Toyota and Lexus are of the same company. In fact, Lexus is simply Toyota’s luxury line of vehicles. Each one offers features that a different segment of the market is looking for. However, not everyone will benefit from upgrading from a Toyota to a Lexus model. According to Motor and Wheels, there are five different points to keep in mind if you’re contemplating stepping up to the luxury line. 

The Toyota and Lexus marketplace

The Toyota brand produces vehicles that appeal to those looking for fuel efficiency and practicality. If you want a good-performing sedan, SUV, or truck that isn’t too expensive, you will find a winner within the Toyota line of products. 

However, if you’re in the market looking for a luxury vehicle that performs at a higher grade, you would turn instead to the Lexus brand. It comes with features that would appeal to the affluent wanting a posh ride instead of a work vehicle or a daily commuting model that you get with Toyota. 

Comparing performance

Both Toyota and Lexus are known for strong and reliable performance specs and features. Toyota and Lexus come with high-quality engines that are known for lasting a long time. Neither needs frequent service repair trips, generally, except for routine maintenance. 

However, the Lexus brand offers more than just powerful engines. In addition to a new sense of style, Lexus owners get luxury features to complement their vehicles. For example, the Lexus GS 350 provides a heated steering wheel and powered folding mirrors, which aren’t necessary for improving driving dynamics, but they offer a more luxurious experience. 

How do the Toyota and Lexus compare when it comes to safety?

Both brands are similar when it comes to safety scores. However, Lexus edges out Toyota by a hair. With the Toyota brand, you get its safety plus package, which offers active cruise control, automatic high beams, lane-departure warning, and forward-collision warning. 

Meanwhile, Lexus has a safety system package that gets you adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, pre-collision with pedestrian detection, intelligent high beams, and lane departure alert. Those few extra features put it out on top when comparing the two brands. 

How do the brands compare when it comes to price?

There’s a simple formula when comparing the prices of the two brands. Lexus makes high-performance luxury vehicles, and therefore you can expect the prices to be much higher than most of the sedans and SUVs on the market. 

That doesn’t mean the Toyota brand offers bare-bones structures, though. It just means Toyota models give you what you need for a more affordable price. As of right now, you can get the Toyota Yaris, a small subcompact car, for around $15,600. The most inexpensive Lexus model is actually an SUV, costing roughly $33,000, which is approximately double the price Toyota offers for its cheapest model. 

Is a Toyota more reliable than a Lexus? 

Both of these car brands are known for lasting a very long time. For example, some vehicles, like the Lexus RX, have gone well over the 300,000-mile mark and continue to keep going strong. Knowing that one of these vehicles can go that long, many consumers aren’t afraid to pick up a Lexus that already has 100,000 to 200,000 miles on it. 

The Toyota brand isn’t all that different when it comes to reliability. A Corolla, for example, is well-known for going way beyond 300,000 miles. It also doesn’t typically require a lot of repairs during its lifetime. Usually, an owner will pay for the normal maintenance of wear and tear on some parts, but the engine can go for several years if taken care of. 

Buying a Toyota gets you a good, reliable vehicle that’s likely to last quite a long time. However, if you’re willing to pay the extra money and would like to get a few features to enhance your purchase, there’s nothing wrong with upgrading to a Lexus brand instead.