GX [Hot!] 2024 Lexus GX 550 - Leaked ahead of reveal
- Thread starter Gor134
- Start date
martinbo
Staff member
The key separator is that these are premium, off road-capable SUVs as opposed to luxury, on road-only SUVs. There’s a big difference between the two - the money goes into other (cooler) stuff.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Is there a big difference in their off road capabilities?
Merc1
Premium
Yes but most people buying a GX or other true luxury offf roader will ever exploit or even know what those differences in capabilities are. No one except a mere handful of American Lexus buyers are taking their brand new GX into the mud and rocks.
M
Gor134
Kraftkurve King
Yes, but the GX was designed primarily with the overlanding/millenial community in mind. It is significantly more capable than the outgoing gen for sure. Lexus saw a rise in GX overland builds, which I have also noticed have grown in popularity a ton the past 3 years.
Capabilities compared to the LC250 should be the same, breakover angles and whatnot look the same, but the GX is much more powerful of course.
Merc1
Premium
That might be who it was designed for but at least here it’s not who is buying it. Young outdoorsy, off roader types are buying Wranglers, Broncos, 4Runners, and most likely the new American market Land Cruiser.
M
martinbo
Staff member
Yes, and the difference is significant.
Whether a whole bunch of consumers who do buy them actually end up taking these cars (LC and GX) off-road, or not, is inconsequential.
The fact is that these cars - along with a few others - are engineered to deliver off-road capability that far exceeds that of an X5, GLE or Touareg.
This new GX remains a tough and capable body-on-frame off-roader, with low-range transmission, live rear axle and limited slip differentials. The wheel and tyre spec alone is far-removed from that of the monocoque-bodied, luxury soft-roaders in question.
And whilst it's true that a lot of buyers will use the new GX solely for tar road duty, it's also true that others will buy it for its toughness and capability. This in itself is a luxury; knowing that - within the bounds of common sense - venturing off the beaten track, won't result in damage or getting stuck.
So while the new GX doesn't necessarily have the most expensively-trimmed back pew, it does have this:
1. Low-range transmission
2. Locking centre and rear differentials
in addition to:
3. Multi-terrain mode select
The above being far more important to what the GX is compared with its supposed soft-roader rivals - none of which have all three.
And, for some of us, that's what we really want and need: a premium product for when an X5, or similar, is just not going to cut it on anything worse than moderately maintained gravel roads.
The new LC and GX's nearest rival is hence the Land Rover Defender which comes closest in its combo of premium lifestyle + multi-terrain ability.
The key difference in this case is that the Toyotas are body-on-frame (tougher, less refined) vs. the Land Rover being monocoque.
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Thanks. I thought that the LC and GX drive trains had feature parity but that the latter was plusher. I now stand corrected.Yes, and the difference is significant.
Whether a whole bunch of consumers who do buy them actually end up taking these cars (LC and GX) off-road, or not, is inconsequential.
The fact is that these cars - along with a few others - are engineered to deliver off-road capability that far exceeds that of an X5, GLE or Touareg.
This new GX remains a tough and capable body-on-frame off-roader, with low-range transmission, live rear axle and limited slip differentials. The wheel and tyre spec alone is far-removed from that of the monocoque-bodied, luxury soft-roaders in question.
And whilst it's true that a lot of buyers will use the new GX solely for tar road duty, it's also true that others will buy it for its toughness and capability. This in itself is a luxury; knowing that - within the bounds of common sense - venturing off the beaten track, won't result in damage or getting stuck.
So while the new GX doesn't necessarily have the most expensively-trimmed back pew, it does have this:
1. Low-range transmission
2. Locking centre and rear differentials
in addition to:
3. Multi-terrain mode select
The above being far more important to what the GX is compared with its supposed soft-roader rivals - none of which have all three.
And, for some of us, that's what we really want and need: a premium product for when an X5, or similar, is just not going to cut it on anything worse than moderately maintained gravel roads.
The new LC and GX's nearest rival is hence the Land Rover Defender which comes closest in its combo of premium lifestyle + multi-terrain ability.
The key difference in this case is that the Toyotas are body-on-frame (tougher, less refined) vs. the Land Rover being monocoque.
martinbo
Staff member
You're right, they do. Same as for LC300 vs LX500.
And in both cases, the Lexus is plusher because it's Lexus' more luxurious (but still not luxury soft-roader equivalent) offering of the base platform Toyota.
hoffmeister_fan
Kraftwagen König
Centurion
Apex Apex Predator
Probably one of the few Lexus models that I like the design of better than its Toyota equivalent.
Yes, but nowadays it's fashionable to have a simpler, but convenient design. I don't really like it myself.
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Lexus
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation.
Founded in 1989, the Lexus brand is marketed in over 90 countries and territories worldwide
and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. Lexus is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan.
Its operational centers are in Brussels, Belgium, and Plano, Texas, United States.
Official website: Lexus
Official website: Lexus
