Hyundai Iload vs Lexus RX200T

What's the difference?

The iLoad remains one of the most competent all-rounders in the business. This highlights the excellence of its original design, as it hasn't changed much since it launched here more than a decade ago.

However, it's starting to show its age a bit, particularly in terms of safety compared to HiAce and Transit Custom rivals which have aggressively raised the mid-size van benchmark to a five-star standard that rivals most sedans and SUVs.

We hope Hyundai will soon do the same with the iLoad, because apart from increasingly outdated safety it's pretty hard to fault. We're sure its army of loyal customers would agree.

Big, practical and comfortable, the Lexus RX 200T F-Sport deserves its place in the premium SUV pantheon. And don't let the little engine fool you, the turbocharged four-cylinder unit serves up plenty of poke to get the RX moving. But if it's fancy new technology that really excites you, prepare for mild disappointment, with the RX's in-cabin tech feeling a little underwhelming.

The iLoad is 5150mm long, 1920mm wide and 1935mm high with a 3200mm wheelbase. That height means it can access underground and multi-storey carparks, in which it's also easy to manoeuvre with a relatively compact 11.22-metre turning circle.

No doubt a big factor in the rear-wheel drive iLoad's enduring appeal is its simplicity and ruggedness, combining MacPherson strut front suspension with rack and pinion steering, leaf-spring live rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes. A sliding door on each side of the cargo hold come standard. The large tailgate window, equipped with a wiper/washer and demister, provides the rear-view mirror with a relatively clear picture of what's behind even with the cargo barrier and clear plastic covering on it.

The cabin environment is bright and airy with a tasteful mix of light and dark grey surfaces. The light grey cloth seats with their colourful striped inserts look sharp but we reckon they would also show some grime pretty quickly in a working role.

Our only criticisms are that, like the new HiAce, there's no fold-down inboard armrest for the driver. We don't know why Australia's top two mid-size vans do not have this simple feature, because it's standard issue in numerous rivals and creates a more relaxed driving position.

Our other gripe is the centre passenger seat, which shares the outer passenger's base cushion but has a separate backrest which can be rotated forward through 90 degrees to reveal a handy storage tray and dual drink holder on the back of it.

However, passenger comfort and safety are compromised as the seat is too narrow for an adult, the backrest has no head restraint, there's very limited leg room and only a lap seat-belt. And to make matters worse, the belt's buckle digs firmly into your right butt cheek when it's clicked in. This ‘seat' should be for emergency use only and, if you must, only for short distances.

Angry, aggressive and very un-Lexus, with a jaw that looks like Ivan Drago somehow transformed into an SUV - that pretty much sums up the RX. 

Lexus is already on record as saying its designers had mistakenly tried to make their cars appeal to everyone in the past, and so they ended up boring and tame as a result.

Now they're happy if one person in 10 really loves them. Exactly where you sit on that scale is up to you.

Up front, that 'Spindle Grille' (shaped a little like the Predator’s mouth) serves up plenty of road presence, while the sharply angled fog-light housings and deeply domed bonnet give it a more powerful stance than perhaps is justified by its 2.0-litre engine.

Side on, the big and shining alloys, deep curve above the base of the doors and flared, squared-off wheel guards add plenty of personality to what could have (and in the past, would have) otherwise been a long and featureless stretch of metal.

Step inside and the cabin is premium-feeling, if a little busy, with the doors and dash covered in a combination of soft-touch materials and padded leather. The brushed aluminium-look central tunnel that separates the front seats is super wide, as it houses the  the cupholders, drive-mode selector and the strange mousepad that controls the entertainment system, but feels nice under the touch and becomes a kind of focal point in the cabin.

The iLoad's 2062kg kerb weight and 3160kg GVM results in a genuine one tonne-plus payload rating of 1098kg and up to 125kg of that can be carried on roof racks. It's also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer and with a GCM rating of 4660kg (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time), that means you can do it at maximum GVM.

