I Drove Every Toyota & Lexus Off-Road SUV… Here’s the One I’d Buy

Today I am in West Virginia at the Twin Mountain Off-Road Adventure Park for another year at Camp Toyota. Last time I was here, the fourth gen Tacomas were hitting the market and I obviously own a TRD Pro version already, so I focused on the difference between the Pro and the Trailhunter and how I came to my decision on that purchase. Today I'm taking a slightly different approach and we are going to hypothetically see which Toyota or Lexus offering in the SUV side of things would be my best purchase decision. So if you're in the market for a body-on-frame SUV, whether it be Toyota or Lexus, which one are you going to choose? What's going on everyone? Welcome back to the channel. If you're new here, my name is Talon Tsai and I make new videos every single week, so if you like what you see behind me then consider clicking subscribe. We've got a lot of stuff to get into today. On the chopping block today at Camp Toyota, I have five different vehicles to inspect, experience, drive on and off-road to really get a feel for what would suit my needs best. This video is going to be most beneficial if you already know who I am and what I look for in vehicles and simply how I like to use them. Luckily, I've already done dedicated videos on four of these five that we're comparing today and I will be leaving links for them in the cards and down below in the description whenever it's relevant. But again, if you're new here, here's a little bit about me and the vehicles I like and how I like to use them. I mainly live in the western United States, spending a majority of my time in places like the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the southern deserts of Utah. I've owned quite a few Toyotas over the years and truck-wise I currently own a third-gen Tundra and a fourth-gen Tacoma. I love driving off-road, overlanding and camping, so much so that I currently live full-time on the road in whatever vehicle I happen to be behind the wheel of at the time. I also enjoy modifying my vehicles for performance, both on and off-road, and I'm fortunate enough to own more than one vehicle at this current moment, so I tend to kind of tailor my vehicles and modifications done to them to have a very specific fit and use case. Some would say that I have slowly gravitated towards expensive taste over the years, however, I would say that I have the buy once, cry once mentality. I invest in quality gear and vehicles up front, which results in less worry, frustration and extra cost further down the line in the future. So I think that's enough framework to get you guys kind of into my eyes, my perspective on what I'm looking for in vehicles like this. Again, hypothetical if I were to be in the market for an SUV. We're going to figure out which of these five today ticks the most boxes for me personally. We have a whole lot of driving off-road courses here, activities, a lot of fun stuff to do, so let's just dive right into it. Now to kick things off, let's take a look at this lineup, and although we have some pretty cool high trim models here, I'm basically going to be kind of basing my decision on just the vehicles in general. So starting with the Toyota offerings, we have a Trailhunter 4Runner here. This is going to be one of the highest specced versions that you can actually buy with a ton of really cool features that I personally look for in a vehicle. Next to that, we have the Land Cruiser 250. Not as many options and trim levels when purchasing a Land Cruiser compared to a 4Runner. However, my thoughts on this specific vehicle may surprise you a little bit. In the middle here, we have the brand new color, the Wavemaker TRD Pro Toyota Sequoia. This vehicle in particular is also fit with the TRD Performance Package, so tuned up a little bit. A little bit of extra accessories on top of a simple TRD Pro. I say simple TRD Pro, but a little bit more bells and whistles than my TRD Pro. Pretty cool package there. And then moving into the Lexus category, we have two really cool options here. Of course, we have the GX550 down here on the end, and if we're taking a step all the way to the top to kind of the biggest and baddest in this category, we of course have the LX700h. So five different really awesome body-on-frame SUVs to drive here, and if you're interested in any of these in particular, I'll leave some video chapters down below so you can kind of jump forward and get to exactly what you want to hear. But if you're down for the whole story, all of the testing, and my individual thoughts on each of these vehicles, we're going to kick things off probably starting on the lower end. We're going to start with Toyota and work our way up to the luxury versions, ending