Jaguar E-Pace vs Lexus LX

What's the difference?

The Jaguar E-Pace Chequered Flag P250 is a compact, polished premium SUV package. Good value, super safe and spacious, it combines brilliant practicality with comfort and healthy performance. It’s a little thirsty, there are some relatively minor dynamic niggles, and Jaguar’s ownership package needs to lift its game. But for those who don’t have a lot of room to spare, yet don’t want to skimp on the luxury experience, it’s a compelling option in a highly competitive category.  

The Lexus LX500d is a genuine seven-seater with impressive levels of refinement, comfort and even off-road capability.

The interior borders on being chintzy and it’s price-tag is the wrong side of bloody expensive, but there's no denying this Lexus is packed with stuff.

It’s more city than country, more bling than bush tourer – it’s like a tarted-up 300 Series – but that’s absolutely fine for the people who buy these.

I wouldn’t blame anyone for cross-shopping a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series with this – and then opting for the 300 Series! For one thing, you’ll save a stack of cash.

Ian Callum. Jaguar’s design director for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019, evolved the brand’s look and feel from traditional and conservative, to cool and contemporary, without throwing the heritage baby out with the new design bath water.

The E-Pace will be one of the last Jaguars to emerge under his full-time direction (Callum remains a consultant to Jaguar) and at the time of its global launch in 2018 he was keen to highlight the car’s gender neutrality, summing it up as, “Not too genteel; muscular and curvaceous at the same time.”

And it’s hard to argue the point. The E-Pace follows the distinctive Jaguar design template set in place by breakthrough models like the F-Type sports car, and larger F-Pace SUV.

At just under 4.4 metres long the E-Pace is smaller than mainstream medium SUVs like the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4, but it’s appreciably wider, giving it a broad footprint and athletic stance.

Ultra short front and rear overhangs, and black 19-inch, five-spoke alloy rims enhance that impression, at the same time highlighting a relatively lengthy 2681mm wheelbase.

The Chequered Flag’s dark mesh grilles across the nose, and long tapered LED headlights, complete with ‘J-blade’ LED DRLs around their outer edges, create a recognisably feline face, with dark accenting on the fender grilles and window surrounds adding an extra air of intensity.

A raked, almost coupe-style roofline, tapered side glass, and broad haunches combine to accentuate the E-Pace’s dynamic look, the long, slim, horizontal tail-lights and fat chrome-tipped exhaust outlets both current Jaguar hallmarks.

The interior feels as tightly wrapped and carefully designed as the exterior with the instruments, media screen and key controls clearly oriented towards the driver.

In fact, a specific defining edge sweeps down from the top of the dashboard, around the centre stack and across the console to form a flying buttress barrier (complete with left-side grab handle) between the driver and front passenger.

And if you’re still associating Jags with walnut veneer interiors, think again. An understated ‘Noble Chrome’ finish is used to highlight the gearshift surround, instrument panel, and other details across the dash and doors. 

The upright sports gearshifter is a distinct departure from the rotary controller used in older Jaguar models, yet according to Jaguar, the beautifully tactile front ventilation dials were inspired by the rings of a classic Leica camera lens.

In firmly keeping with its target market, the LX500d is a premium-looking SUV.

This is a big unit and everything is slick and in-your-face impressive. Inside and out this Lexus looks a lot like a tarted-up LandCruiser 300 Series that’s been on a recent cycle of steroids. 

The optional 22-inch alloy wheels (part of the $5500 Enhancement Pack, as mentioned above) add to the overall look. 

The interior is a tasteful blend of woodgrain, leather accents, soft-touch surfaces, plush seating, and even comfortable arm-rests.

For a car measuring less than 4.4 metres between its bumpers, a 2681mm wheelbase is lengthy, and interior space is also enhanced thanks to the E-Pace’s broad beam and relative height.

Somehow the front part of the cabin feels cozy and spacious at the same time, this strange dichotomy created by the steeply sloping dash and centre console increasing the feeling of space, yet keeping key controls and storage options within easy reach. 

Speaking of which, front seaters are provided with a generous lidded storage box/sliding armrest between the seats (housing two USB-A ports, a micro SIM slot, and 12V outlet), two full-size cupholders in the centre console (with a smartphone slot between them), a loose items tray ahead of the gearshifter, a sizeable glove box, an overhead sunglasses holder and big door bins with enough room for large bottles. 

Special note on the centre storage box. The space extends forward, a long way under the console, so a pair of 1.0-litre bottles can be laid down flat, with plenty of space still on top. And a net pocket on the underside of the lid is great for small, loose items.

