The styling alone has essentially guaranteed the new 2024 Lexus GX will be a hit in Australia, however sending off before the Prado on which it is based likewise gives it an early advantage. Trent Nikolic tests the new GX on-street and off, to see if it’s essentially as great as Aussie purchasers trust it will be.
The all-new 2024 Lexus GX is a significant vehicle for the brand in Australia – and it’s unquestionably not on the grounds that Lexus needs any deals help in our neighborhood market. The Japanese extravagance brand bounced back emphatically from its own pandemic stockpile postponements to have a great 2022 and a record 2023 regarding deals volume.
Those results are no mean accomplishment given the sheer volume of extravagance rivalry in our market. Regardless of that, Lexus keeps on flooding ahead, and regardless of a GX in the line-up, the brand would proceed with its walk.
The explanation the GX is so significant connects with more than one single component, one of which is the truth that it tops a hole in the brand’s line-off, which presently covers generally key fragments in our neighborhood market. Further, it’s whenever this Prado-first based ‘appropriate’ four-wheel-drive has been presented in Australia.
Americans love the GX – maybe obviously. What’s more, they love it as a new-vehicle buy or as a recycled offering, whether it’s for on-street use or rough terrain visiting.
Its overall capacity has guaranteed Americans have become hopelessly enamored with the GX stage. The explanation that is significant as far as we’re concerned is that the GX has procured a standing in the States as a genuine rough terrain entertainer, past its extravagance in and out of town center.
We know the amount Aussies love the Prado, so it follows that the Lexus GX (which depends on the Prado, and precisely comparative in various regions) will be a famous decision. Yet, the reality the GX offers rough terrain ability Lexus purchasers probably won’t expect is a special reward.
Indeed, the LandCruiser-based LX is a certifiable rough terrain competitor as well, yet I don’t know an excessive number of Aussies are burning through that much cash to cross the Simpson or go to Cape York…
GX will be the primary Lexus in Oz to go marked down with a variation highlighting off-road wears straight out of the showroom, and the first with a lodge zeroed in as much on hearty hard-wearing utility as it is extravagance. The Overtrail variation (that we invested most energy in for our send off drive) is immovably focused on rough terrain execution, and as such it closely resembles a Lexus, yet its brief is somewhat unique.
I like it. Range Wanderer has been showing for a really long time that extravagance and soil go together, so is there any good reason why Lexus shouldn’t offer a similar capacity?
The section the GX spaces into is entrancing in our market as well. All that from track-centered execution SUVs to crude rough terrain drivers sit inside the section we allude to as ‘enormous SUV’. Furthermore, while the GX550 is somewhat unique to both those models, it will clash with laid out contest that doesn’t offer Lexus heartiness, the possession experience, or at times extravagance to match the rough terrain ability.
We figure the main issue Lexus will have will get to sufficient stock to fulfill request. Our report subtleties the Aussie line-up, with three models accessible – Overtrail, Extravagance and Sports Extravagance – not in a specific order of valuing scale. Assuming you anticipate doing any go romping work whatsoever, the Overtrail is the model grade you need.
We don’t have the foggiest idea what the GX550 will cost in Australia, yet, and we won’t be aware until we draw nearer to our neighborhood send off. Via Sherlock Holmes-level derivation, I’ve reached the resolution that it ought to (and I’m taking a dropkick here) land around a beginning cost of $110,000 before on-street costs.
Perhaps underneath that limit. Where did that derivation come from? First work in reverse from where the bigger LX600 with petroleum power begins from around $155,000 before on-street costs. Then, at that point, take a gander at LandCruiser 300 evaluating, what begins from around $94,000 before on-street costs. Ultimately, Toyota Prado, which presently finishes out just shy of $90,000 before on-street costs. Remember that the new Prado will be more costly.
Truly, my $110,000 figure is a theory, however I figure it very well may be close. The reality of the situation will surface at some point in the event that I’ll wind up with some major embarrassment. For the time being, use it as an estimation. We’ll tell you when we have more exact estimating data.
What turns out to be the cutthroat set when GX dispatches is similarly just about as interesting as what the send off estimating will be. I suspect Land Wanderer Safeguard purchasers will investigate – that is positively the common inclination in the US market – as well as LandCruiser 300 Series and potentially even Ineos Grenadier purchasers.
Nissan Watch purchasers could likewise think about the GX550, and that is before we take a gander at the enormous SUVs that aren’t rough terrain centered in the event that your necessities are in and out of town as it were.
You’re forking out something like $110K for an Audi Q7, BMW X5, petroleum Beginning GV80 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. There’s a ton happening in the enormous SUV section as expressed above, and thusly, the purchaser for the new GX is probably going to be basically as different as its resume.
