2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs 2021 Lexus GX

ost modern SUVs are really car-based crossovers—lifted station wagons, or minivans without the sliding doors. That’s not the case with the 2021 Lexus GX 460.

Like the mythical Loch Ness Monster, the GX is a creature that time forgot. It’s one of the last SUVs with truck-like body-on-frame construction and true off-road capability. That’s because the GX is actually a rebadged Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (a smaller version of the iconic Toyota Land Cruiser not sold in North America), and is related to the Toyota 4Runner. It’s also genuinely old: the current generation dates back to the 2010 model year, and Lexus has kept it in production with some updates of styling and tech over the years.

That makes the GX a fairly odd proposition on the new-car market. It has the off-road capability, not as a lifestyle statement, but because that’s what was still expected of SUVs when it was launched. The GX sits between the RX and LX in the Lexus lineup but has little direct competition. Its only real rival is the much newer Land Rover Discovery.

For the 2021 model year, the GX gets some minor updates. Lexus continues to offer only the GX 460 model, with a single powertrain option, a standard four-wheel drive (4WD) drivetrain, and two pricing levels: base, or the Executive package.

A 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid pays for itself in a little more than three years. We’ll show you the math later in this review, but based on national averages, it goes from being more expensive to buy to saving you money after about three years of ownership.

Toyota sells the model year 2021 RAV4 in Hybrid LE, Hybrid XLE, Hybrid XSE (with or without Technology Package), and Hybrid Limited trim levels. Pricing runs from $32,950 to $43,350, not including an $1,860 destination charge.