Valley101

I am an active, but older person. I am going back to my teen years in the 50's. I have lived all around the world, driven many types of cars. Style and features mean different things to different people. However, going back to the 50's to the present, European cars tend to have a bad reliability record, especially when it comes to electrical problems, and now "electronic" features. My personal belief is that the main supplier to European cars is Bosch. They have no real competition and therefore no overwhelming reason to make better parts. Between my wife and I we had three different European cars, and they mainly suffered from electrical issues. Many friends experienced these issues. Have owned a few American cars. Overall, they were okay, but three of them were really bad. Have driven Toyota products for many years and Lexus vehicles since they started making them. When it comes to reliability they have been fantastic. I know most of you have not had my experience, but of the 13 Toyota and Lexus products that my wife and I have owned none have had an electrical or mechanical issue. The NHTSA recalled on and had the steering when replaced because they stated it was to rigid. One other vehicle, a Toyota 4RUNNER, Toyota decided to replace all four coil springs because they had some complaints that they where "bottoming" out when transporting four adults and luggage. I hauled up to 1300 pounds of marble tile in mine for a distance of 75 miles on I-5 and country roads in California, and did not experience this problem. But what the heck they wanted to replace them and gave me a new car of my choice to drive for the two days it took to complete. No cars are cheap to work on anymore, but the European Luxury line can be extremely expensive.

Valley101

Comment above should read "steering wheel" vs steering when.

barbking

After thinking through and reading all the comments, I have this question:

What am I not getting in a GX460 that I am getting in a Highlander Platinum? Not the Hybrid but the regular gas version. Assuming the money difference is not a factor, and I am willing to pay extra for the Lexus refinement and quality. What am I not getting with GX460?

I know the off-road and towing capabilities, but just because I do not need them, should I give up on the GX460 and buy a Highlander Platinum. Am I not getting anything else? I think the platinum Highlander is pretty nice, but it's still not Lexus quality interior and exterior. Is the handling and 3rd seat capacity so poor compared to Highlander, so that they justify giving up on the Lexus quality.

What I am really after is the Lexus quality and styling as well as reliability in an SUV that has 3rd row seating that I can use occationally. The most common scenario for us is when the in-laws come down once or twice a year, we all may go out together somewhere, may be a dinner, or a beach trip. This may happen 5-6 times a year probably, may be little more, may be little less. On such trips, we would need our 13 year old son to sit in the 3rd row. Our daughter is younger and she can fit in the 3rd row or the middle position on the 2nd row comfortably. I have that scenario covered.

I am not sure of gas mileage difference and weight, in my test drives I did not feel anything really sticking out, and I did it five times on both the Premium and Luxury models, not just the usual one spin around the block test drive. The one thing I noticed was that it is a bit sluggish off the block, you need to give it a bit more gas than the typical crossover like say an MDX, after that it seemed fine. I can live with this too. I also noticed that it does not handle as well around the corners, but I expected this already, and I am not comparing with a crossover like MDX or X5. I know that I have to sacrifice something to get the reliability I am looking for and I want that high quality interior.

I am unable to find anything at this point. If Lexus had that 3rd row crossover that they intend to release in 2017 or 2018, then I would buy that in a second. At this point the only luxury SUV with 3rd row and premium interior and exterior that is also reliable long term in the GX460 for me.

There is the Infinity QX60, however, but I do not like how that thing looks.

So the real question is, what am I giving up in the GX460 that I am getting in Highlander.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted to get it all out so that you know where I am coming from,

M1911

Take your 13-year-old son with you to the dealer. I think you'll find that he will have a hard time fitting in the 3rd row seat of the GX 460. He will have no support for his legs, with his knees in the air while basically sitting on the floor. The 3rd row seat of the Highlander is better.

In terms of reliability, I think the Highlander will be every bit as reliable as the GX 460. I also suspect that the brakes in the Highlander will last longer than the brakes on the GX 460 -- the GX is a heavy truck and if it is like my old 4Runner (both built on the Toyota 120/150 platform), it will eat brakes in stop-and-go driving.

The Highlander will drive better day and and day out. It will have more room. It will simply be easier to drive. When the frame on my 4Runner was being replaced, I was given a 2013 Camry as a loaner for a couple weeks. I was amazed at how much easier to the Camry was to drive. It handled better, it rode better, it was easier to stop, easier to park. And the Camry is not a sports sedan by any stretch of the imagination.

I drive a body-on-frame, solid-rear-axle truck (previously an '03 4Runner, now a '13 Land Cruiser) because I take it offroad. So I put up with its truck-like dynamic behavior. But if you don't need the offroad or towing capability, there are better choices out there.

Talk to the salesman to arrange a longer test drive. Go test drive an X5 or Mercedes GL or Highlander Premium.

