Compare the2023 Land Rover Range Rover SportVS 2023 Lexus LX

The Range Rover Sport’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The LX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Range Rover Sport and LX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Range Rover Sport has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The LX’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Range Rover Sport uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The LX uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Range Rover Sport and the LX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Range Rover Sport P440e’s standard 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid produces 25 more horsepower (434 vs. 409) than the LX’s 3.4 turbo V6. The Range Rover Sport P530’s standard 4.4 turbo V8 produces 114 more horsepower (523 vs. 409) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (553 vs. 479) than the LX’s 3.4 turbo V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Range Rover Sport P360 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid is faster than the Lexus LX:

On the EPA test cycle the Range Rover Sport running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the LX:

The Range Rover Sport P440e can travel with zero emissions for 48 miles. The LX can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Range Rover Sport’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The LX doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Range Rover Sport’s standard fuel tank has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the LX (23.8 vs. 21.1 gallons).

The Range Rover Sport’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The LX doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the Range Rover Sport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the LX:

For better traction, the Range Rover Sport has larger standard tires than the LX (275/50R21 vs. 265/55R20). The Range Rover Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the LX (285/45R23 vs. 265/55R20).

The Range Rover Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the LX Premium/Luxury’s 65 series tires. The Range Rover Sport’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the LX’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Range Rover Sport has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the LX Premium/Luxury. The Range Rover Sport’s optional 23-inch wheels are larger than the 22-inch wheels optional on the LX.

For superior ride and handling, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Lexus LX has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Range Rover Sport has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Range Rover Sport flat and controlled during cornering. The LX base model’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Range Rover Sport Autobiography/First Edition has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The LX doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Range Rover Sport uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the LX, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Range Rover Sport Autobiography/First Edition offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Lexus doesn’t offer an active suspension on the LX.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Range Rover Sport’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the LX (118 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

The Range Rover Sport SE handles at .81 G’s, while the LX 600 F Sport pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Range Rover Sport w/Rear Wheel Steering’s turning circle is 3.5 feet tighter than the LX’s (35.9 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Range Rover Sport has a 3.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the LX Base/Premium (11.1 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Range Rover Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Range Rover Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 2.8 inches higher than on the LX Luxury/Ultra Luxury/F Sport (11.1 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 650 pounds less than the Lexus LX.

The Range Rover Sport is 5.8 inches shorter than the LX, making the Range Rover Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Range Rover Sport’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The LX doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The design of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport amounts to more than styling. The Range Rover Sport has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is significantly lower than the LX (.376) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Range Rover Sport get better fuel mileage.

The Range Rover Sport uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The LX doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Range Rover Sport SE is quieter than the LX 600 F Sport (66 vs. 68 dB).

The Range Rover Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the LX with its rear seat up (31.9 vs. 11 cubic feet). The Range Rover Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the LX with its rear seat folded (66 vs. 64 cubic feet).

The Range Rover Sport’s cargo area is larger than the LX’s in almost every dimension:

The Range Rover Sport’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The LX Ultra Luxury doesn’t offer folding rear seats, only a ski pass-through.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the Range Rover Sport to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The LX doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The LX’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Range Rover Sport’s optional adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Range Rover Sport offers optional dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The LX doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

A manual rear sunshade is standard in the Range Rover Sport to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The LX doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

The Range Rover Sport Autobiography/First Edition has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the LX.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The LX doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport outsold the Lexus LX by over two to one during 2022.