Move to the back, and again, despite the E-Pace’s diminutive size accommodation is good. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm (6.0ft) position, I enjoyed plenty of leg and headroom, even with the inclusion of a standard glass sunroof. 

Shoulder room is pretty handy, too. And backseaters are provided with a lidded storage box and two cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest, netted pockets on the front seatbacks, and useful door bins, with enough room for standard bottles. There are also adjustable centre air vents housed with a 12V outlet and a trio of storage hidey holes.

Cargo space is another plus for the compact E-Pace, offering 577 litres with the 60/40 split-fold rear seat up, expanding to a substantial 1234 litres with it folded down. 

Multiple tie-down anchor points are helpful for securing loads, there are handy bag hooks either side, as well as a 12V outlet on the passenger side, and a netted bay behind the driver’s side wheel tub. A power tailgate is also a welcome inclusion.

Towing capacity is 1800kg for a braked trailer (750kg unbraked) and a ‘Trailer Stability Assist’ system is standard, although a tow hitch receiver will set you back an extra $730. A steel space spare sits under the cargo floor.

Everyone is well catered for inside this Lexus, in terms of, well, everything.

The tech is easy to use – it was simple enough to get Apple CarPlay working – and the screens are big: the horizontal 12.3-inch multimedia unit upfront, an 8.0-inch screen (to monitor air-con, air-suspension height, the four-wheel-drive system, and other vehicle information), a head-up display, plus a 7.0-inch touchscreen for rear passengers.

Heating and cooling are via the 'climate concierge' and everyone can keep themselves as comfortably hot or cold as they like with separate controls.

Storage is plentiful with the usual array of door pockets, cupholders, big glove box etc, but there’s also a cavernous centre console (with multiple ways to open the lids) as well as map pockets for the second row, cup-holders in the centre fold-down armrest and even cupholders for the third row.

The Lexus has a Qi wireless charger as well as front and rear USB-C charging ports – one upfront, two in the second row, and two in the third row – so that should keep any whinging about devices to a minimum – but, knowing kids, it probably won’t. 

There’s also a 12V DC socket (front and rear) and a 220V socket in the rear cargo area.

Power-adjustable seats upfront make life easy for the driver and front passenger and these pews are as good as what I’d imagine a massage chair is like. Even the second row is on the right side of plush, but the third row is not quite there.

Second-row passengers have their own air con and entertainment controls, and there’s also an HDMI port.

The moon roof – an Enhancement Pack inclusion – is power-adjustable and allows plenty of welcome natural light in through the top.

In terms of packability, the Lexus LX500d has a claimed 174L (VDA) of cargo space when seven seats are in use; 982L when five seats are being used (that’s with the power-folding third row stowed flat at the push of a button); and 1871L when all seats are stowed away (the 60:40 folding second-row seats tumble-fold forward), except for the driver and front passenger. 

The boot has a 220V power outlet.

As mentioned the seven-seat Lexus LX500d is the entry-level variant in the Lexus LX line-up. 

The standard features list is comprehensive but, for the sake of brevity, we’ll rattle off only a handful of them including a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Bluetooth), a 25-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, heated and ventilated power-adjustable seats, woodgrain steering wheel trim, 8.0-inch multi-information display, quad-zone climate control, 7.0-inch touchscreen and separate control panel for rear passengers, multi-terrain monitor with panoramic view, and 20-inch alloy wheels.

It also has a digital rear-view mirror, adaptive variable suspension, and active height control with low, normal and two high settings.

The Lexus LX500d retails for $153,091 (excluding on-road costs). Our test vehicle has an optional Enhancement Pack (which includes 22-inch alloy wheels, moonroof, hands-free power boot with kick sensor, $5500) and has been fitted with a towbar ($1545). The total price of this vehicle as tested is $160,136 (excluding on-road costs).

Exterior paint colours include the no-extra-cost 'Onyx' or any of these – 'Liquid Metal', 'White Nova' (F Sport models only), 'Sonic Quartz' (not available on F Sport models), 'Titanium', 'Graphite Black', and 'Khaki Metal' (on our test vehicle) – all of which incur an extra cost.

The E-Pace Chequered Flag P250 is powered by a 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol version of Jaguar Land Rover’s modular ‘Ingenium’ engine, based on multiples of the same 500cc cylinder design.

This ‘AJ200’ unit features an aluminium block and head with cast iron cylinder liners, direct injection, electro-hydraulically-controlled variable intake and exhaust valve lift,  and a single, twin-scroll turbo. It produces 183kW at 5500rpm, and 365Nm from 1300-4500rpm. 

