Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Off-Road SUV Under $150K finalists announced – UPDATE
Yesterday at 05:33 PM
Here is every finalist in the running for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Off-Road SUV under $150,000.
Drive Car of the Year 2025
Now in its 20th year, the annual Drive Car of the Year awards program continues to be the Australian new car buyer's most-trusted advisor.
At Drive, we test drive more than 200 new cars every year, evaluating each against its innate promise to sort the best from the rest. We divide the 400-plus new passenger cars, SUVs, 4WDs and utes into 19 price-banded categories focused on the end-user. Then we analyse the strengths and weaknesses of every car to find the cream of the automotive crop.
Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Off-Road SUV Under $150K
The first round of voting has concluded, and the judges have selected the Lexus GX550, Toyota LandCruiser Prado Altitude, and the reigning champion in this category, the Land Rover Defender as finalists for the Best Luxury Off-Road SUV Under $150K award.
While it's the first time Lexus has brought the GX to Australian shores, this luxury take on the LandCruiser Prado enjoys a strong heritage and cult following in other markets (especially the United States).
In comparison to the diesel-powered Prado of Australia – which has been rampantly popular for decades – the GX goes for a more luxurious experience with higher quality interior materials, more bells and whistles and an extra dose of refinement to the driving experience.
While it shares a lot with the lesser expensive Prado, there are some nice touches and inclusions to elevate the experience of the Lexus. Things like seating materials, touchpoints, technology and overall features are bolstered.
The underbonnet offering is quite different, as well. Lexus has fitted a twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre petrol V6 that provides no shortage of smooth, torquey performance, with outputs of 260kW/650Nm run through a 10-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel drive system.
Those who want to go off-road will be looking closely at the beefed-up Overtrail trim, which gets 18-inch all-terrain rubber, excellent active sway bars (using the e-KDSS system) and a new range of effective traction control systems.
There's crawl control, a range of driving modes to choose from, and locking centre and rear differentials to make this easily the most potent Lexus of all off-road.
Read more about the Lexus GX range here.
It is joined by its Toyota sibling in its high-spec off-road format, the LandCruiser Prado Altitude.
Reviving a special-edition badge as a permanent model, the new Prado shares the GX’s boxy body shell, mixed with the latest technology the brand can offer, and an upgraded 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine assisted by 48-volt technology.
The Altitude variant is priced from $92,700 plus on-road costs, making it the most affordable of the three finalists, and well under the $150K price cap.
Read more about the Toyota LandCruiser Prado here.
The Land Rover Defender is still feeling fresh and impressive after four years on the market.
This is helped by steady flow of updates and spec changes, with 2025 bringing a more powerful 'D350' tune to the charming and athletic 3.0-litre diesel inline six. Now making 258kW and 700Nm, it's joined by a silky petrol of the same size and configuration, making 294kW and 550Nm.
Our choice remains the X-Dynamic SE trim level, which gives an elegant and practical interior, good second-row space and comfort, and loads of smartly integrated technology for the family.
The combination of an aluminium-heavy monocoque platform with independent suspension and adjustable air springs still impresses, combining a supple ride quality, competent road holding abilities and great overall refinement.
When you get off-road, the cross-linked air suspension combined with class-leading traction control systems to give savagely effective off-road capability. For beginners off-roaders or seasoned pros, it's difficult to not be thoroughly impressed.
Read more about the Land Rover Defender range here, and here to learn about its 2024 Drive Car of the Year category victory.
The Drive Car of the Year Best Luxury Off-Road SUV Under $150K will be announced on 24 February 2025.
The below was published on 15 November 2024:
It’s a segment that has been dominated by the all-round excellent Land Rover Defender for a few years, and continues to be a popular choice among consumers.
But there’s a new competitor on the block, and it has a real shot at unseating the British-born champion.
Since it first arrived on the scene in 2020, the combination of off-road prowess, packaging, refinement and comfort makes the Defender a compelling overall offering.
It’s a package that uses the complex combinations of height-adjustable air suspension, electronically-controlled driveline components and an aluminium-heavy monocoque chassis to provide high levels of comfort and capability at the same time, which are historically mutually exclusive.
It was enough to defeat the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and Nissan Patrol for overall honours – even though the LandCruiser is the leader in overall sales volume.
COVID-era fears of no international travel might have spurned this category onto great heights (and long waiting lists) once upon a time, but it has since remained a popular choice for those who want something that will fit in the family, but also tow, tour and traverse to your heart’s content.
Budgets are healthy for this kind of do-it-all statement vehicle, but so are expectations.
And it’s the Lexus GX550 that is taking on the Defender for Drive Car of the Year honours in 2025. It’s a luxury spin-off of the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, and something that Australia is getting for the first time. In the United States, this is a third-generation offering.
Utilising the same common platform as the LandCruiser 300 Series, this Lexus GX550 arrives in Australia with twin-turbo petrol V6 power, making a wholesome 260kW/650Nm, running through a 10-speed automatic gearbox and gear-based full-time four-wheel drive system.
There’s also an Overtrail specification for the off-roaders, which throws in all-terrain tyres on 18-inch wheels, adaptive damping, and e-KDSS for active swaybars.
The Prado doesn’t wade into battle on it’s own though, facing off against the closely related Toyota LandCruiser Prado in its high-spec trims.
Unlike the GX550, the Prado sticks with a known four-cylinder turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, now mated to an eight-speed automatic and with full-time four-wheel drive.
Huge upgrades to the Prado’s technology, both inside the cabin, and as part of the driver assistance suite, move the new-generation model up a notch in its standing as a true luxury off-road rival.
FAQs
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive's rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
- Be all-new or significantly updated.
- Be on sale with customer deliveries commenced by 31 December 2024.
- Retail examples be made available for Drive to road test before that cut-off date.
- Pricing cut-offs exclude discounts and limited-time offers.
| Contenders | Not here in time |
| – Cars that are all-new or significantly updated since they last contested Drive Car of the Year. – New categories are open to all cars that fit category requirements. – Last year's winner is an automatic inclusion. | – These cars meet category requirements, but are not due to arrive in time for Drive Car of the Year 2025 judging. |
| Land Rover Defender (defending) Lexus GX550 Toyota LandCruiser Prado | None |
What are the next steps?
The winner of the 2025 Drive Car of the Year – Best Luxury Off-Road SUV under $150,000 will be announced in February 2025.
Before then, we will dig into the details of these two finalist four-wheel drives.
Read more:
Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year Overview
Drive Car of the Year 2024 winners
The post Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Off-Road SUV Under $150K finalists announced – UPDATE appeared first on Drive.