In other words, it can legally carry more than a tonne while towing 1.5 tonnes. Those numbers make the iLoad a very practical and versatile workhorse, well suited to a variety of trades and other working roles beyond the usual delivery chores.

The cargo hold, with its 2375mm length, 1620mm width and 1340mm height, offers a total load volume exceeding 4.4 cubic metres and is accessed through sliding doors on each side or via the single-lift tailgate. The load floor with its protective vinyl mat has a total of 10 load anchorage points.

There's no full-length roof lining like the new HiAce but the cargo hold walls and doors are lined to hip height and there's one internal light at the rear. The load floor length and 1272mm between the rear wheel housings means the iLoad can theoretically take two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets (without the cargo barrier installed).

However, loading these could be an issue if fitted with the single-lift tailgate, as it blocks forklift access when opened. And the 870mm side door opening (even less with the cargo barrier fitted) is not wide enough to allow a pallet to pass through it, so do your homework on the iLoad's suitability for your loading requirements.

The cabin has storage bins and bottle holders in each door, plus a shallow tray in the centre dash-pad, two different-sized gloveboxes, a cubby near the gearshift for small items like chewy etc and a pop-out dual cup/bottle holder in the centre console. The centre seat backrest also folds forward to reveal a large open storage tray and two small bottle/cup holders.

Australia’s laser focus on small and city-sized SUVs has been so intense that’s it’s easy to forget the joys of our bigger cars. Stretch out in the 4890mm long and 1895mm wide Lexus NX and it all comes flooding back. 

There’s plenty of space for up-front riders (even with the football pitch-sized centre console), as well as two cupholders and extendable pockets in each of the front doors. The cubby that splits the front seats is ridiculously deep, too, and is home to two USB connections, a power outlet and and aux-in point.

Step into the back seat and you’re greeted by plenty of space in each of the window seats, although the central stack that houses the air vents and another power outlet does jut out into the legroom of the middle-seat passenger. There are two bonus cupholders hidden in a pulldown divider that drops from the middle seat, and two ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back.

Rear seats in place, the RX serves up 453 litres of luggage space, although you can stretch that to 924 litres by folding the backseats flat.

You’ll part with $86,551 for the Lexus RX 200T F-Sport - about $12k more than the non F-Sport model. And that’s not chump change. But your money does buy you 20-inch alloy wheels, proximity unlocking, LED head and tail-lights, roof rails, a powered boot and a huge powered sunroof.

In the cabin, you can expect leather seats, dual-zone air-con and push-button start, while technology is handled by a nav-equipped 12.3-inch screen that partners with a 15-speaker Mark Levinson stereo that's standard on this F-Sport-stamped model (the cheaper version makes do with a smaller screen and fewer speakers).

The iLoad's 2.5 litre four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve turbo-diesel is a refined and proven performer with Euro 5-emissions compliance (so no AdBlue needed), common rail direct injection (CRDi) and variable vane turbocharging with impressive flexibility. It produces a class competitive 125kW at 3600rpm and peak torque of 441Nm between 2000-2250rpm, but there's ample throttle response and pulling power on tap either side of those figures.

The five-speed torque converter automatic is an equally robust and proven transmission, although most rivals have updated to closer ratio six-speed units. Even so, the iLoad delivers crisp and smooth shifts in auto mode, with the option of sequential manual shifting if required. The transmission's gearing and 2.92:1 final drive ratio provide a good compromise between stop-start city delivery work and economical highway driving.

There was a time not so long ago when the thought of fitting a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine to a near two-tonne SUV would be truly torturous.

But turbocharging has become so clever that the smallest engine in the RX range never feels underpowered. It'll serve up 175kW at 5600rpm and 350Nm at a low 1650rpm - enough to push the big Lexus from 0-100km/h in just 9.2 seconds. That power is fed through the a six-speed automatic and sent to the front wheels.

Hyundai's official combined figure of 8.8L/100km seemed realistic at the beginning of our road test which included a variety of roads and payloads, from near empty to three-quarters of a tonne. So we were impressed to see near-identical numbers after crunching trip meter and fuel bowser readings. Needless to say, that's great economy for a one-tonne van and no doubt another reason for its enduring popularity. Based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 870km from its 75-litre tank.

