Lexus GX550 2024 review
When it arrives in Australia in mid-2024, the new Lexus GX will occupy a clear gap in the market: a Land Cruiser-derived off-roader that amps up luxury appeal and performance in equal measure.
Based on the same ‘TNGA-F’ platform as the incoming 250 Series Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – as well as the 300 Series ‘Cruiser and Lexus LX – the GX is a true off-roader with serious capability, especially in Overtrail trim.
Unlike the monocoque Land Rover Defender and Range Rover Sport, which occupy a similar niche, the GX is old-school body-on-frame, which brings advantages and drawbacks – and the Lexus is built in Japan.
Americans have been able to buy the GX, a Lexus spin on a Prado shell, since 2002. Previous shapes had a 4.6-litre petrol V8 while the new car downsizes to a 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 making 260kW of power and 650Nm of torque.
The ‘J250’ GX is the first to be sold in Australia. Three grades will land locally: the base Luxury, set to kick off from around $110,000 before-road costs, as well as the Overtrail – a genuinely rugged variant with twin lockers – and a top-shelf Sports Luxury.
It currently sounds like Lexus will not offer its usual ‘Enhancement Pack’ options on the lower GX grades to allow Luxury and Overtrail customers to add Mark Levinson premium audio and other lush features without spending up on the Sports Luxury.
We hope that decision is reversed, as lower-end Lexus grades with the Enhancement Pack ticked are usually a sweet spot. One reason the decision could stick is that supply will be limited to about 1250 units in 2024, limiting incentives to be generous on specification.
A hybrid version of the GX, which borrows the electrified turbo petrol four-cylinder engine from the RX500h crossover, is in final testing – engineers are honing its water-fording ability – and this could arrive in late 2024. Expect the hybrid to be locked in for Aussie consumption later.
Set against rivals like the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Volkswagen Touareg or Volvo XC90, the GX packs genuine off-roading chops – it’ll go really far from the blacktop. But that strength has compromised sealed-road handling, which is comparatively ponderous.
Ice-cool kerb appeal gets things off
