by the interior mirror, which cost peanuts extra. Also omitted the surround cameras. It does have excellent adaptive cruise control with steering assist, rear diff lock and full time 4wd [4A] drive mode though. I may well buy some take-off spare 18” wheels and tires for Winter use and change the standard tires for something more off-roadish.

Now, how about a similar test comparing Quadra-Trac II vs. Quadra-Drive II in the new Grand Cherokee? I'm sure there are plenty out there that'd love to see the merits of one over the other.

If you rich you get both! That way while the range is in the shop you can actually enjoy a capable vehicle

I feel like the old TFL Touareg did just was well at 5K. I feel like TFL needs to do a doug score for off road performance.

I think I would get the Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland.with the off road package over these two. Compared to the Range Rover you would get better off road tires, skid plates, low range. Compared to the Lexus you would get air suspension for better ground clearance, 8 speed ZF transmission (instead of 6 speed) and better fuel economy. The JGC in this trim is pretty luxurious.

They need to leased or traded to make sure their warranty is available at all times.

RELIABILITY... Have you seen what it takes to keep a 10 year old Range Rover running?

i really like land rover and range rover products, however i think that low range should be standart and so should the rear locking diff. Give my oprional skid plates too. I also think they should make a proper hard core offroader again. The defender x and x8 are cool, AND VERY CAPABLE, but give me a defender with ranger raptor like suspension, thick skid plates locking front and rear diff and 18icnh whells with some beefy at tyres, even if it still has independend all around suspension.

Range Rover won’t leave you stuck in the mud, just on the side of the road.

No matter what you say I would never buy a Land Rover.

Short-term tests are easy to prove. Have two owners who have the same amount of miles over a period of 5-7 years, and then ask for feedback. That's when you'll get an honest answer.

Lol- for the amount money you will spend trying to keep the RR on the road for a 100,000 miles, you will get a million miles out of the GX.

There is a reason why they don't make them overlanding friendly. If you put it in the such drivetrain stressed environment, they would simply breake down and require expensive recovery. Ever wonder why overlanders pick older Disco's over newer models? This is your answer.

The Lexus GX and Range Rover are 4WD and not AWD, Tommy lol I own my second Range Rover that is my comfortable daily driver! For off road use/overland use, I currently have a 4Runner, but have owned every North American vehicle that shares the platform that the current GX uses (FJ Cruiser, 5th gen 4Runner, Lexus GX) so know they are all 4WD lol. The Range Rover always blows my mind for how advanced her 4WD technology is. She grips out of everything, without any jerky delay!

The issue is with Range Rover, you won't get to the location to drive off road. You need a Lexus to take your Range Rover to the location.

Would be interesting to compare the LR to a GX with MTS. Rock mode will engage in less than a 1/4 turn of a wheel.

LR/RR/Jaguar(Tata motors) is right at the bottom of Consumer Reports annual least reliable vehicles. The GX is right near the top...

Most of the people criticising LR reliability have never had one. Some people who have them report they are the most reliable car they have had. Test drove new RSS p440e and bought one. super smooth and comfortable - go anywhere do anything in it.

I totally agree with your sentiment that LR goes through all that work of engineering the 4WD system, only to hamstring it with low hanging plastics and huge wheels. Give us legit off-road bumpers and wheels! However, LR needs to also go where the money is. They need to know their customer base. The majority of LR customers want the big wheels and ground effects, and I would say that the vast majority will never make it off road. Even though the Lexus 4WD system appeared to be bested by the LR system, I'd still take the Lexus. Almost half the price, plus much, much better reliability (not to mention resale value). I know Ford used to have a stake in LR, but do they still have any tie ins? Notice the off-road mode icons on the RR appear to be shared with Ford. Plus, I think the two organizations have some similar styling cues. Just my observation. I would also like to see these two vehicles put to the test at an off-road park such as Ironclads (provided the low hanging plastics don't get in the way). Tumbleweed (OnX Off-road course) is great but it's so muddy that I don't know if those road oriented tires would stand a chance in the mud (well maybe the winter tires on the RR would do well).

Ill Take The Lexus. The Rover wont see 200k

I have a 2018 Velar R-Dynamic HSE. Bought it from a JLR dealership with 45,000 miles on the clock. It's a CPO car so I have a warranty to 100,000 miles. Car is garbage. It's spent 144 days back at the dealership for an unending litany of mechanical and electrical failures. Just a few items: needed a new rear differential, both front headlamp assemblies had to be replaced, all sorts of software patches, a driver's seat motor, the rear AC vents will often blow piping hot air even when set to Lo (which the dealer can't fix) and the rear started rocking/swaying side to side under braking and when making left turns at highway speeds (dealer also can't fix). It's the only car I'd recommend leasing over buying.

