Compare the2025 Porsche CayenneVS 2025 Lexus LX

The Cayenne’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 Cayenne and LX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Cayenne 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.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Cayenne helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The LX doesn’t offer a night vision system.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Cayenne 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 Cayenne and the LX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Cayenne’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the LX’s (12 vs. 6 years).

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Cayenne’s reliability 17 points higher than the LX.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Cayenne second among upper midsize premium suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The LX isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are better in initial quality than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is rated lower.

The Cayenne has more powerful engines than the LX:

As tested in Car and Driver the Porsche Cayenne turbo V6 is faster than the LX 600 3.4 turbo V6:

On the EPA test cycle the Cayenne 3.0 turbo V6 running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the LX 600 3.4 turbo V6 (17 city/23 hwy vs. 17 city/22 hwy).

Regardless of its engine, regenerative brakes improve the Cayenne’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. Lexus only offers a regenerative brake system on the LX 700h.

The Cayenne’s standard fuel tank has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the LX 600’s standard fuel tank (23.7 vs. 21.1 gallons).

The Cayenne’s optional 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 Cayenne’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the LX:

The Cayenne offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The LX doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Cayenne Turbo has standard air brakes, which adjust the spoiler automatically during high-speed braking in order to shorten stopping distances. The LX doesn’t offer air brakes.

The Cayenne stops much shorter than the LX:

For better traction, the Cayenne’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the LX (F:285/45R21 & R:315/40R21 vs. 265/55R20).

The Cayenne’s standard 255/55R20 front and 295/45R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the LX 700h Overtrail’s standard 70 series tires. The Cayenne’s optional 285/40R22 front and 315/35R22 rear tires have a lower 40 series front and 35 series rear profile than the LX’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Cayenne has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the LX 700h Overtrail.

For superior ride and handling, the Porsche Cayenne 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 Cayenne has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Cayenne flat and controlled during cornering. The LX base model’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Cayenne offers 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 Cayenne 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 Cayenne’s wheelbase is 1.8 inches longer than on the LX (114 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

The Cayenne handles at 1.02 G’s, while the LX 600 F Sport Handling pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Cayenne E-Hybrid has a greater minimum ground clearance than the LX Premium (8.2 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Cayenne to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid’s minimum ground clearance is 1.2 inches higher than on the LX Luxury/Ultra Luxury/F Sport (9.5 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Porsche Cayenne may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 1000 pounds less than the Lexus LX.

The Cayenne is 6.4 inches shorter than the LX, making the Cayenne easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Cayenne is 7.4 inches shorter in height than the LX, making the Cayenne much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Cayenne’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 front grille of the Cayenne uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The LX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Cayenne has a much larger cargo volume than the LX with its rear seat up (27.3 vs. 11 cubic feet).

The Cayenne’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.

The Cayenne has a higher standard payload capacity than the LX (1415 vs. 1285 lbs.).

The Cayenne has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the LX (1601 vs. 1285 lbs.).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Cayenne 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 Cayenne’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 Cayenne has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The LX doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Porsche Cayenne, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Porsche Cayenne outsold the Lexus LX by over three to one during 2024.