Bluto

If you need a usable 3rd row in a SUV package, and like your CRV, look at the new Honda Pilot.

M1911

Another thing you will be missing in the GX 460 is cargo space. Cargo space behind the front row (2nd and 3rd row folded) is about 60 cu ft. In contrast, the Highlander has 80 cu ft. That is 30% more space.

westtx28

My wife wanted to downgrade in size a bit from her Land Cruiser because we just sent our daughter off to college. We are faithful Toyota so briefly considered a loaded up 4Runner limited as she drove one prior to the LC and loved it. Ultimately we just liked the premium features of the GX so went that way. I mention that because the 4Runner checked the boxes of what we wanted on paper but it was just missing that something. The Highlander will check the boxes for what you need as will the others mentioned above. The question is whether the premium features of the Lexus brand are worth it to you.

I can tell you that the 3rd row in the GX is all but useless for anyone other than a small child. And small children grow up way too fast and will outgrow the practical use for it in the time you plan to own the vehicle. I wish I could rip them out of ours because we never plan to use them. We now just keep the 3rd row up in the LC for the times we need to transport more people.

Personally in your case for long term ownership / non-offroad use I'd go Highlander or another Japanese suv or crossover with 3rd row unless you are willing to sacrifice a few things for the Lexus. You will gain a much more usable 3rd row and the ability to run regular gasoline. The Highlander can be had with the driver assist features. One of my buddies just bought a new platinum and it's really nice.

Or you can wait to see what Lexus does with a 3rd row RX.

barbking

Ok, so I summed up the following issues:

1. Less cargo room
2. 3rd row unusable
3. Poor handling compared to CUVs
4. More weight
5. More gas consumption

The things that I am getting are:

1. Lexus premium comfort
2. Smooth ride
3. Better snow handling
4. Long term reliability
5. Lexus brand name

Based on that, I am not sure then whether the extra cost compared to Highlander platinum or MDX is justified. I had another look at the Highlander platinum today, it's just fine, but not exactly Lexus quality, but it is also a lot cheaper, by 14K exactly but with driver assist. I have to go back at look at MDX and spec it out as well. I think it could get cheaper by 5K. But I do have some concerns with long term reliability of MDX, they have had some issues lately. Back to the drawing board then

M1911

I think the Highlander's long term reliability will be every bit as good as the GX. As for how it does in snow, the main determination for that is tires. Put a set of snow tires on the Highlander and it will get you wherever you need to go.

BornDriver

Get the vehicle you want!

You can always manage those small things ahead, but you have to live with it for a few years.

barbking

Still weighing my options... They have a GX460 Premium with the color combinations and spec that I asked for come in yesterday and I went and checked out. It looks very nice. I was about to pull the plug and close the deal today/tomorrow, but the issues that still nagging me are:

1. Body Roll
2. Poor breaking

Sounds like there is significant body roll like a typical BOF and makes it harder to make sudden turns, and the breaks are soft requiring larger clearance. So, still not sure to close deal or not.

Question to those of you who own the GX - how bad are these two things in real life, are they so prominent compared to say something like HL which in itself isn't that great around corners unlike a Porsche or BMW, or is it somwhat of an annoyance that you can live with?

barbking

Another option I have in order to mitigate is to get the Luxury with Driver Assist package, and at that point I have to look for CPO/Used since the price will go above the range I am looking for,

jtrue28

Have you driven it?

After having my GX for a year now, I love the brakes and actually hate the braking on anything else I drive now...

Body roll isn't as bad as you think. Yes it is technically a truck, and if you're expecting to be able to slalom like a low sitting CUV or sedan, you're looking at the wrong vehicle.

M1911

It drives like the big, heavy, high center of gravity, body-on-frame truck that it is. It will roll a lot in turns. The spin control will cut in quickly to protect you from its modest cornering limits. On braking, it will exhibit it a lot of front-end dive. It weights more than 5,000 lbs, so it won't brake very well.

It isn't a tall car, like a Highlander, and it doesn't drive like one. I need the offroad capability, so I accepted that the dynamic behavior of my old 4Runner and current Land Cruiser were subpar, compared to a crossover. But if you don't need the offroad or towing capability, then why put up with that behavior?

dadc4s

I bought mine about one month ago. I am really happy with it. I drive a Porsche during the warmer months, the GX460 is my winter car and it is just what I wanted for that role. It will be awesome in bad weather, it will be impervious to pot holes and it is quiet and very comfortable to drive. It’s “truckiness” is its strength and why it is a pretty unique product. It is built like a brick @#$%house and feels like it when you drive it. If you can’t appreciate that, or don’t value it, then don’t buy it. For me, its the best possible choice for the purposes I have in mind.