Drive goes to all four wheels via a (ZF-sourced) nine-speed automatic transmission, and an 'Active Driveline’ all-wheel drive system. With a default rear axle bias, it constantly monitors driving conditions, updating torque distribution every 10 milliseconds.

Two independent, electronically-controlled (wet-plate) clutches distribute drive between the rear wheels, the system able to send 100 per cent of that torque to either rear wheel if required.

The Lexus LX500d has a 3.3L V6 twin turbo-diesel engine, producing 227kW at 4000rpm and 700Nm between 1600-2600rpm.

It has a 10-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode, a full-time all-wheel-drive system, low-range transfer case and locking diffs. 

The V6 is impressive and this is a smooth-shifting beast, but there’s a real lazy – not lively – feel to how the engine and auto work.

It’s pretty hefty as well – with a listed 2690kg kerb weight – so the Lexus takes a bit of a wind-up to get going off the mark and during overtaking moves.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.7 litres/100kmL/100km, the Chequered Flag P250 emitting 174g/km of CO2 in the process.

In our week with the car, over close to 150km of city, suburban and freeway conditions (including a cheeky B-road run) we recorded an average of 12.0L/100km, which is getting up there for a compact SUV. That number equates to a real-world range of 575km.

And it’s worth noting that despite the use of lightweight aluminium for key body panel and suspension components, at a touch over 1.8 tonnes the E-Pace is line ball for kerb weight with its larger F-Pace sibling.

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 69 litres of it to fill the tank.

The Lexus LX500d seven-seater has a listed fuel consumption of 8.9L/100km on a combined cycle.

Our actual fuel consumption on this test, from pump to pump, was 13.2L/100km. Note: our test included a lot of low-range 4WDing. 

The LX500d has an 80-litre fuel tank – so, going by that on-test fuel consumption figure, you should be able to get a driving range of about 606km or so. Take off a 30km safe-distance buffer and you have 576km.

The E-Pace’s bonnet, front guards, roof, tailgate and key suspension components may be made of weight-saving alloy, but this chunky little SUV still tips the scales at a sturdy 1832kg. Nonetheless, Jaguar claims the Chequered Flag P250 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.1sec, which is quick, if not blindingly so.

The 2.0-litre twin-scroll turbo-petrol engine delivers a solid block of (peak) torque (365Nm) from just 1300rpm all the way to 4500rpm, which combined with no less than nine auto gear ratios means healthy mid-range punch is always available.

The transmission’s adaptive shift system reads the way you’re driving to tailor its behaviour accordingly, and it works well. But shifting gears manually via the wheel-mounted paddles adds to the fun and accuracy.

Thing is, despite being finished in racy black, the paddles themselves are plastic which feels ordinary and is a letdown in an otherwise high-end environment. 

Suspension is strut front, ‘integral’ multi-link rear, and ride quality is surprisingly cushy for a high-riding car of this size. No tricky active dampers here, just a well-engineered set-up tuned to cope with a variety of conditions.

That said, the ‘JaguarDrive Control’ system offers four modes - ‘Normal’, ‘Dynamic’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Rain/Ice/Snow’ - tweaking things like the steering, throttle response, transmission shifts, stability control, torque vectoring, and AWD system.

Dynamic is the sweet spot, buttoning everything down just a little tighter, without any major effect on refinement, the car remaining quiet and composed even when driver enthusiasm starts to take the upper hand. 

The variable ratio ‘Speed proportional’ electrically-assisted steering is nicely weighted and points nicely, but road feel is mediocre. On the flip side, the torque vectoring system, which uses the brakes to put the squeeze on a wheel breaking traction in cornering, works seamlessly. 

Brakes are 349mm vented discs at the front and 300mm solid rotors at the rear, and although they arrest the car well enough, initial pedal feel is ‘grabby’, especially at slow speeds. It’s a challenge to grease your pedal application to the point where the effect goes away.

Under the heading of General Notes, the ergonomic layout is hard to fault with super clear instruments and user-friendly switchgear, but the ‘Ebony’ headlining darkens the interior too much. Even though the huge (standard) glass sunroof lets in a lot of light, we’d prefer the lighter ‘Ebony’ shade available on other E-Pace grades (but not this one).

Speaking of the interior, the sports front seats are grippy yet comfortable on longer runs, and their (standard) heating is a big plus on chilly mornings, the (21:9) wide format hi-res media screen is a pleasure to use, and the level of quality and attention to detail all around the cabin is impressive.