Tommy - "You get unstuck in this Range Rover" Me - "Hold my beer"

Lexus is the clear winner by far!

Traction is not the only thing that matters in off-road driving. Ground clearance is vital and these vehicles don't have a lot of it...

“Lexus … sounds like sneakers in a dryer” 😂

The biggest thing is Land Rover will Never make a more off road version because it won’t sell to the people who buy them. If you want an off road land rover get and Enos Grenadier. You all should consider getting a range rover to long term test and see how often it’s at the dealer. Thanks for the content.

Oh this was hilarious. Most of these luxury SUVs are operated as 99% on the street. 1% offroad. And even in the worst comparison (for the GX) the GX still got through. So the GX took a couple of seconds to figure out how to get unstuck. Compared to the weeks or months the RR spends at the dealership getting fixed...... And the hit on the resale value......

If you think that's good, you need to try and all-wheel drive Chevy Astro or Express with the G80 rear Locker

Imagine having the best 4x4 system in the game but nobody considers you an option because of 22in wheels and garbage reliability.

Still terrible reliablity 4WD system doesn't mean much when the car can't move

Can't wait for the new redesigned Gx (2024). Should be more modern. Definitely a newer design language. Newer tech. Plus the Lexus reliability and low maintenance cost. Should, hopefully, be able to better fight against these type of plush SUVs like the Range Rover.

LR allocates more funds on looks and tech at the expense of reliability and toyota does opposite. Depends on what each sees as importance.

Thank you Tommy for producing another great video! I am so longing for you to do a comparison video on the Jeep Grand Cherokee‘s Quadra Drive II system, comparing and sharing your thoughts of how it performs against the GX and the Range Rover. Let’s do this!!!

Too bad non of these vehicles will ever experience "off-roading"

We all know who the true winner is, no matter what this test says.

My 05 range rover does the same, it'll hold the brake on the wheel thats slipping, but my abs module went out, so now its all open diffs, and the center differential has a Torsen center differential, but it will never lock for aome reason, in the rain, mud, loose dirt its basically just becomes front wheel drive 🤣 I just bought an ABS unit from the junk yard so im going to install it soon.

There’s a saying I heard “if you want to go into the jungle, take a Land Rover. If you want to get out of the jungle take a Land Cruiser”

The other Toyota TRD traction systems took it from the LC/LC-Prado/GX and NOT the other way around… LC is the global premium off-road system… 4Runner Tacoma etc borrowed from LC

mud and ruts allows spin, you should’ve selected normal off-road for 3-wheel test

The Range Rover will work good on the back of the tow truck too! Which would you rather be in? A Lexus that will always make it through a trail, or 50 50 chance in the Range Rover. I was being nice by giving it a 50-50 too.

Wow that Lexus has so much wheel travel, impressive

What's crazy is that Mud/Ruts allows some slippage on purpose. You'd have to choose another mode to limit the wheel slip more.

Lexus's system seems to apply some delay before intervening probably to let the driver actually drive before the robots come in to help

I wheel my Range Rover HSE every week. We love it!

Im still Rocking A Diaco 2 on 33s. Goes anywhere. Yeah it has its issues every now and then but nothing major. Overall it's pretty reliable and I trust it long distances. Can't beat that for $5,000 and working out some Kinks. Now the people who get an old disco and just drive the crap out of it never greasing checking changing to inline thermostat doing coil pack relocation cleaning checking again LOL all that then yeah it's a lot worse but otherwise $5,000 to pretty much do almost anything especially what nothing from the year 2000 besides the Disco on 33s can do with the exact same mods it's totally worth it. Doing a bed liner body spray in a few weeks. Just Center diff lock and traction control looking to do a rear Locker in fall

Too much piano black making you leave too many finger prints on everything, too much money, and not nearly enough reliability. I'll keep my GX.....forever.

Landrover/Rangerover have the best terrain management system bar none.

RANGE ROVER for me please EVERY TIME !!!

I ran a Range Rover and a 4x4 Toyota Tundra Limited (both 2003) at the same time, the Range Rover was my babied low mile weekend ride which would greet me every Saturday morning with a new issue while the Toyota just plain worked its guts out (now over 400.000 kms). The Range Rovers air suspension system and HVAC system were quite wallet draining . Still have the Toyota, the Range Rover was sold ages ago .

No denying the off road capability of a Range Rover