Lexus LX vs Porsche Cayenne

What's the difference?

Huge specification in terms of convenience and safety gear are matched by an equally huge range of abilities in this vehicle. As well as rock hopping with the best of them, this is also a phenomenal touring rig and a more-than-capable off-roader. Of course, whether you can see yourself clambering up the side of a muddy creek crossing in $202,000 worth of vehicle is a personal matter, but rest assured, the Lexus will do it if you ask it to.

In the case of the hybrid LX, however, the vehicle now has an extra dimension to cover off, and from what we can see, it does take the efficiency and running costs of the big wagon to a new, better place. Mind you, that may only be the case if diesel continues to cost a dollar-a-litre more than petrol at the bowser.

The shift to petrol power also brings with it a level of mechanical background noise that we’re not entirely sure fits the Lexus legend, while additions such as the camera-based rear-view mirror system seems to be a conversation starter rather than an actual improvement.

Of all the super SUVs I've piloted, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is the best all-rounder in terms of performance, comfort, cabin technology and style.

As a family car it's roomy, practical and easy to use and drive daily.

As a performance car the Turbo GT is stupidly quick, with the agility of a sports car. Sure, a 911 would leave it behind on a twisty race track, but this SUV is close to having that sportscar experience and keeping your family, as well.

In a styling sense, that big, bold, deep grille at the front won’t be to everybody’s liking, but we reckon it’s pretty well matched with the otherwise taut skin of the LX’s body.

Inside, the plush look and feel is the dominant factor, but if you look really closely, there’s a fair bit of generic Lexus stuff on show. Is that a criticism? Hardly. The leather looks and feels luxe and only some hard plastics (such as on the door cappings) belie the car’s LandCruiser origins.

This might be a personal thing but to me nearly all Porsches look better from the back than the front.

It's the wide stance and powerful haunches, the hunkered down suction-capped-to-the-road look that does it for me and the Cayenne Turbo GT, despite being an SUV, passes this important Porsche checklist item.

The GT aero kit only serves to make this SUV look more of a beast, and the gold-bronze looking satin Neodyne wheels are a Porsche theme that I've not always been a fan of, but I get the historic connection.

If only the Turbo GT could look a little less like other Cayennes from the front. This is the king of the SUV range and despite the apron and bumper already being exclusive to this model, there should be more.

Vents in the wheel arches, carbon bonnet with nostrils GT3-style perhaps? Or is that going too far? If you do want something more lairy then there's always the Urus.

The Cayenne Turbo GT's cabin is stunning in its plushness and modern surprises such as the passenger display, the hoodless instrument digital cluster, the lashings of Race-Tex upholstery everywhere. It's perfectly Porsche. High-performance meets high-end.

It's also highly practical. Let's talk about that.

Like many hybrids, cargo capacity takes a bit of a blow. In this case, placement of the battery under the cargo floor means a reduction in luggage capacity from 1109 litres to 899 litres. In the seven-seat variant, capacity is 883 litres with the rearmost row folded flat. The rear seat folds 60:40 and there are good, solid tie-down points in the rear. There’s no under-floor storage, however, apart from a small compartment just behind the rear seat which locates the tools and safety triangle.

The tailgate is powered (if a bit slow in its action) and there are cup-holders atop each suspension tower, clearly a hang-over from the seven-seat variant which is not available in F Sport trim. The cargo blind is a good addition, as is the 1500-Watt power socket in the cargo bay.

In the cabin, there are plenty of grab handles and the side steps give shorter folk a leg up when entering or leaving. Once you’re in, the front seats are terrifically comfortable as well as featuring a massage function on top of the heating and cooling functions. The steering wheel is also heated.

Paddle shifts might seem odd in a vehicle like this, but they are brilliant in off-road situations, although you need to first select manual mode on the shifter to have the paddles hold each gear for more than a few seconds in most of the on-road driving modes.

Speaking of the shifter, Lexus has seen fit to once again reinvent this simple control. You now need to pull the handle towards you and up for Reverse, across and down for Drive while Park remains a separate button even though it looks like just another icon on the lever.

A pair of cup holders live over to the passenger’s side of the centre console, and there are a pair of USB charge ports as well as an HDMI port in the dashboard. But the switches for the power windows are located almost directly under the driver’s interior door pull, forcing some unorthodox wrist geometry.

At least the buttons for the climate control and off-road functions such as diff locks and ride height are, indeed, buttons and not menu items. The simple knob to control the stereo on-off and volume is a great touch, too. So is the cooled centre console under a cover that opens from either side.