with the Lexus 550 and of course the 700h. So let's kick things off with the one that I have the least amount of experience with and currently no dedicated video on here on my channel, the Toyota Sequoia. If I'm in the market for an SUV in this category, the Sequoia is probably going to be the first one that I cross off my list for a few simple reasons. Now my opinion on this could change with some more seat time and more actual real-world experience with this vehicle, but for my particular use case, the Sequoia makes the less sense for me out of this entire lineup. For one, I already own a third-gen Tundra, and this is essentially the SUV version of the Tundra. It is the largest vehicle in this lineup, coming in wider and longer than even some of the fairly large Lexus offerings with the GX550 and the LX700h. And to get a really nice version of the Sequoia that kind of competes with some of the higher-end offerings from Lexus, you're really getting into Lexus price territory at that point. I'm not exactly sure what the MSRP on this guy is. We got a window sticker right here, place your bets in the comments down below. So this is a TRD Pro Hybrid with the TRD Performance Package 2026 Wavemaker Sequoia, with all of the different options coming on this guy. I mean, this thing is like basically fully specced, probably one of the best versions you can get. It's coming with a total suggested retail price of $88,486. That clearly puts me into GX550 territory, not quite LX700h. But again, since I already own a Tundra, the interior of this thing is almost identical to the Tundra, other than my truck is not a TRD Pro. The cabin and everything feels the same. It's a really nice interior. I really do enjoy driving my Tundra around. But for what I like to do, this one doesn't really make sense because the size. It's just really large. It's kind of expensive. I'm not completely writing this thing off. This is going to be great for people with large families. If you have a lot of dogs, you like to road trip across the country, but you still want to do some off-roading while you're at it. Absolute massive cabin in the back here. We have two captain's chairs and a third row. So if you are a family with four or even five kids, so a family of like seven people, this could be the vehicle for you. Being that it's a twin-turbo V6 with the hybrid, this thing is going to make a ton of power. It's going to drive really nice in pretty much every situation. The Pro comes with a lot of the features that I personally look for in a vehicle. We have the MTS, the DAC crawl control, different drive modes, tow haul. We have a rear locking differential. I mean, other than this being a newer version than my Tundra, it feels like I'm sitting in my Tundra right now. So for that reason alone, this one is off my list. If I'm looking for an SUV, I'm not hauling kids. It's not really going to be a family mobile. It'll be more of a road trip, daily driver, but also off-road capable. So let's take a look at what's next. Now, the next one I'm crossing off my list, a lot of people are going to be a little bit upset about this, but that is going to be the new 6th Gen 4Runner. On paper, the 4Runner looks great. So why would I not choose this one? Simply, kind of like the Sequoia, I already own a TRD Pro Tacoma. And again, this feels like I'm sitting in a Trailhunter Tacoma. The interior and everything feels almost exactly the same. The power and all the features, I mean, I really feel right at home in here. The Tacoma is one of my main vehicles. I would say probably the main vehicle that I'm using currently. And because of that, owning a 4Runner and a Tacoma simply don't make sense. Now, the entire 4Runner lineup is something that I do already have a dedicated video on. So if you're interested in the 4Runner, I've packed all of my thoughts into this video that you can find right up here in the corner. I drove every spec from a Superbase SR5 all the way up to some of their limited plus options, the Pro, the Trailhunter. And I'm not crossing the 4Runner off the list saying, oh gosh, no, I would never buy one of these things. This is a great vehicle. If I didn't own the Tacoma already, it would be a much harder decision because this one in particular has a lot of the things that I actually prefer in a vehicle. But at the end of the day, I'm really a pickup truck guy. I like having the bed with modular options, tonneau covers and racks, things like that. In my 4Runner release video where we were down in Southern California and I was able to test all these things out, that's where I actually found something kind of interesting. I'm really happy with my TRD Pro Tacoma choice over the Trailhunter Tacoma. However, if I didn't own that truck and I was going to