Lexus LBX v Toyota C-HR 2024 Comparison

Both cars represent the pointy end of each range and have prices to match.

At about $57,000, the Lexus is $2000 more expensive than the Toyota. However, get stuck into the options and on-roads, and things get eye-watering. With optional panoramic roof and two-tone paint, the Toyota costs more than $63,000 driveaway, while optional paint takes the Lexus price to more than $65,000.

Both offer all-wheel drive and hybrid petrol powertrains which promise confidence-inspiring grip but without a drinking problem, and both are ‘specced’ to the nines with heavy levels of equipment included in the cost.

There are cheaper options with a front-wheel version of the Sports Luxury which shares the same kit but saves about $4000, and an entry front-drive Luxury for $47,500.

The C-HR range also offers two alternatives such as the mid-range Koba which sneaks in under the $50,000 mark, or the entry GXL for less than $43,000; but both sacrifice all-wheel drive and the 2.0-litre in favour of 1.8-litre four-cylinder power and front-wheel drive.

With both models competing here in range-topping variants, they go up against luxury offerings in established European line-ups such as the Audi Q2 and Q3, which start from about $50,000 and $55,000 respectively.

You could also put a Volkswagen T-Roc on your shopping list in sporty 140TSI R-Line trim or Skoda’s equivalent Kodiaq 140TSI Sportline, while for a similar budget, Alfa Romeo’s Tonale is on offer although the all-wheel drive hybrid is out of reach at nearly $80k.

So how can the Japanese sister brands expect to compete in such a competitive segment?

Both vehicles represent the highest specification in their respective model line which means maximum equipment and minimum available options.

Given the relationship between Lexus and Toyota, there are a few shared items but perhaps not as many as you might expect. Both have the same fully digital driver’s instrument cluster although filled with very different graphics and options.

And while both have a large central digital touchscreen, the Toyota’s measures 12.3-inch the Lexus is smaller at 9.8-inches. There’s a head-up display in each as well but there are key differences here too that we’ll go into later.

The Lexus is dressed up in Midnight Sapphire adding and extra $1750 to the bottom line while standard equipment includes a top-quality Mark Levinson 13-speaker sound system, synthetic suede upholstery, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated front seats and steering wheel, power-operated tailgate, ambient lighting and wireless device charging pad.

In the Toyota, customers are offered similarly generous levels of equipment including LED headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels, nine-speaker sounds system courtesy of JBL and, like the Lexus, LED headlights, LED ambient lighting, wireless charging, and powered tailgate.

It too has a couple of extras thrown at it, gaining the optional panoramic roof and striking two-tone paint scheme which adds another $2700 to the price, while there is no option to upgrade the Lexus with a glass roof of any kind.

More significantly, the Lexus doesn’t share the same platform, instead taking the underpinnings from the smaller Toyota Yaris Cross SUV, which means there are similarly significant drivetrain differences associated.

It has a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol and electric motors on both front and rear axles, while the Toyota also has a twin-motor arrangement, this time fed by a four-cylinder displacing 2.0 litres.

Each model is sold with a five-year warranty and requires servicing attention every 15,000km, although doing so in the Lexus is more expensive with $335 vs $595 per visit.

A key point of difference between the Lexus - and not just the C-HR but every other small SUV is that the company - is offering its new full-service lease (FSL) option, allowing customers to not actually own the LBX but make a single monthly payment that covers registration, insurance and maintenance. The option can also be expanded to cover fuel as well.

Both Toyota and Lexus deserve their reputations as safe cars, and the smaller models are not spared any safety and driver assistance technology. The pair are on a level pegging with camera-based driver monitoring, excellent 360-degree camera view with dynamic options to move the virtual camera around the car, blind-spot monitoring (with warning but no assistance), adaptive cruise control down to stop-start traffic speeds, rear-cross traffic alerts with braking, lane-keep assistance and departure warning and autonomous emergency braking.

There are also eight airbags, traffic sign recognition, safe-exit assistance and hill-start assistance. All worked very well in practice apart from the driver monitoring which intervened a bit too readily, objecting to the driver glancing at the central touchscreen, for example.

At the time of writing, Lexus had not submitted the LBX to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), but Toyota’s C-HR had, returning the full five-star rating for its entire C-HR family thanks to a “solid safety performance,” said ANCAP.

It would not be foolish to assume the Lexus would perform similarly well if tested given its closely comparable safety systems and features, while any structural differences would be better compared to the Yaris Cross which also scored a five-star rating in 2021.

They might be small, but this pair of Japanese SUVs pack in a respectable amount of technology. The Toyota’s party pieces would have to be its large central touchscreen complemented by the same sized 12.3-inch digital dash display along with head-up display completing the tech hat trick. It’s like four screens with a digital switchable rear-view mirror for mitigating some of the C-HR’s tiny rear window and obstructive thick C-pillars.

While the Lexus features a slightly smaller screen (9.8-inch), it’s proportionally squarer, doesn’t sacrifice much in useable area and looks significantly more modern than the Toyota’s screen which has graphics that appear to have aged already. Also, the Lexus introduces a novel feature to the standard HUD in the form of extra controls.