The Lexus is a refined and comfortable vehicle on sealed surfaces.

It’s 5100mm long (with a 2850mm wheelbase), 1990mm wide (with a 1675mm wheel track, front and back), 1895mm high, and it has a 2690kg kerb weight.

The woodgrain steering wheel feels nice in the hands but even though the Lexus feels tighter and more controlled than the previous-gen – its body-on-frame structure has shed some kegs – this is a hefty rig so it’s no real surprise that body roll remains pronounced – it always tends to wallow even at optimal ride height. 

The suspension set-up – adjustable dampers, double wishbones at the front, a four-linkage rigid axle at the rear, stabiliser bars front and rear – is aimed at keeping things under control, and it certainly irons out any major issues, but it’s not perfect, even ably supported by adaptive variable suspension.

The brake pedals feel spongy, taking some time to ‘bite’, but the ventilated disc brakes front and rear did pull the Lexus to a controlled stop when I did a “watch out for that roo!” emergency-braking move.

And while, by its very nature, it may not be a very dynamic SUV to drive, its low-key composure makes up for that.

The gutsy V6 and auto work well, if lazily, together, and while that transmission is enough of a smooth shifter, 10 gear ratios seems like overkill to me.

Driving modes include normal, eco, sport and each adjusts throttle response, engine outputs, and gearshifts to suit the driver and the driving conditions.

It’s quiet inside – very quiet – and there’s no issues with vibration or harshness levels either.

Among its many tech-based attractions, the digital rear-view mirror is a handy touch.

This is a great open-road touring vehicle but with some flaws when it comes to adventuring off-road.

Our test vehicle is shod with Dunlop Grandtrek 265/50R22 112V tyres and these all-season tyres are fine for sealed surfaces, but they’re not up to low-range 4WDing in tough conditions, even more so on these 22-inch rims, as we found out during a few hours at our 4WD testing ground.

The Lexus has Cruiser-like off-road-capable underpinnings with top-layer dirt-focussed tech as well. 

There’s plenty of glass around so visibility is fine, steering generally feels light but takes on a clinical precision during low-speed, low-range 4WDing.

And ‘clinical’ is how the Lexus feels off-road – not always in a good way either. Like many contemporary tech-heavy off-roaders nowadays, it’s almost so good that you’re in danger of feeling entirely removed from the actual process of driving.

With multi-terrain select driving modes offering auto, dirt, sand, mud, deep snow, and rock options; with a multi-terrain monitor and panoramic view helping you ‘see’ everywhere that you usually wouldn’t be able to see on the track; with active height control helping you to lift the vehicle’s body in order to improve off-road angles at the push of a button; and the list goes on. 

That’s not forgetting downhill assist control, hill-start assist, crawl control, and off-road traction control.

Don’t get me wrong: high-tech is great because anything that helps maintain safe forward progress out bush or while beach driving is awesome but, Great Odin’s raven, it’d be great if the tech onslaught stops now. As if that’s going to happen.

If you’re looking to tow with your Lexus, listen up: unbraked towing capacity is 750kg, braked towing capacity is 3500kg. It has a gross vehicle mass of 3280kg and a gross combination mass of 6780kg. There you go.

It has a full-size spare tyre and that’s mounted under the rear cargo area.

The Lexus does not have an ANCAP safety ratings as it has not been tested yet.

Safety features include 10 airbags (driver and front passenger: front, knee, side; rear: side), AEB with pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera with rear camera washer, adaptive cruise control, road sign assist, blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, tyre pressure warning system, and more.

Buying a Lexus gives you three-year access to Lexus Connected Services including (SOS) emergency calls, automatic collision notification, and stolen vehicle tracking.

Jaguar’s three-year/100,000km warranty, is well off the mainstream pace, which is five-years/unlimited km, with some brands at seven years. And even in the luxury segment, newcomer Genesis, and the most established of them all, Mercedes-Benz, have recently dialled up the pressure with the offer of a five year/unlimited km warranty. 

Extended Warranty Insurance is available for 12 or 24 months, up to 200,000km.

Service is scheduled every 12 months/26,000km, and a ‘Jaguar Service Plan’ is available for a maximum five years/102,000km, for $1950, which also includes five years roadside assistance.

The Lexus LX500d has a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Capped-price servicing applies for three years. Servicing is set at six month/10,000km intervals with each appointment costing $595 over that period.

Lexus Encore Platinum benefits – including valet parking and on-demand vehicle loans – are standard for new Lexus owners.