Lexus claims a 8.1 litres per 100km on the claimed/combined cycle (though we returned a much less happy number - one that started with an 11...).

Emissions are pegged at 189g/km of CO2 on the combined cycle, and the big Lexus' 72-litre fuel tank requires 95RON fuel.

The iLoad has big grab handles on the windscreen pillars to assist entry and once aboard it's not hard for drivers of most shapes and sizes to find a comfortable position, thanks to the height-adjustable seat, height-and-reach adjustable steering wheel and decent-sized left footrest.

The instrumentation is easy to read and dashboard controls are clearly marked and intuitive to use. There's a clear eye-line to the left door mirror but given that there's no blind-spot monitoring, this mirror would benefit from the addition of at least a dedicated wide-angle lens.

In city and suburban driving the iLoad is surprisingly quiet for a van without a sealed bulkhead between cabin and cargo hold. However, tyre roar emanating from the rear wheel housings does become quite intrusive at highway speeds, particularly on coarse bitumen surfaces.

The over-driven fifth gear ensures the engine isn't working hard though, with only 1800rpm at 100km/h and 2200rpm at 110km/h, which contributes to good fuel economy on long hauls. The cruise control also works well and is a big improvement on the last iLoad we tested in 2017.

The 2.5 litre turbo-diesel and five-speed auto are well-honed for this working role. They provide ample performance in city and suburban driving, even though the gaps between five gears are more noticeable now given the increasing use of six gears in rival automatic vans.

Your love for the RX will likely depend on your priority list. Do you want the latest gadgets, a seamless multimedia interface and the kind of cool technology you can show off to your passengers?

Well, um, perhaps best keep looking, then. The in-cabin tech here feels a little off the pace now, and that cursed mouse-style controller still frustrates the bejeezus out of me.

But if a smooth, easy and quiet drive sits atop your list, then the RX 200T will grab you in all the right places.  Probably most impressive, it doesn't feel overly large and cumbersome, and is equally at home in the cramped inner city as it is eating up kays on the freeway.

The gearbox is silky-smooth seamless, switching between cogs without you even noticing, and the cabin is commendably quiet - especially when you're coasting though the ‘burbs - locking the worst of the outside word out of the cabin. The ride has clearly been engineered to iron out small, sharp road imperfections, but you can bounce around a bit in the cabin over speed bumps.

There was a time not so long ago when the thought of fitting a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine to a near two-tonne SUV would be truly torturous.

You can spice things up a little by selecting Sport or Sport + via the central dial and, while there’s no noticeable change in exhaust, the accelerator gets noticeably more sensitive and the gearing more aggressive; more wiling to hold a lower gear for longer, squeezing the most out of that little engine. 

It can feel a little heavy when you first brake into a corner, but beyond that the steering is smooth, predictable, and without a lot of dead-air play. It’s not a sports car by any measure, but it doesn't feel like you’re constantly dragging a big, heavy SUV around, either. 

But be warned, it’s not the most engaging of drives. This is not a car you'd ever wake up excited to run out to. It’s comfortable, capable and engaging enough, sure, but it never really stirs your emotions.

There's no shortage of cushioning safety in the RX, with 10 airbags as standard. They join a parking camera, front and rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert.

Lane-departure warning and assist, blind-spot monitoring, active cruise and AEB join the list, too. All of which were enough for the Lexus RX to nab the maximum five-star crash rating when tested in Europe - a score that has since been adopted by ANCAP in Australia. 

Five years/160,000km warranty. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Lifetime Service Plan includes capped-price servicing for first five scheduled services ranging from $356 to $506.

Expect a four year/100,000km warranty, with a trip to the service centre required every 12 months or 15,000km. And when the car does have to go back for a service, Lexus has received much praise from owners for offering a choice between a loan car, or a pick-up and delivery service from your home or office.