2025 Lexus GX 550 vs Land Rover Discovery D350 Review

There is no shortage of options these days when it comes to large luxury SUVs, nearly all premium brands have a player in this space. But for large luxury SUVs with proper off-road capabilities, there’s not many around. The handful of manufacturers come to mind and they are Lexus, Land Rover, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz.

For this comparison review we are bringing together two of the more popular models in the segment for a shootout – the Lexus GX 550 and the Land Rover Discovery. Both have fancy badges, seven seats and genuine bush bashing talents. The GX is only now in its third generation, while the Discovery has been around for much longer and is currently into its fifth generation.

Pricing wise, both vehicles are very similar as well, with the Lexus GX 550 in range-opening Luxury guise coming in at $118,320, stretching to $130,770 for the top-spec Overtrail grade. The Land Rover Discovery pricing starts from $117,219 for the D350 S and capped off at $146,048 for the range-topping D350 Tempest. All prices exclude on-road costs.

On test was the Lexus GX 550 Luxury and the Land Rover Discovery D350 35th Anniversary Edition which is based on the Dynamic SE trim. The latter retails at $132,090 which is some $7,000 more than the Dynamic SE donor car, which in turn also costs just as much more than the Lexus GX.

The Discovery does come equipped with a few extra goodies – more on that later – but for those seeking more features in the GX the Sports Luxury trim is always an available option with almost identical pricing as the Discovery D350 Dynamic SE.

First things first, the design. As with all previous generations, the Lexus GX is based on the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, but unlike in the past the latest GX is not just a Prado with a Lexus badge, for it has quite a lot of differentiating styling elements. Yes the basic proportion, roof and side profile are similar but the rest is bespoke Lexus and boy does this thing look cool. The angular front fascia design is contemporary yet rugged, matched in the rear with the bold light bar that stretches the entire width of the tailgate. For us, it’s one of Lexus’ best designs in recent years.

The Land Rover Discovery is an 8-year-old design that still looks pretty good today. The recent facelift brought subtle update to the grille, headlights, taillights, front bumper and rear bumper, but the rest of the car’s styling has been mostly unchanged since introduction. That’s a good thing because it’s one of the prettiest and classiest SUVs around. It’s still unmistakably Land Rover with an upright proportion, clean lines and the name Discovery proudly spelled out on the bonnet.

The Lexus GX’ interior has hints of the Prado but like the exterior it’s mostly different to its less expensive counterpart. The feel is very upmarket, as you’d expect from a Lexus, though being an off-road vehicle the design and materials used lean more toward durability than luxury.

The GX’ utilitarian design focus becomes even more evident the moment you jump from the GX to the Discovery. The cabin of the Land Rover is much more high-end and luxurious, with exquisite materials throughout that truly radiate a premium vibe but may not be that easy to clean when they come into contact with dirt.

As with most things pretty the trade off is that some of the off-road controls in the Discovery are nestled in the touchscreen which may be tricky to operate if you’re wearing gloves or if your fingers are mucky. In contrast the GX has physical controls for all off-road functions so you don’t have to fiddle through the touchscreen to change the diff settings like you do in the Discovery in the middle of ploughing through mud.

Both the Lexus and Land Rover infotainment touchscreens aren’t the most advanced in the premium space but the former is a tad more intuitive with a simple and straightforward menu structure. It’s the opposite for the digital instrumentation panel though, with the Discovery boasting better customisability, not to mention a much more classy and modern on-screen graphics. While both panels have the ability to display a driving map, we just don’t see the point of that awfully tiny map display embedded within the arch of the rev counter in the Lexus. It’s just too small to be useful.

Lexus GX 550 Luxury specification highlight

• 14-inch centre touchscreen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto
• 12.3-inch digital instrumentation cluster
• Colour head-up display (HUD)
• 10-speaker audio system
• Wireless phone charger

Land Rover Discovery D350 Dynamic SE specification highlight

• 11.4-inch centre touchscreen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto
• 12.3-inch digital instrumentation cluster
• Colour head-up display (HUD) (35th Anniversary Edition added feature)
• 12-speaker Meridian surround sound audio system
• Wireless phone charger
• Centre console fridge (35th Anniversary Edition added feature)
• Wi-Fi enabled with data plan (35th Anniversary Edition added feature

Cabin space for the first and second row seats tip in the Discovery’s favour with marginally more headroom and legroom than the GX. For the third row however, the Lexus offers more leg and knee room, on top of easier access thanks to the second row seats that slide and tilt more forward liberating a wider passage to the back seats.