The rear seat is big and wide but the high floor dictated by the body-on-frame construction means those with long legs will have their knees bent while ever they’re in the back seat. The seat cushion itself is pretty flat, too, but the backrest does recline through a wide range of angles.

Reading lights, lots of air vents and a full set of climate controls ease the pain of riding in the back, but if you want cup holders, you need to keep the centre rear seat free so the armrest that houses the holders can be lowered and snapped open. Adding to the impression that plenty of thought has gone into the rear seat environment are the pull-up sun blinds on each window. Why don’t all cars have these?

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT only makes one compromise on practicality and that's the removal of the middle seat in the back, which, with just two kids isn't used all the time but on average we might need it once a week for school mates and cousins.

Instead of a middle seat there is a shallow tray, which will fit a phone or in our case leaves and rocks found at the park.

So, yes, the Turbo GT is a four-seater only, but this is a spacious, large SUV with good head and legroom, wide-opening doors for easy entry and exit, and air suspension which can raise and lower the height for easy access.

Storage is excellent with enormous door pockets in the front and back and there are four cupholders.

There's a wireless phone charger in the front and two USB-C ports as well, plus two USB-C sockets in the back.

Four-zone climate control means the kids in the back can set their own temperatures. They also have heated seats.

I was disappointed to see there aren't sunshades for the rear windows - pretty vital in Australia where it feels like we're only about 50 metres away from the sun.

The Turbo GT's 576-litre boot just managed to fit our pram and a week's shopping, which is our minimum standard for living. Any more space is a bonus.

The Turbo GT is the king of Cayennes, so it shouldn't surprise anybody that it's also the most expensive with its list price of $364,700.

Lamborghini's Urus lists for $409,744  and is the Cayenne Turbo GT's not-so-subtle Italian cousin, sharing the same platform and engine.

Both are in my mind the best performance SUVs on the planet. It just depends how conspicuous you want to be.

Then there's Bentley's V8 Bentayga which isn't blessed with the Porsche's good looks but would still be all over the Cayenne if the two happened to meet at a race track.

So, why is the GT Turbo the king of the Cayennes? What makes it better? For all the reasons you'd think - it's the fastest, most powerful, most luxurious and most equipped Cayenne in the range.

We'll get into mind-bending engine and performance specs soon, but first let me take you through the standard features on a car that's anything but standard.

Coming standard and exclusively to the Turbo GT are 22-inch 'GT Design' wheels in satin 'Neodyne' with full-colour Porsche centre caps, an active rear spoiler, Turbo GT front apron, dual titanium exhaust, rear apron with diffuser, 'SportDesign' side skirts, wheel arch extensions, a lightweight carbon roof and tinted LED HD-matrix headlights.

Inside, and also exclusive to this grade, is the 'GT Interior Package' with 'Race-Tex' upholstery throughout with 'Deep Sea Blue' stitching on the front seats and centre console and the armrests and dashboard.

There's also the 'Carbon Interior Package' which includes dashboard and door trim elements.

Race-Tex trim is applied to the 'GT Sports' steering wheel, roof lining and gearshift, too.

The adaptive active air suspension, which can lower the car by 15mm, is standard and only available on the Turbo GT, too.

The soft-close doors are standard (a cost option on lower grades), as are the stainless steel pedal covers.

The rest of the features are also found on lower grades and include the 12.65-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up display, proximity unlocking, 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen with sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, a 10-speaker Bose sound system, heated front seats, rear privacy glass and an auto tailgate.

Four-zone climate control is standard on the GT Turbo, too, and so are heated rear seats.

Our car had several options fitted such as the front passenger display ($2860) and the Deep Sea Blue Accent Package.

The passenger display is a crowd pleaser, but as a family car my kids felt like they were missing screens in the back seats, too. Well, in my day...

The hybrid driveline of the vehicle we’re looking at here marks a further expansion of buyer choice when it comes to how their Lexus LX is powered. The twin-turbocharged petrol and diesel variants will continue alongside the newcomer, although you can bet Lexus (and Toyota) will be watching the sales charts closely to see where consumer tastes fall.

The hybrid set-up here starts with the twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre petrol V6 (a lot of people - Toyota included - are calling it a 3.5, but at 3445cc, it’s not) from the Lexus LX600.