buy a 4Runner in particular, I would actually opt for this, the Trailhunter over the Pro. I don't know exactly why that is. Maybe it's something to do with the shorter wheelbase and how this thing performs off-road. Super flexy. I was trying to get it to lift a tire and with the sway bar disconnect and the old EMU suspension found on the Trailhunter, it was actually really difficult to get this thing to lift a tire. Just super flexy. It feels great off-road. And I think I would generally pack down an SUV with more gear, making it much heavier than something like my Tacoma where I keep my bed set up, pretty light, don't even have a rooftop tent on that truck. So for that reason, with the suspension and all of the creature comforts that Trailhunter has to offer, I would probably opt for this over a TRD Pro in a 4Runner. This thing performs great off-road, really great overall, but since I own the Tacoma, this is kind of an easy one for me to say, you know what, let's look at other options. Next up from the Toyota side of things, we have what is probably going to be my personal favorite, the Land Cruiser 250. I'm still a little conflicted on this vehicle because on paper, the 4Runner looks better in a lot of different ways, but there's something about the Land Cruiser that I just can't shake. It's really a different driving experience, very capable like the 4Runner as well, but it just feels different. It does things a little bit differently. The cabin space in here feels much roomier. We have a lot more headroom, less options to choose from, whereas the 4Runner, there are like 10 different models and specs that you can choose from with a million different accessories. Quick side note on that, if you are interested in purchasing a lesser model, so to speak, than a TRD Pro or a Trailhunter, you can actually order a lot of really cool kind of overlanding off-road-ish accessories directly from Toyota and roll that stuff into your financing, which is a pretty cool touch as well. I personally have never done that because I like modifying my vehicles myself. I'm very particular about the things that I do to my personal vehicles, but they do have both a Tacoma and a 4Runner here with a lot of factory Toyota accessories from really cool brands with great reputations in the off-road space. So if you really like a 4Runner or a Tacoma and you want something a little bit cheaper as far as the base MSRP goes, but you still want to add things like premium wheels, roof racks, and things like that, that is an option directly through Toyota. Now, when it comes to my personal experience with the Land Cruiser 250, I actually did an event with Toyota a few months back when we were in Moab, Utah, and I took a vehicle specced very similar to this, completely stock form with large wheels and street tires, and I drove essentially this exact vehicle on Hell's Revenge. That type of trip was the perfect experiment for me to see first what these vehicles are capable of in their stock form, which I enjoy doing, but then at the same time, it put me in the mindset of, okay, it struggled in some areas here and there, so what would I actually do if I owned this thing? What are some of the first modifications that I would do to make a Land Cruiser my own? And that really got my gears turning, spending that much time behind the wheel actually off-road on some difficult trails. That is really what I like to do, and that's kind of why the Land Cruiser just kind of stuck in my brain. I like the Land Cruiser because it is full-time four-wheel drive. It does have a four low with a center lock and rear locking differential, stabilizer bar disconnect, so a lot of the features that I really enjoy on my Tacoma with the MTS, the Crawl Control, and all the good features that are so much improved from previous gens, like my third-gen Tacoma, I never used Crawl Control or the Downhill Assist Control, but in all of these new vehicles, it works really well. So well to the point that I had a front locker installed in my third-gen Tacoma because it kind of needed it. All of these computer aids, whether you like them or not, it's hard to argue that they don't work. They work really well, really seamlessly, and because of that, it kind of takes away my need for a front locking differential. I'm bringing this point up now because when we bump up into the Lexus categories, there is actually a front locking differential option on one of those vehicles. So the LC250, it has plenty of room, in my opinion, for an SUV. Again, not really hauling around kids, but it would be great for a road trip. A lot more spacious feeling than the 4Runner. I love the cabin space, all of the features. It is, surprisingly, really capable off-road, even just directly out of the box. There