The GX leads in seat comfort, too, with front pews that contour perfectly to the adult body and wide second row seats that stretch from door to door. The GX does have a high centre hump that may impede legroom for the middle second row passenger. That passenger is better off in the Discovery as it has a near flat passenger floor and full size middle headrest.

Lexus GX 550 Luxury safety highlight

• 9 airbags including driver knee airbag
• 3D Surround View Camera
• Blind Spot Assist
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Lane Keep Assist
• Front and Rear Collision Monitor
• Rear Traffic Monitor
• Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Speed Limiter

Land Rover Discovery D350 safety highlight

• 8 airbags
• 3D Surround View Camera
• Blind Spot Assist
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Lane Keep Assist
• Rear Collision Monitor
• Rear Traffic Monitor
• Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Speed Limiter

Currently, the Lexus GX is petrol-powered only with the sole powertrain on offer being a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine that produces 260kW of peak power between 4800-5200rpm and 650Nm of torque between 2000-3600rpm. That’s plenty to afford the 2.5-tonne SUV with brisk acceleration off the line and loads of guts to tow any large trailer or caravan. Towing capacity is rated at 3.5 tonnes.

Silky smooth in all proceedings, the forced-fed V6 makes a good noise when prodded, yet muted on cruise. It’s paired with 10-speed automatic transmission that never feels too fuzzy or two gears too many. It’s mostly using the first 7 gears with the 3 higher gears being overdrive gears.

The Discovery D350’s powertrain is more sophisticated than the GX, employing a 3.0-litre twin-turbo in-line 6 cylinder diesel engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system. It serves up 258kW at 4000rpm and 700Nm between 1500-3000rpm. Being slightly lighter at 2.3 tonnes, the Discovery delivers better get-up-and-go performance than the GX, and with the diesel engine supplemented by the mild-hybrid system there’s virtually no lag. In fact, it’s even more responsive than the GX’ petrol V6.

It’s impressive how refined the oil burner is, and just like the Lexus it’s very quiet on cruise, though it can’t really match the Lexus on soundtrack. Diesel clatter is minimal, in the cabin at least.

The 8-speed automatic works well with the powerful diesel engine, shuffling away discretely in the background and on the right gear most of the time. As for towing capacity it matches that of the GX at 3.5 tonnes.

In terms of ride and handling, there’s really not much that separates the pair. Both SUVs impress with excellent control and composure around the bends. If we drill right down, the Discovery does feel a bit more car-like in its handling and response owing to its monocoque chassis design as oppose to the ladder-frame architecture of the GX. The Discovery also rides better with less cabin jitter.

When it comes to off-road though, it’s the GX that is the more expert bushman. With higher ground clearance (215 vs 207), thicker, beefier tyres tuck underneath large wheel arches, and what felt like a more heavy-duty four-wheel drive system, the GX is completely in its element in the bush. There’s just more traction, more wheel articulation, placing it as one of the most capable luxury off-roaders on sale today.

The Discovery, too, will go deep into the jungle with its myriad of dirt-kicking gadgetry, but despite having an additional rear differential lock which the GX lacks, can’t quite match the GX when the going gets serious. It’s an adventure vehicle for sure, but a true off-roader it isn’t.

Not surprisingly, the Discovery is miles better on fuel than the GX on paper, averaging 7.8L/100km against the GX’ 12.3L/100km. In the real world, the difference is less with the Discovery reporting 10.2L/100km against the GX’ 13.6L/100km after about 400km of mixed driving.

The Discovery also has a more realistic servicing interval at 12 months / 16,000km. The GX ought to do better with its short 6 months / 10,000km interval. Both cars come with 5-year unlimited km factory warranty, but the Discovery offers a 5-year roadside assistance, 2 years longer than that offered by the GX.

Verdict

The brief of luxury lifestyle and adventure SUVs can’t be better met by both the Lexus GX and Land Rover Discovery. They are spacious, comfortable, luxurious and off-road ready.

It’s amazing how the older Discovery still managed stack up so well against the much newer GX. It’s the more premium and car-like of the pair here, with the D350 equipped with a mild hybrid diesel powertrain that is much more efficient than the GX 550’s V6 petrol.

The GX, on the other hand, is a more capable off-roader that also does everything you’d expect of a luxury SUV very well. Its more usable third row seats make it more family friendly, while its price advantage over the Discovery is hard to ignore.

At the end of the day it boils down to how you use the vehicle. If it’s going to live out most of its life in the urban environment with the occasional off-road excursion, the Discovery would be the pick. If it’s going to see more dirt, sand and rocks, the GX would be the one to go for.

And for that, the more all-rounded Lexus GX feels like the more complete SUV given the brief, even if it’s just by a whisker.

 Pricing and Specification