Super-heavyweight clash
It’s battle of the very big family SUVs, trad vs tech, Land Rover vs Lexus
Tim Pollard (Lexus)
Land Rover and Lexus. More normally neighbours in our GBU pages rather than outright rivals, but I guess with the arrival of the seven-seat RX-L we can finally compare them side by side. And would you believe it, my Lexus is actually a whisker longer than your Disco at precisely five metres from tip to toe.
Ben Oliver (Land Rover)
I can believe it. Sorry, Tim, but I think your car just looks weird. It’s very oddly proportioned: the detailing is extreme but the low roofline and fast screen angles make it look apologetic about being an SUV. Your RX-L reminded me of Merc’s R-Class the first time I saw it, and that’s not a good thing. At least you know what the Disco is. The extra length means yours offers a bit more luggage space behind the third row of seats once erected, but so did the SsangYong Rodius.
Tim (Lexus)
So we’re agreed on one thing: each thinks the other’s car looks a bit strange. I’m still finding Disco 5 one odd-looking 4x4, one that’s taken a step backwards relative to its simple, stylish predecessor. The expanse of metalwork above the rear wheel is especially ugly. Fortunately, you don’t see that from inside. You sit really high up in the Land Rover. It’s a great view out, isn’t it?
Ben (Land Rover)
It’s throne-like, and exactly why punters like big SUVs. The Lexus just doesn’t provide that. And for me, the view inside isn’t great in either case. The LR’s infotainment system feels about eight years old by comparison with those from German rivals, but the RX’s is even worse. It just seems willfully counter-intuitive and the graphics
are plain ugly. Please, car makers, don’t try to be smart or different. Just give us a big touchscreen. I’ll admit your cabin is far better screwed together, though…
Tim (Lexus)
Aye, the Lexus has build quality off pat. The RX feels made to last, even if its digital screen and joystick controller are woeful. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will arrive this year, though. And I’m not sure Land Rover can as quickly issue a fix for the creaks and groans of a car whose build integrity trails the Lexus’s by a country mile. That shimmying double sunroof does make the Disco extra light and airy, and the cabin feels truly vast.
Ben (Land Rover)
To be fair, I don’t think the Lexus’s third row was intended to be occupied by two tall, middle-aged men with fast-declining flexibility. Although it’s a long car, your RX’s sloping, crossover rear end eats into third-row headroom and overall boot space. The need to make SUVs more ‘aero’ to hit emissions regs means the squared-off tail of Discos past won’t be seen again, sadly, but my Disco 5 at least resists the trend better than most rivals, this one included. How did it feel stepping back into an old-school diesel SUV after your fancy petrol hybrid, and your time in a Tesla?
Tim (Lexus)
It felt a bit dirty, flipping from a succession of electrified cars into a diesel Disco. It’s an anti-zeitgeist powertrain, but the utility on offer knocks spots off my hybrid RX, electric Tesla and plug-in i3. Toyota’s refusal to embrace diesel was a good call, wasn’t it?
Ben (Land Rover)
Maybe, but the hybrid drivetrain just doesn’t feel right in something that pretends to be an SUV. I know the electric motors help, but that petrol engine makes its (fairly thin) peak torque at 4600rpm and the CVT transmission means you’re too often aware of how hard it’s working. But I do admire Lexus for sticking to its principles. I think you absolutely nailed it in your first report on this car, when you wrote about how Lexus is at its best when it is distinctive – rejecting pointless ‘sportiness’ in its non-sports cars, for instance. What makes it stand out from the other premium makers is, chiefly, incredible quality, polarising design and its hybrid drivetrains. It’s the right strategy for a smaller brand: make something that a lot of people won’t get on with, but sufficient customers adore. Trouble is, I think I fall into the former category when you apply that design and drivetrain to an SUV, particularly a big one.
Tim (Lexus)
Yes, I think we’ve ascertained that my Lexus and your Land Rover are chalk and cheese in the automotive firmament. I reckon the Goldilocks blend of both would be enticing: the go-anywhere clout, roomy third-row seats and commanding driving position of the Disco, with the build quality, attention to detail and hybrid creds of the RX. But app-controlled, fold-down seats? They’re just another thing to go wrong, and emblematic of what’s wrong with automationobsessed modern car design.
Lexus is at its best when it is distinctive, like rejecting pointless
‘sportiness’ in non-sports cars