are also a lot of unique components in the aftermarket world that are working on the 250, and there's companies dedicated to making just Land Cruiser, new Land Cruiser products. That, to me, is also a little bit more interesting than the 4Runner because, again, I've already done all of the same modifications that you would do to a 4Runner, but I've done them on my Tacoma. So starting fresh with a new platform like this, there's just something about the Land Cruiser. I can't really pinpoint exactly what it is. It feels less truck. It has better viewing angles. I like the more upright windshield. It has better viewing angles. Off-road, you know exactly where your bumper is because of where the hood kind of falls off. I really like the design of it. And while a lot of people say, oh, that's not a true Land Cruiser. Sure, all the purists are going to have their own opinions on all this new stuff, but at the end of the day, it is a great vehicle, and this is one that I would definitely love to own. So from the Toyota side of things, body-on-frame SUV, Sequoia is out because too much like my Tundra. 4Runner is out because too much like my Tacoma. Land Cruiser is probably the one that fits me best. Oh, welcome to the good life, my people. Sitting in the Lexus GX550, this one on the surface. The aesthetics that Lexus put into this vehicle, absolutely love. Right up my alley, both interior, exterior. I think this is one of the best vehicles in the lineup. Now going into this video, I was most excited about this because as I landed at Dulles Airport, this was the vehicle waiting for me. So I put a lot of miles on this thing to a hotel, and then across Virginia into West Virginia to get to Camp Toyota. I spent a bunch of time with this thing on the road, and I had a little special guest join me for that trip. So here's some initial on-road impressions with the GX550. All right, here in the 550, just put like roughly 150 miles on road with this car, and I figured I might as well talk about some interior features now because I'm mainly curious about like off-road, how I would use this thing. Here with TRD Jon, Jon is the spec guy. He knows more about this vehicle and all of the Toyota Lexus vehicles than I do, but what are some of your favorite features in here? Inside? Inside, just like one of my personal favorites is the seats, the massaging seats. They're super nice. Yeah, I would say the massaging seats is pretty sweet. The cool box, if you can get a GX with a cool box to keep your beverages nice and cold. Yeah, this one in particular does not have that. We just have some snacks in there, but... I just like the whole interior, like it's a Lexus, which is nice. Like soft touch materials everywhere, very quiet interior as well, except for that massive roof rack that's on top. Yeah, that would be ripped off immediately. Yeah, it's gone, but the sound system sounds pretty good too. All the trail modes and stuff that this has, the multi-terrain select, crawl control, center and rear locker, has the EKDSS system, so if you need more traction off-road, it's going to automatically adjust sway bars and everything. So, I mean, but the interior is just well thought out. Not too much, not too little, I think, for this car. I agree. It's really taking a step up from the Land Cruiser. Like, I compare these two heavily. If I'm spending X amount of dollars on a vehicle like this, I am the type of person to pay a little bit more to have the Lexus features and finishes. I mean, this thing is just a lot more refined overall, everything you touch with the soft touch interior. The seats are some of my favorite, being ventilated, cooled, all the different positions. Basically, everything John just said. Sound system's great. I really like the infotainment on this. I actually prefer the interior of this over the Lexus LX700h in the 600s. Yeah, I agree with that. They have more screens. They have, like, the dual screen that I've talked about in videos in the past. This is just more, like, straight cut forward. It feels, honestly, like more luxury, more premium to me than the 700h because there's just, like, less stuff. It's less cluttered in here, and I feel like there's more space in this, too, compared to the 700h. And we touched on that while we were driving. While the 700 and 600 is a bigger car, this feels more spacious inside. Like, the taller roof, we like the upright front windshield and stuff. And not having that whole kind of cluttered center console, you have more room that, like, kind of puts stuff in it, as well. It just...I don't feel as close to you, even though I want to be closer. Yeah, we want to get a little closer. But, like, it just...it feels more spacious, for sure. And then on top of that, some of the other features, I