Your questions answered: Can I put LandCruiser wheels on my Lexus LX?

Modifications to 4x4s is big business, with owners often dropping thousands – or tens of thousands – on stepping up the look and/or capability of their 4WD off-roader.

That’s why car-makers such as Toyota offer a vast selection of accessories that have been tested and approved for the vehicle.

But what happens when you want to look beyond that, especially with a luxury model like a Lexus?

One reader wants to tackle just that this week as he awaits his new Lexus LX flagship SUV.

Another wants to know whether to jump for the thrust and excitement of a Kia Stinger GT or the rawness of a Holden Commodore V8.

We’re also looking at luxury car tax, the new Nissan e-POWER hybrid system and more…

Question:

Answer: You’re heading in the right direction. The LX tyres are of a lower profile than those on the LandCruiser, which doesn’t suit heavy-duty off-road work. You’ll also struggle to find replacement 20-inch tyres in remote areas, whereas 18s are a lot easier to replace if you absolutely need to. So replacing the rubber before you take off is absolutely the right choice.

As you’ve pointed out, the Lexus LX 500d and Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series are mostly the same thing beneath the skin. The LX is available with either 20- or 22-inch wheels and both have the same 265mm-wide tyres, which is also exactly the same width as those on the new LandCruiser.

The LX also uses the same brakes as the LandCruiser and the same six bolts to hold them on, so physically fitting the wheels on the vehicle should be achievable. The 20-inch Dunlop tyres on the Lexus are shared with those on the LandCruiser Sahara ZX, which suggests there’s some interchangeability between the two.

Reinforcing your move, Toyota even offers an 18-inch accessory wheel for those wanting to fit them to their LandCruiser Sahara ZX.

For whatever reason, Lexus doesn’t offer the same wheel/tyre option, so you still have to make sure you’re ticking boxes.

Once you drop down to the 18-inch wheels you have to consider differences in the circumference of the tyre. Fortunately, the 20s and 18s are aligned there. The 18-inch tyres on the LandCruiser have a circumference of 2518mm versus 2512mm for the original tyres on the Lexus you’ll soon be getting.

There are rules around increasing or decreasing the tyre diameter by more than seven per cent. But by our calculations, while the rim diameter would be changing substantially, the tyre diameter would only be changing by about 0.3 per cent. So speedo accuracy shouldn’t be significantly affected.

You also have to consider the tyre load and speed ratings but, again, it appears they’re the same.

We asked Lexus whether there are any technical reasons the LandCruiser’s 18s can’t be fitted to the Lexus LX. Perhaps predictably given the conservative nature of parent Toyota, the reply was that it doesn’t recommend any modifications to what rolled out of the factory.

It said an authorised Lexus technician needs to examine the modifications to see if they compromise any of the vehicle’s functionality.

Keep in mind Toyota pretty much says the same for its LandCruiser 70 and 300 Series, instead pointing owners to a long list of factory-approved accessories.

But many owners head straight to the aftermarket to make all manner of modifications.

Perhaps the most important piece of this puzzle is your insurance company. It’s important to keep them informed, because some love an excuse not to pay out. So it might pay to make sure they know what you’re up to before you tighten the bolts.

If the insurance company doesn’t have a problem we can’t see any technical or legal reason that would stop you fitting those wheels and tyres for something more suitable for driving your LX beyond the blacktop.

Question:

Answer: You don’t have to speak to too many people in the industry to realise the luxury car tax is broadly hated. Somehow million-dollar diamond rings, super yachts and helicopters escape a luxury tax but a Toyota LandCruiser doesn’t. So we’d support anything to get rid of it, not just with EVs.

That said, it’s unlikely to make a difference to the broader EV market. The LCT threshold for regular cars currently kicks in at $71,849 whereas for EVs it starts at $84,916.

So any EV priced under that – which is the vast majority of those sold each month – won’t notice any difference.

For a Porsche Taycan or Mercedes-Benz EQS you might knock upwards of $50K off the price, so it’ll certainly make those top-end models more affordable. But for the average person looking for a mainstream EV it’s unlikely to make a difference.

But, again, we’d be keen to see LCT disappear.

Question:

Answer: There are no hard and fast rules on how many cylinders you need for towing. Some people will tell you that only a V8 will do; others swear by a six-cylinder. But the reality is the cylinder count has been dropping on many new cars and there are plenty of four-cylinders that have more grunt than older sixes.

And that’s what you want for towing: grunt, or torque. Power is pretty much irrelevant, because it’s the effortless pulling power that will help with lugging a load.

The Avensis Verso isn’t exactly overloaded with torque, to put it mildly. That 2.4-litre engine was the same one used in the Camry; it was okay, but hardly a firecracker.

The car is rated to tow up to 1000kg, so you’d really need to make sure your caravan doesn’t exceed that. Keep in mind that it’s not just the weight of the caravan, but everything in it from water to bedding and knives and forks.

If you don’t know how much it weighs exactly maybe borrow a friend’s car with a higher tow capacity and take it to a local weighing station.