Unlike the Toyota which only presents relatively standard information in the head-up screen such as speed and navigation directions, the Lexus has interactive control options connected to touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons. This means placing a thumb on one of the buttons brings up options to control information and entertainment systems or display customisation options.

The same can be achieved going through touchscreen and instrument cluster prompts but, even if the method requires one or two steps more than the conventional touchscreen approach, it’s all done without interrupting the driver’s attention on the road which we really liked.

In previous years, both the Lexus and Toyota proprietary operating systems left a lot to be desired with fiddly controls buried in clunky menus and unintuitive systems and while the LBX has the more premium feeling operating system in this battle, both have improved significantly.

In particular, the Lexus offers a surprising level of customisation of the instrument cluster, with various info fields available to place in numerous spots to create the driver’s perfect arrangement. It’s a bit fiddly to get your head around but it’s not a feature you’ll be pawing at each time you get in the car. Set and forget.

Beyond that, it’s tech semantics with wireless charging, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, USB-C connectivity and connected services provided by both manufacturer’s applications offering remotely accessible features.

Neither car is available as a purely combustion powered option with a hybrid powertrain regardless of the variant. However, while the LBX has the same 1.5-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder offered in all three spec levels, the GR Sport C-HR is the only one that has the larger 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder.

Torque outputs are surprisingly similar with the Toyota producing 188Nm vs the Lexus’s 185Nm but there’s a bigger performance gap in the peak power outputs with an even 100kW for the Lexus system compared with 146kW in the Toyota.

Toyota claims the C-HR will get to 100km/h from a standstill in 7.9 seconds while Lexus says the LBX needs 9.6s to do the same but, in practice, the acceleration feels more closely matched with both offering good off-the-mark performance as well as reasonable rolling acceleration for overtaking. Hill climbing, especially on faster freeways and A-roads can become a bit of a struggle.

Although there are significantly different engines under each bonnet, the hybrid systems in essence are very similar. A motor positioned on the front axle is the largest in the system with a smaller unit providing power to the rear axle, while the petrol engine is also connected to the front wheels via a CVT automatic.

Neither can be plugged in for extended zero-emissions driving but they can be switched into an EV mode which offers limited engine-off driving at low speeds and small throttle applications.

While there’s reasonable performance to be had from the combination of petrol and electric power, the Lexus and Toyota’s real raison d'être is efficiency.

We found this was most obvious when cruising on more suburban roads together with some traffic, where the hybrid systems could recover energy typically lost in more conventional vehicles.

Interestingly though, while the Lexus is the claimed efficiency expert at 3.8-litres per 100km vs the Toyota’s 4.1-litres per 100km, the Toyota was the real-world frugal champ. It used 5.0-litres per 100km compared with 5.2- litres per 100km from the LBX.

This could be a symptom of the smaller three-cylinder having to work harder to provide good performance compared with the half-litre-larger Toyota four-cylinder which breaks less sweat to deliver the same push. Either way, those are some impressive economic figures whichever way you look at them.

It’s said one should never judge a book by its cover, but it’s a bit difficult to resist doing exactly that when it comes to this comparison.

On the one hand you have the Toyota which is dressed up in an ostentatious two-tone red and black paint scheme, big wheels, aggressive angular styling and wears Toyota’s coveted GR badge on its rump. So, this is a driver’s car, right?

Then there’s the Lexus which is elegant and smooth in its aesthetics, has smaller wheels with taller tyres and hints at a blend of both sport and luxury in its moniker. Obviously, this is the more relaxing and sedate choice then…

In actuality, both are fun to punt about. Despite their small footprints, neither feel top-heavy with sturdy stances on the road and the short wheelbases help an eager turn-in and excellent responsiveness to change direction. The Lexus beats the Toyota in the steering stakes with a little more feel and feedback without taking on too much weight, while the GR can manage cornering speed better.

As for outright fun, the LBX feels more playful and doesn’t take itself too seriously with no sports driving modes, instead going for a well-tuned chassis that copes well with all driving styles from enthusiastic to comfy cruising.

The Toyota does have a sport mode, but it doesn’t enhance rigorous driving by any significant measure aside from a little synthetic feeling weight added to the steering and holding the engine revs higher. Ordinarily this might help, but the four-cylinder is a little drony compared with the LBX three-cylinder which has a far more likeable report, especially when working hard.

Both use continuously variable transmissions which arguably don’t need paddle shifters but it’s surprising to see the Lexus adopting simulated gear shifts which the driver can influence with the feature, while the Toyota has no such option.

The soggy brake feel of early Toyota family hybrids is thankfully long gone and both these SUVs have decent pedal progression if a little grabby at low speeds.

Then there’s the driving position which feels more ergonomically suited to adult humans in the Lexus with a nice, reclined posture more akin to large Lexuses, while the Toyota has a more long-arm, short-leg position despite its overall larger dimensions.

