Lexus NX300 vs Toyota RAV4

What's the difference?

Having been on the market since 2014, the NX mid-size SUV quickly shot up the Lexus sales charts to become the brand’s most-popular model.

The SUV-hungry Australian market ate up the premium crossover, which also had the distinction of offering a hybrid powertrain.

In 2020 though, with SUVs popping up left, right and centre from premium and mainstream brands, can the NX still hold its own as an inner-city cruiser?

The Toyota RAV4 is arguably Australia’s darling and has been for years. It’s long set the benchmark in the mid-size SUV segment - a position rivals like the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Mazda CX-5 would love to occupy.

It’s also been close to a decade since we’ve seen anything new from the RAV4, so expectations for this sixth-generation update are understandably high. For this family review, we’re testing the flagship Cruiser Hybrid 2WD, which brings the most features and the biggest price tag in the line-up.

On paper, it promises meaningful upgrades, particularly in technology and refinement, while holding onto the practicality and efficiency that made it so popular in the first place.

But with stronger competition and rising expectations in this segment, the question is no longer whether the RAV4 is good, it’s whether it’s done enough to stay at the top.