That this is the principal Lexus sold in Australia that is probably going to go rough terrain with any expectation is a fascinating point for banter, which could change where the purchaser comes from. As you’d expect, Overtrail is the rough terrain centered variation and it gets 18-inch edges with off-road elastic. Extravagance rides on 20-inch wheels, while Sports Extravagance gets 22-inch wheels.
Last particular for the Australian market is yet to be made certain about too, so we’ll report back with a more extensive aide once we have all that data. There’s a six-seat, commander’s seat form that will go at a bargain in America, yet Aussie GX models will be generally seven-seat, except if you purchase Overtrail, which is a five-seater.
| Key details | 2024 Lexus GX550 |
| Engine | 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol |
| Power | 260kW @ 4800–5200rpm |
| Torque | 650Nm @ 2000–3600rpm |
| Drive type | Full-time four-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Ten-speed torque converter automatic |
| Power-to-weight ratio | 99.7kW/t to 102kW/t |
| Weight | 2540kg to 2608kg |
| Spare tyre type | Full-size |
| Tow rating | 3130kg braked (Sports Luxury) 3500kg braked (Overtrail and Luxury) 750kg unbraked |
| Turning circle | 12.0m |
Lexus purchasers anticipate extravagance inside the lodge of any Lexus, and the new GX doesn’t frustrate paying little mind to particular grade. Obviously, all model grades feel protected, exceptional and premium.
The Extravagance grade will be the value chief and highlights engineered calfskin upholstery, 20-inch amalgam wheels, Drove lighting, dynamic auto-evening out headlights, back protection glass, flush rooftop rails, eight-way seat change with lumbar and memory, warmed and ventilated seats, warmed detachable second-column seats, three-zone environment control, fueled rear end and electric third-line seats.
Network is a feature, with a top notch 14-inch infotainment touchscreen that controls the sight and sound framework. A short trial of wired Apple CarPlay showed that the framework is exact and responsive. Extravagance likewise gets remote Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10-speaker sound framework and 12.3-inch computerized driver’s presentation with a variety head-up show.
Sports Extravagance gets an even punchier 21-speaker Imprint Levinson premium sound framework alongside additional seat customizability and more top notch trim with semi-aniline calfskin ‘complemented’ upholstery, rubbing front seats, warmed guiding wheel, fixed all encompassing sunroof, and other detail changes.
You won’t battle to keep your gadgets charged on an excursion in the GX, with five USB-C ports, a standard 12V attachment taken cover behind a sliding entryway front and center, a 220V attachment in the back and remote charging too. Capacity is areas of strength for a, as well, and Sports Extravagance gets a cooled ice chest in the mid control area.
| 2024 Lexus GX550 | |
| Seats | Seven |
| Boot volume | 292L to third row 1138L to second row 2178L to first row |
| Length | 5005mm |
| Width | 1980mm (Overtrail 2000mm) |
| Height | 1920mm (Overtrail 1935mm) |
| Wheelbase | 2850mm |
In the US, there’s a six-seat variant of the GX with chief’s seats in the subsequent line, yet the Australian GX will hold a five or seven-seat format. Overtrail obliges five, while Extravagance and Sports Extravagance have space for seven. There’s a lot of room in the subsequent column, yet consider the third line periodic for grown-ups or taller kids. On the off chance that you’re visiting four or five up, however, the GX is a lavish method for getting around.
Perceivability was a feature on test. Whether you’re on-street or off, you can constantly see where the GX is pointing, and situating it in the path is simple. Front, toward the back, or back three-quarter while you’re stopping, you won’t feel like the GX is too huge. One of those 4WDs begins to feel more modest than it looks the moment you begin driving.
Indeed, it is huge, at just past 5m long, yet it doesn’t feel like a behemoth from the driver’s seat. Valuable change implies considerably more limited drivers will actually want to handily see out of it. Regarding the matter of perceivability, the scramble plan, which is level across the top, and the flares at the edges of the hood are completely intended to guarantee you know precisely where the sides of the GX are consistently.
In the gear space, you’ll view as 292L with the third line being used, 1138L to the subsequent column, and an incredible 2178L with every one of the seats collapsed down. There’s a standard extra under the floor, and the back hatch folds up not out. You can open the glass window just too, which is convenient for eliminating more modest things.
Security help is very much catered for, and Lexus has given innovation that you would anticipate from another model. There’s an all encompassing perspective screen with 360-degree and side and front detail sees, tire pressure checking, nine airbags, independent crisis slowing down with walker recognition, path takeoff cautioning, path keep help, versatile voyage control, and path centring help.
While Australia stays a diesel-centered rough terrain market, the requests of outflows assumptions all over the planet are utilizing diesel increasingly more challenging for producers. Thusly, the 2024 Lexus GX550 gets its drive from a smooth petroleum motor instead of the diesel motor that significant distance travelers could like. The outcome of vehicles like Nissan Watch and Portage Officer Raptor show, however, that Aussies are increasingly more open to the chance of a petroleum fueled 4×4 fan.
The motor estimates in nearer to 3.4 liters than 3.5 liters, yet 3.4 looks and sounds a bit messed up, so we should call it a 3.5-liter, twin-super petroleum V6, which is mated to a regular 10-speed programmed and full-time four-wheel drive. The Overtrail gets focus and back diff locks, veritable low-range outfitting, and rough terrain centered drive modes. Regardless of the obvious spotlight on that feeling of premium that is so difficult to characterize, the GX is substantially more than a tired old act.
The motor is easy on fixed surfaces, such is the simple idea of the 260kW and 650Nm it finishes off, and the smooth-moving 10-speed programmed is a capable sidekick. Nail the choke, and the enormous GX kicks off some earnestness and it absolutely never feels slow.
You’ll find in and out of town running as agreeable as you will the thruway, and the joined case of 13.5 liters per 100 kilometers appears to be sensible. A couple of focuses here. That fuel guarantee is higher than it would be in the event that the GX was either cross breed or controlled by a diesel motor. I suspect, however, that the purchaser won’t mind, particularly in and out of town. Tell us in the remarks segment beneath your thought process.
Where the fuel use will be an element to consider is in the event that you do any customary significant distance visiting. We saw a live figure during the 11s on a short thruway run, and you can hope to involve more than the case in rush hour gridlock. The GX550 has a moderately little gas tank, however (for the fragment explicitly), 80L to be definite.
In the event that you run the numbers against the case, and with a 50km security edge, you get a visiting run of around 542km. For some of you that may be a torment.
At all paces, on any street, the GX550 is an exquisite enormous SUV to drive. The connection among motor and gearbox is practically consistent, there’s no thumping or shunting through the driveline, and the directing and slows down are both powerful for a SUV of this size.
The directing is critical at stopping speeds particularly, which makes the GX truly simple to move in and out of town. It likewise implies it’s a snap to situate rough terrain.
You can’t conceal that the GX is a body-on-outline four-wheel-drive, and there’s a solidness to the ride quality on ridged surfaces that reminds you this is a ‘legitimate’ all wheel drive, as opposed to a SUV that can turn its hand to some light-obligation country road work. In any case, and it’s a huge however, this is likewise the explanation the GX is so staggeringly competent rough terrain.
To excuse this as a ghetto crawler is to bamboozle the profundity of designing that has been focused on making the GX as great rough terrain for what it’s worth on. The 22-inch edges brought about a ride that was evidently firmer than that felt with the 18s on the Overtrail. Nonetheless, on streets that reflected what we experience in Australia, the GX rode easily.
The Overtrail model, which will find favor among Aussie purchasers, adds an electronic-locking back diff to the Torsen locking, restricted slip place diff, as well as 18-inch edges and off-road elastic. There’s likewise versatile variable suspension, and Multi-Landscape Select to guarantee you should be senseless to cause problems rough terrain.
The GX gets a much more astute electronic rendition of the Prado’s Motor Unique Suspension Framework (KDSS) called e-KDSS, and it guarantees you have a tire in touch with the ground as a rule. Exchanging into and out of low-range or connecting with diff locks was smart and direct.
Enunciation is phenomenal, as are ground leeway and foothold. While the course we tested at send off was made explicitly, the investors, lean points, and climbing inclinations were adequately serious to show that the new GX is however rough as it could be extravagant.
Slither help implies even a fledgling wilderness romper can have a break with a certifiable level of security. Contingent upon the model grade, you’ll get up to 3500kg towing limit also, which is convenient for sightseers with vans.
The way that the 2024 Lexus GX is an amazing 4×4 is to be expected. It depends on a four-wheel-drive that has procured legend status, and it’s blessed with the mark Lexus scrupulousness. It’s likewise barely astounding that the principal clump will leave display areas nearly before they have even entered. The styling, standard incorporations and quality will guarantee the GX turns into a famous contribution.
I’m more intrigued by how Aussies utilize the Lexus GX. Will it be taken rough terrain? Will it be utilized for visiting? Or on the other hand, will it live as a rule in the city? More testing anticipates, with the enlightenment given by the comprehension of Australian estimating. What’s more, that will draw nearer to send off.
Meanwhile, assuming you like the vibe of the new GX, I’d prompt that you head for your closest Lexus seller with a store as fast as you can arrive.
