LEXUS vs TOYOTA

I have used many Toyotas and a Lexus both within family and corporate use. Thus I have experienced many versions of the vehicles over the years.

I personally think Toyota (family) is the best Car brand ever. Their reliability & endurance is out of this world. I have personally seen and used cars that virtually don't need any maintenance other than regular maintenance & consumables for way over 100,000 km and over the span of something like 15 years. (compare it with brands like BMW or Mercedes that require more and more maintenance the more modern the make).

For perspective, I live in a country where there are still some bad roads. Most of the people are still under the middle class (never having luxury items, care and maintenance doesn't come naturally to these people). Regular maintenance are seen as inconvenience, any parts change / breaking down other than consumables is a grave sin of the automaker, and don't even expect them to drive and use with care. The general consensus of expectation would be for a car to be used however they liked without breaking down - ever. A natural setting for Toyota families Toyota, Daihatsu, and Lexus to be Kings..

The Lexus I drive also run about 80k km and about 10 yrs old despite never needing any part change.

Few make does have a certain weakness like the second generation Alphard's steering wheel. But the weakness is very minor (more like an inconvenience) and truthfully very rare to see. I believe most would be way more than just reliable. People working in industries would be familiar with Toyota's never-ending strive to do better and better.

A thing worth mentioning, Japanese cars (and especially Toyota) are very good in their field of view design and their ease of use (Easy to see & Easy to use). Their A pillar would be the most unobstructive in every class. Giving the best view. They also have been the easiest to use in daily driving for a long time (although German cars are catching up well, I expect them to keep having some edge)

Talking about difference between brands, what you get would of course, be suitable to their class / price. Any high class Toyota cars is very finely made. Unseen lighting for every needed point, soft touch even for knees, soft close joints, soft muffled windows, etc.
Lexus is even more finely made. Their leather is softer than S Class Mercedes, no joint without soft close, they can have double seals on their doors (definitely more resistant to flooding), more muffled glasses, even their fenders are lined with some kind of carpet like substance (I expect) to reduce Tyre noise, giving them the sound proofing without sacrificing much their character of ease and free.

To compare,

• Rain impact to a Daihatsu = thundering over their entire body and glass
• Rain in a Toyota = Muffled over the body but still thundering over the glass
• Rain in a High class Toyota = Muffled over the body and muffled over the glass
• Rain in a Lexus = Even more Muffled over the body and glass, plus Tyre splash

(You can change the rain with traffic sound, tyre noise, etc. Even their A/C noise!)

Other than that, in the setting of daily drive, nothing much different. Even when Toyota tends to be more expensive and feature stingy in their respective classes, some modern mid-class Toyota even have features that Lexus 5 yrs older doesn’t have. (Of course it is only something small like 3x turn signal and not something big like full easy entry system or premium sound system)

Talking about the brand characters in general, Personally I like Toyota more than Lexus. Although actually a Toyota, Lexus still somewhat drives like luxury ‘Germanic’ Car. You can feel that they are heavy, stable, low, and somewhat ‘muffled’. Even with their six cylinders engine, they can’t feel Agile & light. This does reduce their handling and a little of their easiness. Toyota on the other hand, is more agile and light. They are higher and taller so they are easier to use against different road heights, handles body ‘slam’ better (though less stable), and generally have more leg rooms than Lexus (for me, Lexus’s legroom is their biggest boon). Also not being too luxury meant Toyota’s ‘furniture’ are less oversized and crampy. Though Toyota is not designed to be driven as fast, I find Toyota easier, more enjoyable, and comfortable..

P.S. : Other things worth mentioning:

• Toyota steering wheel (power steering settings) is usually the lightest among all brands
• Their engine setting / tuning is usually heavy on the smoothness than acceleration (compared to others with same engine power)
• Their compartment space (like glove box and side door) is usually one of the biggest

EDIT :

• I found out that fender's carpet is to muffle Tyre splash during rain.
• Toyota's last CEO, Akio Toyoda, has made a new policy of “No more boring cars”. I see they improve the design so much as to make the car lower and shorter to make it sexier. This does, however, reduce Toyota's coveted leg rooms and much compartment space. I haven't tried one, but I suspect it will also reduce their body slam comfort while increasing much of their stability. Seeing Akio Toyoda himself is a professional race driver, we might expect the car to be more ‘racy’. (And they do succeed in making it not boring)