Jayson

Couldn't have said it any better myself. SC300T, this is so true; the LX does feel indestructible.

AKoch

For me it is an LX, the design intention and purpose for this vehicle is more to my taste.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

both are great suv's and no matter which one you drive, ull enjoy it.and while i may agree that the lx does look dated, it's not neccesarily a bad thing, it is a good looking vehicle. and also, the lx is not a common a truck as a gx, so maybe that's a plus, youll be one of the very few who own one, but i guess that you could just get a newer lc that comes with less miles and the 5 speed tranmission for the same price of a gx, just an idea o but the maintnence on that would be pricey to, but hey, its the price to drive luxury right? lol

V8_Fan

x3. With the commanding driver's seating position/view and extra 800-1K lbs (mostly in the frame & suspension), you feel like you're driving a smooth, quiet armored military vehicle, especially w/ the steel aftermarket bumpers I have. The rear Aussie LC/LX tow bumper I have is rated at 7700 lbs towing, so you know the vehicle will pull that much (and they pull that much OFFROAD and ford rivers down there in their LC's/LX's).

tigmd99

Not to sound negative, but i would not tow 7700 lbs with LX (or any other SUV for that matter). This is why you have trucks. The Aussie TLC/LX also has a high front suspension (crack control arms or torsion failure) failure rate too...so, i would not be too gunho about what they do down there! It's been a while, but i hear that the front suspension is too weak for the rough roads and aftermarket bumpers, winches, etc..

The LX is built very well, but i would not go so far as to say that it is THAT much stronger over a GX. As for the weight differences, the LX is also significantly bigger too...which thus requires a stronger rear axle. The front suspension is a wash because the new LX570/TLC uses the same design as GX i believe.

In another thread, i read that the GX also requires less maintenance than LX470??

Max707

Buy a new 4runner V8 AWD and then buy one of the excellant Nav's that you can take anywhere. You should be able to get a new 4runner for around $30K and if you want to spend a little more for all the bells and whistles you can get the limited for around $36K. There is no difference between the 4runner and the GX470, just the sheet metal and I think the 4runner is better looking. Why buy higher mileage used when you can buy new? JMHO

GatorGreg

The difference between the T4R (even in Ltd trim) and GX on the interior is like night and day (e.g. increased headroom, ML stereo, optitron gauges, real wood trim, one touch windows, etc.) There is more to a vehicle then exterior styling, else Lexus LX470 would not have outsold Toyota Land Cruiser last year. However, I am a big fan of the T4R and would certainly recommend it to anyone who can live without all the bells and whistles that the GX offers. It's built in same factory as GX so quality should be very close.

Max707

Guess it depends on what is important to you. My point was that you get the same vehicle for less money and I like the looks of the 4runner better then the GX. I had the ML stereo in my 2004 LX470 and I can tell you that the upscale stereo that comes in the 4runner LTD has superior sound. The leather in the LTD is great more of a harder finish will wear better. The GX is more of a luxury vehicle but again you are paying for that. You can buy a new fully equipped V8 AWD 4runner limited for around $36-37K. Thats the same price you would have to pay for a 2003/2004 used GX with 30 to 50K miles and it would have the non VVti engine that you get in a new 4runner. Again its what works for you, it's just great that we have alternatives.

GatorGreg

That's interesting, the ML system in LX had 11 speakers so I would have assumed it would sound just as good if not better then the JBL equipped T4R which comes with 10 speakers (or only 8 with optional nav system). Maybe it's cuz with the cavernous interior of the LX it just can't fill it up as well?? I had the base system (non-Nakamichi) in my old '98 LX and I remember I had to add an amp and bigger aftermarket subwoofer to make it it sound decent.

However, the ML equipped GX470 has 14 speakers and with less interior space it should presumably sound much better then the 11 speakers in the bigger LX (and even more so when compared to the 7 speakers of the LX's equipped with the base system). What I really look forward to hearing though is the 19 speakers in the new LX

AKoch

The ML on the LX is not ideal. But it does sound decent for a car setup: more along the lines of a neutral studio monitors rather than a hifi setup.

The other day I had a friend of mine on an Acura RX (or something like this, their smaller SUV) showing his 5-channel audio. And in his opinion it sounded way better than the LX one. I had to agree, for a simple reason - he was looking for a bigger bass, more 'smiley' hi-fi style sound.

But I put a good quality source, like a 24-bit Vivaldi dvd audio, or a recent Dream Theater and I would not trade with him Nevertheless, the ML on the LS does sound better.

tigmd99

The LX's ML system is a good system. The problem is that it lacks bass...therefore, the rockers and other people who love bass will think that it's not good. However, the sound itself is crystal clear. The music is refined and will sound good with songs that are not bass heavy. I personally like it a lot. My G500's HK system is more bass heavy, but cannot come close to match my brother's LX ML system's clarity. The ML system uses high quality drivers (easily on par with most aftermarket speakers) with a nice amp. Unfortunately, the subwoofer is too small (for LX's interior). (Hell, even my Sienna minivan's JBL system has a 10" sub in it!) The front lower door woofers (6") are supposed to make up for some of the bass for the front passengers in the LX, but 6" woofers can only do so much with bass. This is probably why all the new ML systems have 6x9 woofers in the lower front doors...to provide more bass up front, esp. in a 5.1/7.1 configuration.

