Fancy Prado packs a punch

LEXUS GX: V6 POWERPLANT TRANSFORMS SEVEN-SEATER

- Jaco van der Merwe

As great as the latest Toyota Land Cruiser Prado is, there is no scope for greater performance in the seven-seater SUV.

Only sold locally in GD-6 2.8-litre turbodiesel guise, the customary outputs of 150kW of power and 500Nm of torque it shares with the Hilux and Fortuner without 48V assistance is as good as it is going to get.

The 2.4-litre turbo petrol engine that produces 207kW/430Nm, and 243kW/630Nm with mild hybrid assistance, that is offered in other markets, is off-limits to the Southern tip of Africa.

But that gap has now been bridged by not Toyota, but Lexus, the Japanese carmaker's premium division. In existence for over two decades but only introduced locally in April, the Lexus GX is the Prado's private school cousin in the same way the Lexus LX is to the Land Cruiser 300.

The Lexus brand is operated separately from Toyota, but hardware is shared across model ranges and the GX is in essence a punchy, premium Prado at a very respectable price.

There is no mistaking the Prado from the Lexus GX in terms of styling. The GX features aggressive and sharp lines along with the very Lexus-like front grille which is a real head-turner.

Built on the TNGA-F platform like the Prado and Land Cruiser 300, the Lexus GX drops the former's 2.8-litre diesel mill for the latter's peach of a 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine.