Compare the2024 Toyota Land CruiserVS 2024 Acura RDX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Land Cruiser have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Acura RDX doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Land Cruiser are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RDX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Land Cruiser has standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The RDX doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Land Cruiser has a standard Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The RDX doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Land Cruiser and RDX have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Land Cruiser has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The RDX’s Rear Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The Land Cruiser’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The RDX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Land Cruiser and the RDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Toyota Land Cruiser weighs 980 to 1024 pounds more than the Acura RDX. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are almost 5 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Acura dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Land Cruiser’s warranty.

The battery on the Land Cruiser is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Land Cruiser’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The RDX’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. With 13 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Toyota higher than Acura.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Acura is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Acura is ranked fourth.

The Land Cruiser’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 54 more horsepower (326 vs. 272) and 185 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 280) than the RDX’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Regenerative brakes improve the Land Cruiser’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The RDX doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Land Cruiser uses regular unleaded gasoline. The RDX requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

For better stopping power the Land Cruiser’s brake rotors are larger than those on the RDX:

The Land Cruiser’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the RDX are solid, not vented.

The Land Cruiser stops much shorter than the RDX:

For better traction, the Land Cruiser has larger standard tires than the RDX (245/70R18 vs. 235/55R19). The Land Cruiser’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RDX (265/60R20 vs. 255/45R20).

The Toyota Land Cruiser’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Acura RDX only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Land Cruiser has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the RDX; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

The Land Cruiser (except 1958) has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects 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 RDX doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Land Cruiser’s wheelbase is 3.9 inches longer than on the RDX (112.2 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Land Cruiser is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than on the RDX.

For greater off-road capability the Land Cruiser has a greater minimum ground clearance than the RDX (8.7 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Land Cruiser to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Land Cruiser has .4 inches more front hip room, 7.1 inches more rear hip room and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the RDX.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Land Cruiser’s rear seats recline. The RDX’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Land Cruiser has a much larger cargo volume than the RDX with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 31.1 cubic feet).

The Land Cruiser’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The RDX’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Land Cruiser’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RDX’s (6000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Standard Trailer Sway Control (TSC) on the Land Cruiser uses the Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The RDX doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The engine in the Land Cruiser is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the RDX. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Land Cruiser’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The RDX does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Land Cruiser’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The RDX’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Land Cruiser has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the RDX.

The Land Cruiser has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The RDX doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.