Assuming it’s under 1000kg, the Avensis Verso can legally and safely tow it. You’ll be working the engine pretty hard doing it, but for relatively short trips it should get the job done. If you want to make things easier, then a turbo-diesel of some sort (four-cylinders are fine) will step it up enormously. There’s all manner of options that will be nicer to tow with, although it’ll obviously mean digging deeper from a financial perspective.

As for 2WD and AWD, a two-wheel drive will tow just fine (that’s all Aussies used to use!) but when you’re driving all four wheels it can add reassurance, especially on a slippery surface. With the Avensis driving the front wheels, when you’re pointing up a hill on a wet road and accelerating from a standstill it may briefly wheelspin (even without all that grunt). AWDs can also help on a muddy road or a slippery boat ramp.

Short story is your Avensis Verso should get the job done (assuming the tow rig is less than 1000kg) but there are certainly better ways to go towing.

Question:

Answer: The E90 BMW M3 was a terrific machine, albeit one that could cost plenty to own (our director of content Mike Sinclair has owned one). It’s also not overly spacious in the cabin, especially when you need to find somewhere for a chair.

If you’re considering the BMW then a Mercedes-Benz C 63 is also worth a look. It’s not as polished but makes up for it with some hairy-chested performance and a noise to match. Look for a service history because they can also be frightening to maintain.

If you want more palatable servicing costs you’ll be able to buy a newer mainstream model that still ticks most of the performance boxes (minus the V8 sound!). A Subaru WRX wagon, for example, is a good place to start.

The Golf R is also worth a look. Sure, it’s not as rorty as the luxury alternatives, but that’s nothing an aftermarket exhaust couldn’t fix (consider the same with a WRX).

If you’re content with front-wheel drive then a Skoda Octavia RS wagon is worth a look. Like the Subaru and the Volkswagen you should spend a lot less keeping it on the road than you would with the V8-powered bahn-stormers.

If you’re more wedded to a luxury marque then the BMW 330i Touring is surprisingly good. The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake adds some V6 twin-turbo muscle in a great driving package, too.

Oh, and you really should at least consider the last of the SS Commodores. It was available as a wagon…

Question:

Answer: In terms of rear-drive performance cars that can kick up their heels you’re certainly looking in the right direction. When shopping for the Commodore make sure you’re looking at the VF Series 2, which got the 6.2-litre V8 (the LS3, which was previously used in HSVs) that made a much better noise than the 6.0-litre it replaced. It’s a terrific engine and a really convincing package.

We wouldn’t be too worried about aftersales support. Parent company General Motors is still supplying parts through a network of service centres. And the reality is there are enough V8 Commodores on the road that it shouldn’t be tricky to find someone reputable to work on them.

The Stinger is also a great choice. Even though it’s a V6 engine, it’s at least as quick as the V8 in the Commodore courtesy of a couple of turbos and some beautiful mid-rev pull. It’s a great car, albeit one that lacks the visceral sound of a V8.

The Stinger also has more tech and trinkets (ambient lighting and adjustable dampers, for example) as well as the security of a seven-year warranty. All of which makes the Stinger the car you’d choose with your head.

And while we’d be more than happy to park one in the garage, the smile would be that fraction broader with a Commodore SS VF Series II.

Question:

Answer: Yep, the Ami is certainly one of those cool, head-turning cars. Like a Smart car, it wouldn’t be for everyone, but it’s a car that you could easily see settling into a niche locally. Don’t go holding your breath, though.

The importer of Citroens in Australia, Inchcape, tells us it doesn’t meet Australian regulations. That’s because it’s treated as a quadricycle rather than a car, bringing a bunch of different regulations that typically makes Australian law-makers all sweaty.

It’s also only produced with the steering wheel on the left, with no plans for right-hand drive production (new cars sold here must have the steering wheel on the right).

That said, they would love to sell it here. So if anything changes on the regulatory front you can expect some Aussie arms high in the air. But, again, don’t go popping a deposit down just yet…

Question:

Answer: Traditional hybrid technology uses a petrol engine and electric motor (or two) in tandem. Typically they’ll both power the car at the same time, but the engine doesn’t have to work as hard, hence the fuel savings compared with a car running only on petrol. They’re called parallel hybrid systems because the two technologies work in parallel. Every Toyota hybrid works that way – and every Toyota hybrid sold in Australia runs purely on electricity.

The Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER works differently, although it still can’t be recharged externally, so runs only on electricity.

e-POWER is a series hybrid system. It means the electric motors are the only things driving the wheels. There is still a petrol engine, but that engine works purely as a generator, creating electricity to use in a small battery pack or fed directly to the wheels.

Nissan says it’s a best-of-both-worlds approach because it gives you the EV driving experience but still allows you to use the refuelling network we’ve used for more than a century.

In terms of fuel use, the benefits don’t seem as pronounced, at least on paper. The official fuel consumption figure for the X-TRAIL e-POWER (which has two electric motors creating an all-wheel drive system), for example, is 6.1 litres per 100km. That’s respectable, but the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid all-wheel drive posts a figure of 4.8L/100km.

Of course, the final proof will be in the real world when we get to put the two through their paces head-to-head. We’ll aim to do that soon after the X-TRAIL e-POWER hits dealerships early in 2023.

Got a question but don’t know where to find the information you need? Email us at editor@carsales.com.au

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