GatorGreg

Thai, did the GX get the 6x9's in front doors? It seems to have very nice bass up front for the music I like - enough so that I haven't felt the need to add a bigger sub like I did in the LX.

Edit: Nevermind Thai, I found the answer at the Lexus site here:

http://www.marklevinsonlexus.com/overview.asp?model=gx

GX does have the 6x9's in front doors as well as 6.5" mids in rear doors, but it has a puny 6.5" "subwoofer" - that should be grounds for a false advertising complaint IMO.

tigmd99

For a true audiophile system, 6x9 speakers are evil! If you have a nice subwoofer, then all your other speakers should be 6" ROUND and tweeters should be 1". 6x9 speakers are kinda like a compromise...it provides more bass than 6" round speakers, but cannot match it in vocals. Thus, in home tower speakers, you do not see 6x9 speakers...you see tweeters and 5-6" round speakers only.

Mark Levinson and Lexus are compromising the audio somewhat by having 6x9 speakers up front, but they need to do this to provide even bass front and rear. Front bass via 6x9 is combined with the bass from rear cargo via 6.5" subwoofer to create bass throughout the cabin. Therefore, you do not need a big booming subwoofer. Remember, this is a car environment, so precise audio frequency is not top priority. Hell, even the new REFERENCE LS460 ML system uses 6x9 speakers in the door, but it also has some nice tweeter/woofer combos throughout the cabin.

SC300T

This topic sure has legs... I agree, the ML system in the LX isn't ideal, but it does get the fundamentals right: good front soundstage, good power, good midrange clarity and excellent highs. The denso nav/headunit also seems to have decent electronics and tuner.

I pulled the trigger on an 02 LX470. Seems like a great vehicle, certified at $28k, with 60k miles on it.

Audio wise, I'm wondering how difficult it would be to integrate something like that semi-portable 10" Infinity Basslink sub. I'd think it to be simple, but not sure. Not a bass-head here, but do appreciate a full bottom. ;-)

Now, just have to do the NAV/DVD override and find a way to tap the DVD changer output to feed some headrest monitors. If anyone has some links, I'd appreciate it.

I also have a few impressions relative to the 05 dbl Tundra - If interested, pm me on the list...

Thanks for all the comments and feedback.

V8_Fan

That's probably why that cracked front lower a-arms aren't an issue here. I believe in Oz, it's mainly the TD's that have that problem (engine weighs more). But they do drive them fast over washboard roads for thousands of miles. That will do any car short of a full live axle/leaf spring setup in.

The less maintenance is on the GX/4runner platform, Toyota got rid of the inner/outer wheel bearings and uses a sealed bearing pressed into something. The downside is when you need bearing replacement (sealed bearings always develop play just like non-sealed ones), you have to replace the entire bearing and (I think) the thing it's pressed into, which will undoubtedly cost $$$. OTOH, if you have the dealer do all your maintenance on a LC or LX, they already charge $250-300 for the front bearing repack since it's virtually all labor (like $50 parts, rest is labor). If you do the work yourself like me, it only costs 'ya $50 in parts (inner oil seals, drive flange gaskets, lock washers, grease) and 3-4 hrs of labor. If they are loose, you just pack grease into there, retorque, and you're good to go. The traditional bearings last a long time. The Koyo front bearings on my '86 4runner are still going strong, just need to repack about every 50K mi (sooner if you wheel a lot or cross rivers), while the sealed rear bearings have a ton of play in them (I can feel the rear end slop around if I turn sharply). So if you aren't close to a dealer, you live in the boonies, or you prefer doing maintenance yourself and you plan to keep your vehicle for > 100K mi, the 100 series (and earlier LC front bearing setup [same on the 4runner up through '02, I think]) will cost you less money to maintain. If you have the dealer do everything and/or keep vehicles < 100k mi, the GX/4Runner bearing setup will save you having to pay $250-300 every 30K mi for the bearing repack.

Also, if you get a '04+ LX or GX (or 4runner), the ATF changed from T-IV to WS, so you can go around 90K mi before a change (I'd say reastically, don't go more than 60K) vs. 30K mi for the older T-IV or Dextron II/III. Last, in '04, Toyota went to the super long life coolant, so no change for 90K mi. Don't know why it took Toyota this long to use the SLLC since my '01 prelude has SLLC factory coolant rated at 120K mi/10 yrs. These changes will greatly reduce your maintenance costs if you have the dealer do the work.