2024 Lexus GX Takes a Giant Leap With Super Boxy Design, Off-Road Focus
With classic lines and new Land Cruiser bones, the next-gen GX looks to be aimed straight at the Land Rover Defender.
The Lexus GX has remained almost the same for more than a decade, but now a new generation is finally here and it looks sweet. A less-large sibling of the Lexus LX, the 2024 GX is a full-size SUV that can support up to seven passengers with an optional third row, tow up to 8,000 pounds, and go way out with confidence thanks to a dedicated off-roading trim called the Overtrail. It includes 33-inch tires, an electronic locking rear differential, and a big ol' skid plate. This is one serious Lexus, and its specs tell the whole story.
The GX is still a body-on-frame 4x4 with a low-range gearbox, just like the foreign-market Land Cruiser Prado it's said to reflect. Similar to the larger LX, it's powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 producing 349 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. This is one thirsty engine. Lexus estimates the combined fuel economy at 17 miles per gallon, which will get much worse when towing the maximum 8,000 pounds the GX is rated to pull. Lexus indicates a hybrid model is on the way, though it has not offered a timeline for that model's arrival.
Being a Lexus, the GX gets a slew of luxury gadgets and doo-dads. Heated and ventilated front seats, a large 14-inch infotainment display, and a power liftgate are all standard. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also included at no cost, as you'd hope for in a premium model in 2023. There are six trims and several options to get the truck more in tune with what you plan to use it for, too. Wireless charging, second-row captains chairs, a third-row, and a 21-speaker sound system (10 speakers come standard) are all optional extras. That third row does look awfully sparse, though, and it costs you most of your usable cargo space.
The three core trims are Premium, Luxury, and Overtrail. All three are available with a "+" designation, which indicates extra equipment. The Premium and Luxury are intended mostly for on-roading, but they are still equipped with full-time four-wheel drive and a locking Torsen center differential. There's your 17 mpg. As is typical with Lexus, a slew of not-quite colors are available, but the automaker's deep and interesting Nori Green Pearl is a major highlight. The interior is available in black, grey, and tan. Similar to the TX, both 20- and 22-inch wheels are available, depending on how much tire sidewall you'd like.
The Overtrail trim is very different from the Premium and Luxury. In short, it leans into the off-roading that GX customers have been doing for a while now, just with their own aftermarket accessories. The most obvious difference is the switch to 33-inch Toyo Open Country all-terrains fitted to 18-inch wheels, and there's also a two-tone exterior. The rear differential features an electronic locker, the truck is wider overall thanks to its unpainted overfenders, and massage seats are even available for the driver and passenger. This thing just screams glamping, if that's still a word that people use. Overtrail, overland, overglamp—I'm still workshopping that last one, but we'll get there.
Thanks to this aggressive wheel and tire package, the Overtrail's off-road angles are... basically the same as compared to the pavement-oriented GX trims. Premium and Luxury models are rated at 26 degrees of approach, 23 degrees of breakover, and 21 degrees of departure, respectively. The Overtrail is 26/23/23. Still enough to make fun of your neighbor if he gets a Luxury and you get an Overtrail, I guess. Those two degrees are everything.
All GXs, just like the new three-row TX, get many standard and optional driver assistance features. The car will avoid collisions with large objects including pedestrians, keep you in your lane on the highway, and steer you back into it if you can't stay between the lines. Radar cruise control that works in stop and go traffic is also on offer, as well as several terrain and traction control modes for keeping everything facing the right direction off-road.
The 2024 GX will go on sale in the United States starting early next year, so you have at least that long to save your pennies. It might mean holding off on a rooftop tent for your current rig, but hey, sacrifices are just a part of adulthood.
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