Verdict After nearly 700km of testing with both cars, it’s fair to say that the Tesla is indeed a capable tow vehicle, provided you keep the distances relatively short and plan around charge station locations. Overall average - Penrith to Bathurst to Penrith Fuel and energy consumption will always depend on the driving conditions, which is why we chose different routes for each leg of our testing. Averaged across the two legs, towing the caravan with the Model X used 101 per cent more energy than without, or halved its driving range, which sounds a bit scary. The LandCruiser by comparison added 63 per cent on average, which is still a big difference, but matters less in the real world when its big fuel tanks would still give you about 760km of driving range, which can be refilled quickly at any diesel-stocked servo. So you could do a weekend trip with the caravan from Penrith with one supercharge in Bathurst, but it would’ve been highly unlikely to manage the extra 55km if you were leaving from Sydney CBD. The bottom line is that there’s plenty of things - like smaller camper trailers - lighter than our caravan that will help the Tesla to do the towing job better right now. Compared to the ‘Cruiser, the Tesla is a lesson in the benefits of a lower centre of gravity and road-focused handling. As always, bigger batteries and more recharge points will go a long way to rectifying the Tesla’s towing shortcomings, and I'm sure we'll get there eventually. But no matter what, its acceleration performance under load is simply excellent. Thanks to our friends at Avida for making this test possible with the use of the 17-foot Avida Wave Tourer Electric Pop-Top single-axle caravan. They can also be reached on 1300 428 432. Verdict The retro-cool Lexus GX550 Overtrail is a solid mix of understated style, on-road performance and 4WD capability. It’s suitably refined, luxurious and it’s a comfortable off-roader – and if you’re planning to cross-shop it against the likes of Land Rover Discovery, Toyota LandCruiser 300 or Land Rover Defender it actually compares quite favourably. But there are some negatives: the Overtrail’s fuel consumption impacts its general appeal as a day-to-day driver, it lacks people-carrying flexibility without that third row of seats and the fact there’s no diesel Overtrail on offer is a real letdown. Still, there’s no denying this is a worthy contender among the current line-up of large luxury SUVs and it makes a lot of sense. Driving Energy consumption is just one element of a tow vehicle though, with stability, braking and acceleration performance being the most important details. The big ‘Cruiser is always a safe bet for towing heavy loads, but it's fair to say its off-road ability, tall body and short wheelbase mean it could be better on the road, and the Tesla goes some way to proving that. With all those batteries mounted nice and low, the Tesla is significantly more stable with 1.7 tonnes on the back than the LandCruiser, in all conditions. It’s also helped by that longer wheelbase. The Tesla’s airbag suspension is another surprise advantage, and while it can be a bit choppy around town over minor bumps, bigger bumps on the highway are soaked up really nicely and it all settles quicker than with the LandCruiser - even with the caravan on the back. Tesla is famous for instant acceleration at any speed, and this effect remains when towing. The LandCruiser’s twin-turbo V8 (with max torque available from 1600-2600rpm) has long been a benchmark for tow vehicles, but the Model X makes it feel sluggish by comparison. You know how caravan vehicles are usually the slow ones up hills? This time, we were the ones doing the overtaking, even up the steep bends heading out of Lithgow. To overtake, it just takes the slightest flex of your right foot. Clearly there’s a big caveat though when it comes to how much energy it’s consuming while you’re enjoying that performance, and it’s deceptive because it doesn’t make any more noise like a conventional engine when you’re pushing it. You’d also think the weight of the van would overcome the engine-braking effect of the regenerative brakes, but they are still very effective at conserving your brakes downhill and preventing the car from running away from you, and no doubt giving the batteries a bigger boost at the same time. On that note, the LandCruiser’s cruise control also does a great job of witholding speed on downhill runs, proactively dropping gears to engine brake enough to keep the Avida Wave in check. Driving The smooth Overtrail driving experience begins before you even push the start button: the Overtrail has big grab handles for each door – and I bloody love a good solid grab handle. Also, the combination of power-adjustable steering wheel and driver’s seat means you’re able to precisely dial-in your preferred driving position. On road and at speed on dirt tracks, the Overtrail sits nicely. It has a wide wheel track and long wheelbase, so it retains a controlled and composed posture on sealed and unsealed surfaces. Some body-roll does creep in when you throw the Overtrail into a corner hard, but that won’t surprise you if you’ve spent any time at all in a large or upper large 4WD wagon recently and that characteristic is no deal-breaker. Ride quality is very impressive and the suspension set-up – double wishbone IFS with eKDSS at the front, and