guess, is that probably for 2026, we have four auxiliary switches down here, which I'm familiar with in my TRD Pro Tacoma. Drive mode selections, we have some more options here compared to other things that I've talked about. So, we have a Sport S, a Sport S Plus, Custom, Normal, Comfort, and Eco. So, really, Lexus is kind of packaging everything that you want altogether. Another thing is a little bit more space in the back, being that this is not a hybrid. You don't have the hybrid bump, which you get in the Land Cruiser and the Lexus LX700h. So, this is kind of, like, what I would choose for a vehicle, specifically for the interior. But then with the Overtrail Plus, of course, you get more of the off-roady features, which we are going to be testing out. Oh, yeah. So, a lot of heavy comparisons there between the 550 and the 700h. I do have experience with both of these, and I actually had a Luxury Plus version of this as a demo from Lexus about a year or two ago. So, I will leave a link for that video up in the corner as well. Now, the model I'm sitting in is actually the vehicle that I wish I had when I had this vehicle for seven days. This is the Overtrail Plus. So, the Overtrail is more overlandy off-road option, and the Plus version of it gives you crazy Lexus comfort features in here, like the massaging seats. I talked about the seats a lot, but these are just so comfortable. The cabin, there's a ton of headroom in here. This is kind of comparable to the Land Cruiser 250, and I would put these two up against each other kind of head-to-head. Now, if money didn't matter and I was just buying a vehicle kind of willy-nilly, this would probably be the one because it crosses off most of my boxes. So, it does have a four-low center lock and rear locking differential, all the MTS DAC crawl controls, all the features that I personally love. But everything is just more refined. This is actually the same power plant as my Tundra, so I'm very used to the power coming out of a V6 twin-turbo from Toyota and Lexus. For the Land Cruiser and 4Runner options, though, I would probably only opt for a hybrid version because of the four-banger. It's just a four-banger. It can't be that great. The drivetrains are incredible. I absolutely love my Tacoma and all the power that gives me. Even the non-hybrid versions, I believe, are still a step up of the previous generations, going from a third-gen Tacoma up into a fourth-gen Tacoma. Whether it's hybrid or not, it's simply a really great improvement. Now that I've experienced these newer platforms for about two years now, I would never go back to a third-gen. Maybe for, like, nostalgic purposes, but the new-gen vehicles are simply better in almost every single way. If you're gonna argue with me about that, you're probably gonna take the reliability standpoint, but I've talked about how Toyota has been making turbocharged vehicles since the 70s. They've been making hybrid vehicles since, like, 2000, so about 25 years with the Prius. Toyota definitely knows what they're doing. I'm not saying, oh, they're going to be just as reliable as the third-gens, but I do have faith in Toyota from that aspect. So then bumping up into the Lexus platform, I'm actually okay with the power on this without having the hybrid. When you have a hybrid, like in the 250, you're going to have that big hybrid battery bump in the back, so you lose a bit of space. This thing feels even more spacious than the Land Cruiser 250 and just luxury. It's Lexus. Everything in here is soft-touch, paddle shifters. There's just so many things in this vehicle that this is probably one of the nicest vehicles that I've ever driven, or I should say, one of the nicest vehicles that I would ever be, like, prospecting to own. The problem with leaving my Toyota roots a little bit and coming up into a Lexus platform is that once I truly experience this and take it off-road the way I like to off-road, do road trips and camping in it, daily drive the car and live with it, I don't think I could go back to a Toyota just because this is such a step above. Again, nothing wrong with Toyota. They're higher-end platforms. They do have soft-touch interiors, and everything feels really nice and premium, but not quite Lexus premium. So the 550 has performed great off-road at the off-road course here. I would really like to take one of these into my own element to test it the way I would end up driving a vehicle like this. Everything is just so refined. Beautiful touchscreen in here, digital dash cluster. They do have the auxiliary switches on here, so you can wire in lighting accessories, which of course I would probably do if I owned this vehicle. Owning this thing, I'm assuming it feels like I'm in a different tax bracket that I'm