Tonyro

Hello GX owners and gurus,

My wife and I are considering purchasing a GX but have some minor issues with it. Thought I'd see if I could get some advice from you folks who already own one.

My main concern is that the interior feels a little cramped in both the front and 2nd row (haven't tried 3rd row, so can't comment). Specifically, the door handles/arm rests seem to intrude into the cabin a couple of inches on either side. When I was in the driver's seat, I felt that it came right up to my thigh and didn't allow much lateral movement, and I'm not a big guy. Same is true in the 2nd row. Generally, there's a feeling that the interior is a bit cramped for such a large car. By comparison, the Acura MDX interior felt much more spacious (though not luxurious at all). We have two young children who ride in baby seat/booster seats. Assuming that they take up two of the spaces in the second row, can a full sized adult sit between them (comfortably)? What are your experiences and feelings regarding interior space?

Another concern we have is the third row seats. We don't like the way that they fold up and hang on the walls, compromising luggage area. I realize that you can remove them completely, but that seems like a bit of a hassle considering many suvs have the ability to fold them right into the floor (hate to bring up that car again, but like the MDX). Do those who have the 3rd row option find it to be a problem in any way? Are they truly easy to set up and use? Of course, we looked at them while at the dealer, but I'm referring to use in the real world, on a daily basis.

Finally, for those with small children/babies: Does this car serve your needs well? Is it easy getting the kids in and out? Does the height of the vehicle ever become a hinderance?

Other cars we are considering are, yup you guessed it, the MDX - kinda cheesy interior, and uninspiring to drive, but very functional and less expensive. Another car we are considering is the Volvo XC90 T6. We like the looks of the car, and the seating is pretty spacious, but it doesn't offer the rear seat entertainment system yet (one of our requirements).

We love the luxuriousness of the GX. The fit and finish appears second to none. The V8 is very smooth and strong. But due to the aforementioned areas of concern, we are unable to pull the trigger on it. So can you please offer some advice or further thoughts? All comments would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Tony

hipcheck

You are traveling the path that many of us have.

My comments:

1. The interior of the GX is larger than the other cars for passenger room in my opinion (not the third row). The GX has a ton more headroom than the others. I'm tall and that was a deciding factor.

2. The GX third row seats are useless. I took mine out. Maybe for small kids, otherwise a waste.

3. I found the MDX to be the most fun to drive out of the bunch. The MDX has a more firm suspension and a bit more bite. The MDX isn't great offroad, the GX is. The Volvo felt ordinary to me, more like a really dull X5.

4. I like the MDX cargo space, but the GX has been fine.

5. The GX gas mileage is really poor. The MDX and XC will do better by 3 - 4 mpg.

6. The GX overall quality is much better, especially the interior. Also the GX audio systems are much better.

Overall, I'm happy with the GX. It was a tossup for me between the GX and MDX. I've owned the X5 before.

Dave

lexuslover

i don't have a GX, but we used to have a toyota land cruiser with the same hanging 3rd row seats. the only comment i can make is that they are quite a pain to use. i agree, they should have made them auto folding into the floor with a push of a button like the new expeditions or other SUVs.

the other thing is that sometimes the strap that holds them in place gets loose and the resulting bit of slack caused them to bounce back and forth when turning. so then you have to remember to tighten the slack the next time you drive your car.

and the blind spot is probably the biggest complaint when the seats are not being used. if i had a GX, then i would definitely remove the seats if i wasn't using them for a particular trip.

if you're interested in roominess, have you tried the RX330? i just got one in March, and it is one of the roomiest SUVs, in my opinion. a TON of leg room in the back and adjustable recline and also forward/back. fitting 3 adults in the back is never a problem, and i think it is quite comfortable. so two kids and one adult should be even roomier.

hope this helped, and good luck with your decision !

mogulbumm

I was between the XC90 T6 and the GX470 and after I just picked up my GX today I can certainly say that I made the right decision.

Space... I drove both back-to-back and the GX had MUCH more driver/passenger space than the XC90. Didn't drive the MDX since I just came out of a CL Type-S and the dash looked identical, so I felt like I was still driving my car.. needed the change. Third row is a pretty silly option as well and didn't weight on my decision since I will most likely remove the seats for the long-term (need the space for my pooches).