But instead of bolting directly to the 10-speed transmission, in this case, there’s a single electric motor and clutch unit sandwiched between the engine and transmission. That means the Lexus retains mechanical four-wheel drive, while the electric motor can provide extra urge for acceleration or towing as well as offering EV-only operation when it’s required (mainly in stop-start traffic).

Crucially, it also means the vehicle retains those traditional off-road qualities of low-range gearing and permanent four-wheel drive. The electric motor also contributes torque to the equation when the driver selects either Rock, Dirt or Deep Snow modes to maintain a steady flow of Newton metres.

The petrol V6 contributes a healthy 305kW and 650Nm to the picture, while the electric motor adds a further 36kW and 250Nm. When all that’s harnessed up, there’s a total of 341kW of power and 790Nm of torque on tap, allowing for a braked towing capacity of 3500kg. It also makes this variant the torquiest Lexus LX ever.

Interestingly, Lexus says the conventional 12-volt starting system and alternator for the petrol engine, means that unit could continue to operate if any part of the EV system failed.

One of the big questions over hybrid drivelines in off-road conditions is what happens if the vehicle suddenly finds itself partly under water. In this case, says Lexus, there are additional waterproofing measures which should prevent any problems mid-creek.

The F Sport grade gets a Torsen (torque-sensing) rear differential and firmer dampers for an overall sportier feel.

At 2780kg, the LX hybrid is heavy, and is at least 100kg more than the LX600 due to the batteries and other hybrid gear.

As a middle-aged parent with two children, a Porsche that I don't have to crawl into and out of like a cubby house is a great thing.

What's even better is that this ‘easy access' Porsche is every bit as brutally powerful and fast as the quintessentially ‘pure' Porsche, the 911. Actually, it's more powerful and faster.

The Turbo GT's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine makes 485kW and 850Nm with drive going through an eight-speed transmission to all four wheels.

In comparison, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, arguably the most brutal and anti-social 911, has 386kW/485Nm.

I haven't made a mistake. Those are the real numbers. And it's only when you step on the accelerator in the Cayenne Turbo GT, and it feels like somebody's sat down on your chest, that you realise what a big deal this is.

That is such a colossal amount of oomph that this 2.2-tonne family SUV can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds.

The 911 GT3 RS can do it in 3.2 and it has a roll cage and a fixed rear wing the size of a bedroom door.

And yes, we're now coming into a digital age where Teslas and other electric SUVs are quick, too, but can they go around corners like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT?

Do they have the same rumble and roar as a twin-turbo V8 that's terrifying and enticing at the same time.

The correct answer is, absolutely not.

Here’s where the hybrid driveline really comes into its own. On paper, at least.

Despite the added kiloWatts and Newton metres, the 700h manages an official fuel consumption figure of 10 litres per 100km. That compares with 11.9/100km for the 305kW LX600, although it’s still more than the 8.9L of the 227kW diesel-powered LX500d.

But the hybrid’s big advantage will come in city and suburban traffic where the stop-start nature of things will enable the driveline to harvest braking energy and turn that back into electricity for the battery.

Our testing showed an average of 11.2 litres per 100km in mixed conditions which blew out to 13.0 litres with more urban running. That’s pretty handy in the context of a vehicle like this and won’t be far from the real-world numbers of the diesel LX.

The Lexus carries 98 litres of petrol, split between one 68-litre tank and a 30-litre sub tank. That should give it a theoretical range of almost 800km, but again, that will depend largely on where and how it’s used.

Seriously? This is a 2.0-tonne twin-turbo petrol V8 with a 90-litre fuel tank. Even the Porsche specs sheet doesn't understand the question because in the column for fuel efficiency there are three letters - tbc.

My own testing saw me record 22.5 L/100km at the fuel pump, which means I enjoyed driving the car very much.

A little digging around reveals Porsche globally claims the Turbo GT will use 12.6L/100km, over a combination of open and urban roads.

You might not have as much fun as I did but easing back a little might get you closer to the 700km of range this more frugal consumption figure appears to offer.

While efficient it isn't, I'm not going to mark the Turbo GT too much here because compared to its petrol rivals the fuel consumption is what I'd expect from such a high-output heavy SUV.

At low speeds, threading your way through traffic or parking, the LX feels like it needs a lot of real estate. Which makes sense given the 5.1-metre overall length that puts it on par with a lot of dual-cab utes. The width of almost two metres plays into things, too, and reversing down the average driveway will often have the sensors chirping at you constantly.