probably technically not a part of, but man, it is just so nice. Everything about the GX550, of course, does come with a higher price. However, if you're specking up a Sequoia, you could probably find one of these at a similar price, if not maybe even lower than a TRD Pro Sequoia with the TRD Performance Package as well. The Land Cruiser and the 4Runner are not quite going to touch the price of a kind of standard GX550, but again, it's that buy once, cry once mentality. If you want a vehicle that's going to last a very long time, I have no doubt that all these vehicles are going to last pretty much a lifetime as long as you treat it well, do scheduled maintenance, preventative maintenance whenever you think it needs it. I've never really owned a luxury vehicle like this, but man, this one is super tempting. We have one more though, the big dog, top dog, Lexus LX700H. So let's get a little bit of seat time in that. Welcome to the top dog. Now, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Lexus out to the launch of this vehicle. We went to Napa Valley. I filmed a whole video driving all of the different trim levels of this vehicle as well. So I actually have a pretty good understanding of what the LX700H is capable of. Let's see if we got the window sticker in here because this one is going to be the most shocking, of course. Lexus threw in through crazy interior, just chef's kiss, luxury feeling sitting inside of this thing. This is a top dog coming in at $116,000. Now, I've actually done a short video on sort of like a presidential escort vehicle, one of the super top dog, most expensive LX700Hs with like reclining rear seats and infotainment back there. You can kick your feet up and like recline back. That thing is super cool. Don't get me wrong. It also had a bright orange interior, which I'm a fan of. However, Overtrail, Overtrail Plus model, if I'm going to own a vehicle like this is the route that I would personally go. So this vehicle is a step up from the GX550 in a few different ways, one being the powertrain. The H means that this is a hybrid. So similar powertrain, but hybrid. So now we're sitting closer to a TRD Pro Sequoia or a TRD Pro Tundra for that matter. A lot of different drive mode selections out of this vehicle with Sport and Sport Plus, Comfort, Eco, Normal mode, all of the really cool packages in here, paddle shifters, the interior with wood grain, soft touch everywhere. This thing just feels extra luxury, which of course it is. Now this one in particular really stirred the pot for the true Land Cruiser enthusiast and for people who really like to off-road vehicles like this because of the differential setup. We of course have a center locking differential on here, but then we also have a rear and front locking differential. Now I kind of stressed on it in my video when initially driving these vehicles, like man, if you're going to make a vehicle for off-roading, obviously this does much more than that, but give me a front locker. Like I mentioned though, with the MTS and Crawl Control and all the new updated computers on here, these trucks work and brake tires individually to give you traction, keep the power going down to the ground in a lot of different scenarios. And it does such a good job that with my experience, I haven't really felt the need for a front locker. I've done so much in my Tacoma with these advanced systems and there's only been maybe like one or two scenarios where I'm like, eh, a front locker could have made that obstacle easier, but at the same time still made it up. Driver mod, pick your lines right, have the proper modifications as well for the terrain that you're putting your vehicle in and the computer systems on this thing work phenomenally. And that's across the board. However, in the 700h, you do have a front locking differential, which is pretty cool. You also have adjustable ride height with a hydraulic suspension. So if you're comfortable on road and then you get off road, you can simply bump the suspension up and this thing will sit up taller, keeping your running board safe and giving you a little bit of a better approach and departure angle. The GX550 to the LX700h is kind of like the comparison between a Land Cruiser to a 4Runner. On paper, everything in here seems like it would be a better fit for me. You still have luxury, of course, just like the 550. You have maybe a little bit more off-road capability with that adjustable hydraulic suspension and a front locking differential. Triple locked LX is so cool. They haven't done this in years now. But the same way, the 4Runner technically makes more sense for me on paper, but I gravitate towards the Land Cruiser. The LX700h kind of makes more sense on paper, other than the price, but I gravitate