We have a baby due any day so my biggest concern was safety (oh, yeah, and toys for ME) which is why we were looking at the XC90, though the GX has done some great work in this area. Again, after a back-to-back drive there was simply no comparison. Also, the quality of the interior are far superior on the Lexus. The Volvo has some nice features, but it was a matter of personal preference at this point.

As far as interior space, I think the Volvo has them all beat since you can fold ALL the seats flat (except the driver ). This was a nice option. Except for that, I think the Volvo may be too buggy during this first model year (03 was techincally the first year, but it didn't start until last December). Check out the forums at Swedespeed.com for some great conversations and very helpful advice.

I liked the RX330, but for some reason felt MUCH more cramped in that than lexuslover. Plus, the slant in the rear door meant my dogs couldn't stand up straight... Aside from that, great vehicle.

My only complaint (in my limited time actually OWNING the vehicle): wish there was a power roll-down window in the rear door. I can live with the silly swing-gate design, but would like the option of powering down the window. Oh yeah, and a backup camera... Considering what you are looking at, it may be a matter of preference since all three are great vehicles.

Tonyro

Thanks for all your thoughtful replies.

We are still undecided for now. If anything has changed, I would say the Volvo XC90 is starting to fall a little further out of the running because of the lack of rear seat entertainment, and (as mogulbumm suggested) may be a "little buggy" in its first model year.

The dark horse is now the RX330, especially since as most of you indicated that the 3rd row seats are nearly useless. I would agree with lexuslover in that the interior is very roomy. The 2nd row passenger seats feel like "bucket" seats rather than bench style seating. Also, it has the rear camera, entertainment system, better gas mileage. Overall, it seems to feel like a "larger" car than the exterior indicates. Also, since it's built on a car platform, the handling (at least on road) will be much more to our liking (we do little, if any off roading).

So, the three cars (running neck and neck) that we are still considering are the GX, RX, and MDX.

Not an easy decision.

Tony

lexusnc

For what its worth:

I have a 3 year old and a 9 month old, and we traded in an X5 for a GX470 and I have been very happy with the GX. As far as the 3rd row seat, it is basically usless for adults, but very functional for kids. I had to put one child seat in the back and load two more kids (old enough to ride without child seats) in that seat and it accomidated them well. The lack of legroom did not make a difference to them. My daughter was in the child seat back there, and after that trip, she did not want me to move the seat back to the second row, so now she always rides in the third row and really enjoys it. As a result we can easily ride with our two kids, my wife and I and up to two more adults and two kids without any problem. It would have been nicer had the seats folded flat, but in general thay are easy to fold up, and to stop the problem of the seats working loose, Lexus has put velcro on the straps so when the seat is in the stowed position, that straps can not loosen. By the way, my kids LOVE the RSES, the only downside is when they ride in my car (2000 RX300) without the RSES they are not happy.

I would definetely recomend the GX470 for a family, is has great accomidations for mom and dad as well as the kids, all wraped in a blanket of luxury second to none.

Johnny Mo

Didn't really like the MDX interior all that much to "cheap" feeling. As far as the RX/GX comparo goes..the new 330 is SWEEET, but I have had 2 car seats and an adult in that back seat and it is NOT comfortable. Now really this depends on a) how big your car seats are (if any), and b) how big the adult sitting with them is. As far as the GX goes, it is NO secret that the 3rd row was made strictly for children, or adults under 5' 2" I think was the magic number. The 2nd row in the GX is a couple of inches wifer than the RX, but enough to make it more comfy with a pair of car seats.

I agree that the rearview camera would be cool, but that WILL be in the '04 GX also, and the flip out 3rd row is not ideal, but compared to my old Expedition ('02) the seats can be removed by my wife, in the Expy it weighed 75-80 lbs and was difficult to manage due to the un-grabbable" shape. Just some thoughts.

Rx900

Well I had a decision between the new RX330, BMW X5, Hummer H2, and the GX470. I really liked the GX470 ever since I saw the first pictures of it. Then when I saw it in the car show, it was better in person. The GX is really narrower than the LX470. The gas mileage is not as bad as the LX and Land Cruiser. But the GX is really great so far.



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2003 GX470
Sand Dollar Pearl
Charcoal Interior
6th in Fresno