What’s interesting, though, is the way the Lexus seems to shrink once you’re up and running in a more open setting. Even a winding road reveals a car that is easy to place in corners and seems to feed back lots of the right sort of information in terms of what the wheels are doing and where they’re placed. The result is that you can actually hustle the LX along quite smartly if you need to.

The ride remains composed yet there’s a level of control that helps keep the big, high LX relatively flat through corners and responding sharply to the helm. Even those huge wheels and tyres and their corresponding unsprung mass don’t intrude. It’s a great trick.

Less easy to appreciate, however, is the driveline, specifically the twin-turbo petrol V6. Frankly, it’s just not as refined as we were expecting. I wouldn’t mind betting Lexus has tuned the exhaust system to make the LX sound like there’s a petrol V8 under that heavily sculpted bonnet. And at low revs, it kind of works with a rhythmic, muted, yet guttural sort of bass coming through.

But rev it harder and the engine soon reveals itself to be a V6 with all the secondary vibration and resonance that implies. Simply, this vehicle is neither as smooth nor as quiet as the Lexus brand would suggest and the harder you rev it, the more it descends into NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) territory. The issue is made worse by the fact that the rest of the package is so darn quiet.

Even the stop-start - a technology that is now well understood - doesn’t seem quite as slick as it should be. Taking off from a green light with the petrol engine stopped, the Lexus often produces a small `sonic bump’ from the driveline as the V6 fires into life. It’s felt more than heard. But it’s still puzzling in the context of this make and model.

The transmission, meantime, is as silky as you’d imagine with upshifts and even downshifts that are barely perceptible. It would be nice, though, if the transmission obeyed the paddles a bit more faithfully. As it is, the chosen gear is only held for a few seconds unless you also pull the shift lever into manual mode.

I’ll also take issue with the rear-view mirror that includes a camera view as well as a conventional mirror option. I can see the point of having a camera-view mirror (when the cargo area is piled high, for instance) but I’ve never yet met one that works properly. The problem is that the camera view that pops up on the mirror’s screen is never as faithful as it should be. Also, if you wear glasses to read, you’ll also need them to focus on the image properly. While a conventional mirror has the same depth of field as looking through the windscreen, the camera-generated view does not. Also, when used through a wet rear window in low light, the camera view is borderline useless. This tech clearly has a ways to go.

Never have I met a car this powerful and superbly athletic that is as pleasurable to drive alone on great, fast roads as it is to pilot at 50km/h in the suburbs with a family on board.

It exceeds my understanding of engineering that something this large can move so quickly. That in an instant can turn and tip into a corner with such precision and effortlessness.

Yet it can switch seamlessly and happily to coping with speed bumps and potholes, delivering a ride so comfortable it'll send babies off to sleep. And it did.

The only issue, and this is such a tiny thing, is the dash-mounted gearshift, which means having to reach up and select Drive or Reverse or Park, which, when executing a three-point turn, is necessarily frustrating.

Still, I'm giving the Turbo GT a 10 out of 10 for driving under all conditions, and we didn't even go off-road, which of course you can do, as long as it's not too wild.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT hasn't been locally crash tested and so doesn't have an ANCAP rating.

That's quite normal for super high-end cars. But, when this third-generation model first arrived in 2017 it was tested by ANCAP's European equivalent, Euro NCAP, and was awarded the maximum five stars.

There's AEB which operates at city, urban and highway speeds, and lane keeping assistance, and lane change assistance which is a form of blind-spot warning, and adaptive cruise control. You can option rear cross-traffic alert, as well.

A space saver spare wheel is under the boot floor.

Lexus offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty on its vehicles and throws in three years’ worth of subscription to the Lexus Encore owner privileges and benefits program. Those extras include Lexus on Demand, valet parking, roadside assistance and even complimentary access to Qantas airport lounges.

There’s also five years of capped-price servicing available.

As well as the overall five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, there’s eight years and 160,000km of cover for the hybrid battery. That can be extended to up to 10 years provided the battery is checked for degradation every year after the fifth year.

Servicing for the LX is every six months or 10,000km which is much more frequent than much of the competition, but reflects the heavy-duty nature of the vehicle.

Lexus has about 30 dealerships in Australia, primarily in urban locations, but for many servicing and repair jobs, a Toyota dealership or service centre should be able to handle things on the LandCruiser 300-Series-based LX.

The Cayenne Turbo GT is covered by Porsche's three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is lagging behind in terms of duration even compared to other luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz, which offers five years.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 15,000km, although there isn't a capped price maintenance plan with final costs determined at the dealer level (in line with variable labour rates by state or territory).