What is Old is New Again: 2016 Lexus GX 460
Many Lexus vehicles have been significantly refreshed or redesigned in the past couple of years. We’re pretty big fans of the new RX here at Club Lexus, the NX isn’t too shabby, and their new coupes and sedans all seem to tick the right boxes. But there’s one vehicle that sits in the lineup that hasn’t seen a significant refresh in awhile, and that’s absolutely okay. The Lexus GX 460 is one of those vehicles that is just an honest-to-goodness luxury SUV, and while there are some things that aren’t perfect about it, it doesn’t detract from the vehicle’s overall appeal.
The GX is built atop a body-on-frame construction, which makes it a proper SUV. Similar to the Toyota 4Runner, the GX is a capable off-roader with the technology to make that happen. Standard on the GX 460 is full-time four-wheel drive with a lockable center differential. A low-range gear, selected by a toggle switch, helps when the going gets really tough. Hill descent control is also standard. With the Luxury trim we had, we also had adjustable rear air suspension and 4-wheel adaptive suspension with both a sport and comfort setting.
Powering the GX 460 is a 4.6L, honest-to-goodness V8 making 301 horsepower and 329 lb-ft of torque. The power is sent to all four wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission with a manual shift mode.
The EPA rates the GX 460 at 20 mpg on the highway, 15 mpg in the city, or 17 mpg combined. During my week of testing my overall average was 17.3 mpg. For a 7-passenger SUV, that’s not really that bad.
Luxury is abound in the GX 460, with the Luxury trim adding 3-zone climate control, heated and cooled front seats, heated middle row seats, rear-seat entertainment system, and some kickass leather seats that are super soft. The sound isolation is solid, and unless you have your foot to the floor you can barely hear the engine, let alone the outside world.
It doesn’t feel like a Toyota product when you’re driving, but a proper luxury car. You’d imagine you could use a vehicle to haul around important people and they’d be alright with it. It’s not a Range Rover Autobiography, but it’s still a nice place to sit.
Generally I’m an infotainment and technology guy, so you’d think that the older Lexus infotainment system would be annoying to me. While it’s not perfect, navigating the menu with a proper touch screen instead of some hand-writing or mouse-based control system is much better for me. It also supports the Lexus Enform App Suite, but I didn’t get a chance to test it.
But what are the negatives? The 4.6L V8 is simply not that powerful for the fuel economy penalty you pay for having it. On several hills around here, the GX had to downshift to maintain speed, while other cars don’t. Also, the engine requires, not recommends, premium unleaded fuel. Drop in the 5.7L i-Force from the LX 570 and then we’ll be talking.
Also, the tech package that adds adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and CRAWL control is a “Special Order” option, meaning that it wasn’t on our press car and won’t be on one you’ll find on dealership lots. The addition of CRAWL specifically would make me feel even more comfortable about taking this Lexus proper off-roading (but how many owners actually do that?).
Body-on-frame SUVs are seeing a resurgence now that fuel prices are low, and sales of the GX have been increasing here in the United States. Who would’ve thought that was going to happen?
As tested the GX 460 was $65,570. That’s a lot of money, and the SUV competition is fierce. But there is something special about driving the GX 460 that I really liked. It’s the intangibles, but I’m a fan.
What do you think? Let us know over in the forums!
