Range Rover vs Lexus NX250
What's the difference?

Range Rover

$124,990 - $274,990

2023 price

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Lexus NX250

$42,990 - $58,888

2023 price

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Land Rover Discovery Sport

Mercedes-Benz EQ-Class

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Mercedes-Benz G580

Mercedes-Benz G63

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

Mercedes-Benz GLE400

Mercedes-Benz GLE450

Mercedes-Benz GLS

Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Mitsubishi Outlander

Mitsubishi Pajero

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Rolls-Royce Spectre (bev)

Summary

2023 Range Rover

2023 Lexus NX250

By Laura Berry

By Byron Mathioudakis

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Twin Turbo V8, 4.4L

Inline 4, 2.5L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

11.8L/100km (combined)

6.9L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Cavernous, practical, luxurious cabin
Easy and smooth to drive
530 horsepower V8!

Affordability and equipment
Elegant outside, luxurious inside
Hugely quieter and more refined than before

Dislikes

Heavy rear doors hard to open for little kids
Retractable door handles
Centre touchscreen looks aftermarket

Driver-assist tech could use some Aussie road tuning
Hard to tell apart from previous design
NX 250 engine needs the open road to truly shine

2023 Range Rover Summary

Land Rover was making SUVs before they were even called SUVs.

Range Rovers were ferrying families around in prestigious four-wheel drive comfort decades before Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz even thought of doing it, too.

So, even with all its rivals these days, how well does a Range Rover do modern family duties?

Well the Range Rover Autobiography came to live with my little family of four for a week. We had the seven-seater long-wheelbase version with the twin-turbo petrol V8 engine, and this is what we discovered…

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2023 Lexus NX250 Summary

As far as clichés go, attempting to make “a silk purse from a sow’s ear” couldn’t be more apt than when contemplating the original NX of 2014.

What was essentially the Lexus-fication of the vocal, fidgety and thirsty old Toyota RAV4 may have worked a treat sales-wise, but proved trickier when assessed against the lens of a BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 rival.

The earliest NX just wasn’t refined enough.

This was especially true following the reborn RAV4 arrival in 2019, proving to be embarrassingly more competent – even compared to most luxury midsized SUV alternatives.

Now, finally, the NX redesign has followed suit, moving on to a variation of the Toyota’s stronger, quieter and more advanced TNGA architecture (dubbed GA-K) as a starting base.

Speaking of which, let’s dive straight into the least-expensive version, the NX 250 Luxury 2WD auto, to find out if the most popular Lexus model in Australia has finally found its mojo.

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Deep dive comparison

2023 Range Rover 2023 Lexus NX250

Verdict

The Range Rover Autobiography long wheelbase is an outstanding SUV that is not just beautiful to drive but makes family practicality a priority, too,

The price is reasonable relative to the competition, the features list is long and complementary servicing offers peace of mind.

If you don’t need the third row, I’d consider the standard wheelbase Autobiography even if it does reduce legroom, there’s still plenty of space.

My son stopped short of giving the Range Rover Autobiography full marks "because there are no massaging seats in the second row".

Verdict

So, is the cheapest Lexus NX the grade you’d skip? Depends on where you live and drive.

If you’re urban based and bound, save up a bit more and go the petrol-electric hybrid; otherwise, out on country roads especially, the spirited and sporty NX 250 is more than up to the task.

Either way, though, the latest NX is finally fit to fight the other premium brands’ medium SUV efforts, head on and held up high. Welcome to big mid league, Lexus.

Ignore or underestimate at your own peril, everybody else.

Range Rover vs Lexus NX250 What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Range Rover vs Lexus NX250
What's the difference?