towards the GX550. The cabin in this feels a little more constricted, although it is a large vehicle. The GX550 feels a little bit more roomier for me. The windshield is a little bit more upright, just like the Land Cruiser, and it feels more SUV-esque to me. There is an absolute ton of room back here. Having the hybrid powertrain too on a V6 twin turbo, it's definitely nice, don't get me wrong, but hybrid adds more complication to a vehicle. And while I do enjoy the hybrids on the 4Bangers, I don't feel like I need the hybrid power system on a vehicle that has an engine like this. So for a lot of those reasons, that's why I'm gravitating towards the GX550, and also it is quite a bit cheaper than the LX700. Now, all of these vehicles performed great off-road. It's really impressive taking a $100,000 plus luxury vehicle through obstacle courses they have set up, up and down through the valleys of West Virginia here, crawling up shale on tires that are not aired down with completely factory everything. It's impressive what these vehicles are capable of, and honestly, they're not even completely set up to do the things that we're doing. I personally would air down a vehicle like this to at least 20 PSI, but we're running full pressure on everything all the way around. Completely stock out of the box, this definitely gives you more options for off-roading with that adjustable suspension. I would probably just set it into its highest setting and cruise around like that for most of the time. But then if you're driving on the road, the suspension will automatically lower itself. You can set it and adjust it depending on the speed that you're traveling, and it's just more functions, more features right out of the box. But again, something about the 550. I'm staring at it out of the window right here. It is such a good-looking vehicle. I don't truly love the exterior design of the 700h. I'm not a fan of the huge Lexus front grille. The rear end looks kind of bald-ish. I'm just more of a fan of the styling choices that Lexus went with on the 550. And for those reasons, I think the 550 is a little bit more obtainable for me. I already know what type of modifications I would do to it. I wouldn't even really want to change the suspension because it's such an expensive part of the vehicle. But also the hydraulic suspension is not my end-all be-all for off-roading. I'm sure it's great. I mean, it feels great from the testing that I've done so far. But I personally would want to run something a little more standard, a remote reservoir shock option. While it is nice to raise and lower the vehicle, I would probably opt for aftermarket modifications to do that myself. So it's kind of like the idea of buying a TRD Offroad instead of the Pro, which I did for my third-gen Tacoma. I knew I was going to buy that truck and immediately change everything on it, so that's why I went for the lesser option. That way, I'm not paying for components that I'm going to take off. I switched things up when going to the Pro because I wanted to keep the vehicle relatively stock for the first year. And I'm glad I did that because it allowed me to really see what the vehicle was capable of in its fairly stock form. So with all that being said, out of the Toyota line, I'm probably opting for a Land Cruiser 250. And then out of the Lexus line, I'm opting for a GX550. Now for the real question, if I'm only buying one, which of those two choices will fit my needs best? So currently driving the Land Cruiser 250 through some of these trails out here, a little bit of an obstacle course. Going into this trip, I was pretty dead set on the Lexus GX550 being my overall choice for this. Just having experienced a little bit of everything, that seemed to be the most appealing for me. It wasn't until midway through the day yesterday, as we're off-roading all of these vehicles, that I was able to hop back into a Land Cruiser 250 for the first time in a little while. And immediately it just grew on me again. Comparing the 250 to the GX550 isn't a super fair comparison, but from my standpoint, I want something like this. An SUV that has a center locking differential, rear locking differential, does have a sway bar disconnect, which I should probably disconnect as we climb down through the trees here. Everything about the 250 seems just a little more simple. It seems more Toyota. It seems reliable, familiar to me. And for that reason, I really am having a hard time making the choice here. Something about this with its kind of like basic, yet also very nice interior, it makes it feel really nimble. I'm using some of the MTS controls right now because we're going through some pretty muddy stuff. We just got a bunch of rain this morning. This thing, although it looks