When cruising, both the LBX and C-HR have excellent ride quality and comfort levels. They also both feature double glazing in the front windows which is very unusual in the compact/small segment and noticeably cuts noise levels in the front row, while the Lexus goes further with active noise cancellation.

Both cars deserve praise for the levels of comfort and refinement once unheard of at the smaller end of any segment.

It’s true that any SUV offering an all-wheel drive transmission implies it might have some degree of off-road ability - exactly the case in both cars here. However, with large alloy wheels fitted with very much road-focused tyres, the C-HR and LBX’s natural habitat is asphalt.

That said, there’s about 170mm of clear air underneath each, while modern traction control systems frequently find grip in places you mightn’t think there’s any. We certainly wouldn’t shy away from a muddy soccer field in either, and it’s unlikely that a frozen carpark would put a dampener on your snow escape, but full off-road adventures are best left to this little pair’s bigger SUV siblings such as the Toyota RAV4 or Lexus GX which are genuinely competent when the road comes to an end.

If there was any shared DNA between the Toyota C-HR and Lexus LBX in technology or mechanics, it’s almost impossible to spot in the interiors of each. While the Toyota has gone for a striking blend of black and red with angular tiered design, the Lexus is more restrained with pleasant dark blue and grey hues.

For our money, the Lexus has the more sophisticated cabin with lovely synthetic suede covering dash, door trims and supportive sporty seats. We also like the electric latching door handles which require just a push to exit and allow solid exterior handles that require no hinges or movement to operate.

The Toyota also tries to be left field in its door operation but is less successful in execution. Interior handles are more conventional but the exterior handles fold flush to the door skin for simplicity and favourable aerodynamics and electrically pop open when required. However, the loud clunk of all four handles hiding away when the car starts to roll is anything but premium.

Its armrests on each door are a little short causing the driver’s elbow to occasionally slip off but, in the Lexus, a more forward driving position avoids the same problem. In short, the Lexus is the better exercise in ergonomics.

Up front, the Lexus continues its premium feel with electric adjustment for the driver’s seat while the C-HR has manual seat adjustment for both.

Neither model offers much space for rear occupants with tiny second row seating spaces. There’s marginally more leg room for passengers in the back of the Toyota but only just and, with the front seats set correctly for adults, it’s almost impossible for another one to climb into the back of the Lexus.

Go even further back and you’ll find small boots as well. Toyota wins this one with 362-litres of space versus 315-litres in the LBX which is not exactly cavernous but about average for the segment. Unfortunately, neither offer a spare wheel of any description with the inflator and sealant dreaded duo your only option when a puncture happens.

Finally, while the Lexus has an urgent-sounding dual-tone horn, the Toyota has a puny monotone beep which is far from premium and almost makes it a little embarrassing to lean on the steering wheel centre. A minor point you might think, but the small things all add up.

The Toyota certainly is the performance hero within its own range but when compared with options in other line-ups it’s not quite so convincing as a sports model. In 40 TFSI trim, Audi’s Q2 does zero-100km/h in less than seven seconds, while the even cheaper Volkswagen T-Roc R-line will do the dash in 7.2s. Badging it GR and placing it under the same respected performance umbrella as the Supra, GR Yaris and GR Corolla might be a little misleading.

The Lexus’s boot badge is a far more accurate description of what’s in the box - sportiness and luxury in equal measure. It’s more fun to drive enthusiastically, equals the Toyota for ride comfort but goes further into luxury territory than the C-HR.

Ironically, Toyota’s efforts to create something sporty have resulted in a comfortable cruiser with adequate performance, while Lexus’s efforts to create a luxurious vehicle have produced the driver’s pick of the two. It’s the LBX Sports Luxury badge that better summarises what you're getting over the somewhat optimistic GR Sport moniker.

However, both of these Bantam SUVs are pricey, and although they’ve got fun dynamics, impressive economy and offer something that feels and looks genuinely premium but different, you’re not getting anything for free.

If you’re spending big, go the extra $2000 and take the Lexus as it feels that little bit better executed, but with options like Audi’s Q3 on offer for similar cash, and rivals such as Honda offering alternatives for a significant saving, you’ll find better value for money shopping at the entry point of both of these models.

But if shelling out big-style for a compact Japanese SUV is your thing, why stop there? Arriving in the first half of 2025, Lexus will introduce the LBX Morizio RR with 206kW. The pricing is yet to be released but expect it to be expensive. We can't wait to revisit this battle when the new version lands.

2024 Toyota C-HR GR Sport at a glance:
Price: $54,990 or $63,600 as tested driveaway
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol-electric
Output: 146kW/188Nm
Transmission: CVT
Fuel: 4.1L/100km (WLTP claimed)
CO2: 89g/km
Safety rating: 5-star (ANCAP 2024)

2024 Lexus LBX Sports Luxury at a glance:
Price: $56,990 or $65,337 as tested driveaway
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol-electric
Combined Output: 100kW/186Nm
Transmission: CVT
Fuel: 3.8L/100km
CO2: 85g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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