four-link live axle with eKDSS at the rear – mostly soaks up any bumps, however, it does skip over some more substantial irregularities in the road/track surface here and there, but that’s mostly ironed out by the Overtrail’s adaptive suspension and you can also simply adjust tyre pressures up or down to suit the terrain. With its 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine at full go – and harnessed so smoothly through the 10-speed automatic transmission – this Lexus offers plenty of acceleration, plenty of power, and plenty of torque. It's quiet in the cabin although there’s some wind noise from the massive wing mirrors but that's not a huge deal when the overall vehicle itself is so impressive on-road. Once underway, this is an easy-driving 4WD wagon. And off-road, there’s a lot of good news about the Overtrail. It shares the same platform as the 300 Series LandCruiser and the all-new Prado and it has a lengthy wheelbase (2850mm) and a wide wheel track (1685mm front and 1690mm rear) and that means it drives with impressive composure through most off-road situations, whether it's rumbling along a corrugated dirt track or climbing a rocky hill. Steering is well weighted and precise and there's plenty of feedback for the driver from the dirt to the steering wheel so you know exactly what's going on. And further to that you have a 360-degree camera system, so you can be exacting about your wheel placement and that maximises your chances of always being in control of the vehicle and minimises the risk of any damage. This Overtrail has so much mechanical goodness engineered into it and so much driver-assist tech that I didn’t even need to engage the rear diff lock because through its off-road driving modes, – sand, mud, rock, snow – it just delivers the right amount of throttle response, the right amount of traction, and with the 'Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System' (e-KDSS) ticking away, working almost like a sway bar disconnect, the Overtrail is surefooted more often than not. e-KDSS (essentially an electronically-controlled active swaybar) adjusts tension on the front and rear sway bars to suit the terrain and driving conditions. It tightens them for better body control at higher speeds on sealed surfaces, and allows for a lot more play in them when you’re off-road for improved wheel articulation through undulating terrain. It helps to get the tyres to the dirt and maintain optimum traction, maintain forward momentum – that's what it does and it does it with little to no stress whatsoever. It doesn’t even have to work hard. The Overtrail has decent all-terrain tyres – Toyo Open Country (265/70R18) – and even though they’re not as tough all-round as Light Truck (LT) construction all-terrains, they still provide plenty of grip and that's in a variety of off-road situations, on a variety of surfaces: sand, loose gravel, shale, even rain-soaked mud which can be very slippery and can quickly fill your tyre tread. These tyres are a handy addition to the Overtrail package and on a standard vehicle straight out of the showroom, they’re fine. But the news is not all good. The Overtrail’s 225mm ground clearance is industry standard for a larger or upper large SUV, but it isn't great for a vehicle that’s intended as an off-road beast. And the off-road angles, approach (27 degrees) and departure (22) aren't fantastic, and rampover is not listed. Again, those measurements are industry standard for a larger and upper large SUV, but for the Overtrail, a vehicle that is supposedly an adventure machine, ground clearance and off-road angles could be a lot better. Having said that though, the underbody is well protected by some substantial bash-plates. Note: The Overtrail’s full-size spare is mounted to the underbody. Wading depth is listed as 700mm, which is on par with its rivals. The big side steps stick out and if you don't drive with real consideration then they'll probably cop a scrape here and there and maybe even a bit of a dent. One of the quirks about modern-day, large luxury 4WD wagons, such as the 300 Series, the Land Rover Defender and the Land Rover Discovery, is that the driver-assist tech onboard is so laser-precise that it almost removes the driver from the equation of actually driving. Manoeuvring one of these vehicles off-road can sometimes feel so clinical that you almost feel like you’re a spectator, that the vehicle is in control, not you. But what the Overtrail has in its favour is that driving it doesn't have that clinical feel about it. As the driver, you do feel dialled in to the entire experience, even though the mechanicals and tech are so very effective, you do still feel like you’re in control … and that’s how it should be. Towing capacities are 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked). Payload is listed as 595kg, which is not a lot once you throw in your kids, dogs, and camping equipment – not to mention anything you might be towing at the time – but that payload figure is about standard for this part of the 4WD wagon market. For reference, a 300 Series LandCruiser's payload, depending on the variant, is between 650kg (VX/Sahara/GR Sport) and 785kg (GX). The Overtrail’s listed kerb weight is 2515kg, gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3110kg, and gross combined mass (GCM) is 6610kg. Interested in a Tesla Model X? Insurance Quote