fairly low off the ground, it's surprisingly very capable, as you probably saw when we tested these in Moab. And again, this is a vehicle in its completely stock form. I'm on street tires at full pressure right now. I'm running 35, 36 PSI in all four corners and we're off-roading this thing. Driving the GX550 on the road and for the whole day before actually getting to Camp Toyota, I really fell in love with it. But then hopping back in this, it just feels right. It's a Toyota. It all feels very familiar to me. It does everything that I want it to do with a lot of space and comfort at the same time. Love the viewing angles, love the headroom. It's just a really great platform, even though as a lot of people say, it's not a true land cruiser. Still wears the name and it's hard to deny how cool this vehicle actually is. All right, guys, back in the GX550 for just one more little lap here through the kind of obstacle course that they have set up. One thing about this that I really enjoy is the e-KDSS system. As I'm going through these moguls here, both the front and the rear, I believe, are kind of like disconnected. There's no stabilizing bar disconnect like on the Tacomas and the Toyota products, the land cruiser. But I guess at a lower speed, it kind of frees everything up and it allows you to articulate. And this thing feels really solid, doesn't feel tippy at all whatsoever. Although it does feel still like a larger vehicle. It's basically on the same platform as the 250, but everything is just, again, more refined, a little bit nicer. Now, the more I was thinking about this, if hypothetically I was going to buy a body-on-frame SUV, Toyota or Lexus, this powertrain being non-hybrid, I do like because there's less complications. You get into the 700H and you do get more power, but I feel like it's kind of unnecessary in a way. But the hybrid powertrain, in my opinion, is necessary when you are working with something like the Land Cruiser. So putting this up against the Land Cruiser for a final showdown, a Land Cruiser Premium, Premium Plus, like the highest model, which is probably what I would opt for, those are going to be starting, honestly, pretty close to the price of a GX550 Overtrail. Now, this is the Overtrail Plus. I need to dive into what can be optioned on a Plus versus just a standard Overtrail. However, Land Cruiser Premium, you're probably looking at $70,000, maybe $71,000, $72,000, depending on where you're at. There are more LC250s available, so that vehicle in today's day and age would be easier to get. Going down a really steep slope here, muddy. It's been raining a lot. I'm at almost a 30-degree angle right here. Computers are doing their thing. It's going to roll right through. So Land Cruiser is honestly pushing close to GX550 price. And if I bought a Land Cruiser 250 knowing that this vehicle exists, I feel like I would kind of kick myself. If you have the option to spend a little bit more money and get something very similar, but more premium overall, really nice creature comforts for a vehicle that you're probably going to be daily driving a bit more, I think I'm going to spend the extra money and go with a GX550 over the Land Cruiser. Really hard decision though. Got one last little obstacle here, dropping down into the murky pond water, probably coming up to the door sill. There is really no right answer to this video. But again, based off of my perspective, my wants and needs, if it ever comes to the point where I want an SUV, I think my money is going towards a GX550 in this case. Would it kind of hurt me at first to modify this thing and off-road it in the fashion that I typically do with my vehicles? Yes, I think that would be kind of a hard pill to swallow. I would feel much more comfortable doing that stuff with a Land Cruiser. But at the same time, Land Cruiser is not a cheap vehicle either. It's going to be more expensive than even my TRD Pro Tacoma was with the model that I would choose. So I think that's where we're at. The winner in my case is going to be the Lexus GX550. But let me know what you guys think. Hopefully this video helps some of you guys out there. If you have any questions on any of these products, let me know because I've got a lot of experience with almost all of them now. Huge thank you to Toyota for inviting me out here to West Virginia for yet another Camp Toyota. This has been a blast and I enjoy driving these vehicles fresh out the box. No modifications. Really see what Toyota and Lexus has done to create these vehicles that we all love so much that take us on adventures. It's been a blast. If you guys are new to this channel, consider clicking subscribe. I make new videos every single week. As always, thank you for watching. I'll talk to you in the