Well my wife and I are about to buy a new SUV. We were pretty sure we were going to buy a GX470, until we drove the LR3 Saturday. If we were to buy a LR3 , we would get the HSE with all options, MSRP is around 56K and they are willing to take of $1500 of MSRP to get our business. So now we are in a dilema, we really liked the LR3 for its looks, the space inside, the moonroofs and the things it can do. The GX470 is far more luxurious and a better historical reliability track record, than the LR3. Does anyone here wish they had baught a LR3 instead? I know that can be a biased question on a Lexus forum, but I am hopeing for an honest answer. So if you had to do it all over again would you get a LR3 or GX470 and why? I also posted this question on the LR3 forum to see what their response is going to be.

Also, I posted a month ago about help on getting a price for a GX470 with KDSS, I can get one for $1000 over invoice, so thanks to all those that helped with thier advice.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

I looked at and drove an LR3 shortly after they came out last fall. I liked the exterior and room inside, especially the fact that the third row seat had more room then the GX. I also liked the controls they had for setting the 4wd and traction for differing surfaces. It is a better system then what Lexus uses in the GX.

I did not like the ride or engine performance as well as the GX however. The engine in the GX is just smoother and more refined. The LR3 V8 is rated for more horsepower, but it seemed slower then my GX. The GX also has a more comfortable and quiet ride, even without the KDSS.

The interior quality goes to Lexus hands down. They simply make the best quaility interiors you can get.

I too test drove the LR3 last month. I must say I did not like it at all. I thought the GX was too boxy already until I seen the LR3. The LR3 drove nice, much like the GX, but was not as quiet or smooth. The interior was not up to standard for a $55000 SUV and the front cup holders look like they were add on, very tacky looking.
At that same time, I also test drove the range rover, it was a much nicer ride and has a much nicer interior. But the RR is in another ball park as far as pricing. In the end, Lexus' quality and relieability won me over. The Rovers are nice if you are leasing for a couple of years, or if you are trying to be unique, or if relieable transportation is not high on your priorty list.

with those 2 choices, LR3 and GX, i'd stick with Lexus. Land Rover's got bad quality and reliability. hey, my GX isn't perfect (clunk, vibration, door locks broken: rear, passenger front, driver, brake leak, creaky seats, etc.) but i'd still go for the GX

Was waiting to drive LR3 but got the GX because I needed to replace the 4-Runner asap for a long trip at the time. Im glad I did get the GX, seen lots of little problems with the LR3 and mileage on her seems to be lacking somewhat. I get 17-18 average, blend of city and highway. A few LR3 reviews got less than that.

besides, i think you're paying too much $$$ on Land Rovers when the quality of those vehicles are no better than a Ford or Kia (no offense to those car brands)

I've had my '06 GX for about 6 months now and still like it as much as when i first purchased it. I tested out the LR3 out of respect since i've had a Discovery and a RR. Trust me, LR gets you at first - the history, the off-road performance (like an old Caddy tooling down a dirt road - floats), but TRUST me on this one - the upkeep costs and the service are terrible on LR's. They are extremely expensive to fix, unless you find a shop that specializes in LR service from a former LR employee like I did. He said he left LR b/c he was tired of the mediocre service standards and the inflated prices. In six years with a Discovery I probably had about $25,000 dollars in maintenance (mostly recalls, so taken care of), but in the last three years I had to replace both headers, all the brakes (twice) and the transmission was the next thing to go.

Before I purchased my 2006 Lexus GX470, I test drove the LR3 and before I got in the car I liked how it looked. When I drove it, I thought it handeled okay, it does have some nice features that do catch your attention for example the extra moon roof and the Terrain Response that is supposed to make it a versatile vehicle for all types of weather condition. Not to mention that the third row seat are some what set up as theater seats, meaning that they are slightly elevated compared to the second row to give the third row passengers a better view of the road and the entertainment screen. So after carefully reviewing every detail of the vehicle and test driving it, I start to change the settings on the Terrain Response system and that's what got me started on the re-search. Well it was early 2006 (about January) when I started to seriously look into the LR3 and that's when I started to find out that Land Rover changed the entire system completely from the Discovery and not to mention that there was a merge with Ford during this time hence the reason why the new beginning. So I started to look into what problems have come up since the arrival of the LR3. So after digging up "dirt" on the LR3 I found out that the LR3 is rated very poor on "wiring system" and found out that this new Terrain Response even though it was a nice idea had many kinks to work out. Not to mention its engine, the engine and various parts have recalls...on a brand new 2006? Well that to me raised further curiosity. So I dug deeper and found out that the Land Rover is not very reliable as compared to the Lexus/Toyota GX470.

The reason why I'm writing so much is because you requested an honest answer and well here is an honest answer. But you need to ask your self an important question, what do you want out of your new vehicle? Reliability? Looks? Luxury? or do you just want to spend your money on anything? Ultimately it's your choice and I was in your shoes at one point and after doing all my re-search and trying to dig up "dirt" on all the vehicles that I was interested in I finally chose Lexus/Toyota because of it's look's (interior and exterior, exterior is one of the best I've seen in a luxury SUV), because of it's proven reliability, because of it's safety features, because of it's engine, because of the dealership track record (now this some of you may not agree with me but the dealership that I deal with has and continues to bend backwards for me and well I feel they deserve my business) because of it's driving visibility....believe it or not the GX470 has one of the highest visibility stance...I didn't know this until I test drove it and made one of the mechanics measure the height of the vehicle and I compared it with the LR3 and others.

Weather you lease or purchase, it's allot of money you are going to spend and I'm a strong believer in knowing what you’re getting into before you take the leap. So you asked "...So if you had to do it all over again would you get a LR3 or GX470...". My answer to that would be after doing all the re-search I did and making an informed decision I would say that I would still purchase a GX470.

I'm not sure if my opinion will help you but I just wanted to answer you as honest as possible with out trying to sound bias because at one point I was at your position and it's a good position to be at but you don't want to regret your decision....oh and I too asked the same question you did so best of luck and like I said hope this helps you.

Kasfin,

I can only go by what I read in all the magazines. Everything I have read says that the LR3 is not as good a vehicle as a LR3. It is much heavier, so the HP is about equal when you consider the power to weight ratios. I do know that Lexus is the most reliable vehicles on the planet and have the highest resale value. The LR3 resale value is not nearly as good. I hope this helps.

Before we got the GX in 2005 we test drove and looked at the LR3. Actually we traded in a Freelander at the time.

The LR3 has nice styling IMHO. The 3rd row seat is way bigger and more practical than the GX, it also integrates better with the cargo area. In that area tthe LR3 is much better than the GX. The offroad features was also very impressive.

However.......

The V8 LR3 was substantially slower in get up and go than the 05 GX. It's ride ws good, but not as soft as the GX. Handling was pretty much the same. The LR3 was noisier than the GX.

The first 2 rows on the LR3 is an abortion for such a large vehicle. It felt like sitting on small dining room chairs vs big sofas in the GX. It lacked seat width and was very firm. It also lacked rear seat leg room, by a substantial margin compared to the GX. All in all didn't make for a comfortable ride.

Having owned a Land Rover befoe I knew maintenance will cost a fortune, not that the GX is cheap. But the Land Rover will easily cost you 4 times or more what the GX cost over the first 4 years, forget about the later on. Also they will spend a lot more time in the shop.

Lastly we requested lease prices for the LR3 vs the GX over 3 years. The LR3 (with similar options to the GX) was quoted at 50% more per month than the GX for a lease, even the X5 lease was quite bit cheaper than the LR3. Can we say depreciation. This is always a good way to find out how much the value will drop of the vehicle.