I do have my gripes on that wood trim too, but the assembly is on a whole another level. Toyota materials scream el cheapo plastic regardless of how expensive the vehicle is (except the LC), but the whole car seems to be coming apart after the first 10k. GX vehicles seem to be well put together even as the odometer cross into retirement age. Its just how these vehicles are designed.

The rear door is a pain, heavy and not assisted like hatches in other models. Plus if you need to carry extra long items you cannot leave the whole door open just the window.

Engine is matched on par with the vehicle, but you wont find excess power on tap. Just enough LOL. But the powertrain is well sorted, and you wont find the hesitation and terrible eco hunting the newer 8 speeds have. No tech wizardry like the newer models such as auto hold, LSS+ pano view )wide view is avaialble but Luxury+4K package)

Seats are comfy, cabin is well isolated, even better then the recently updated RX.

Sadly the Navigation system is the same as most newer Lexus models minus the remote touch. Says alot about Lexus in general. I`d say the touchscreen is easier to navigate then the Remote touch.

 

Thanks for the review. I personally like this suv. I had a 4runner before and would never want another one or similar until the refresh. I borrowed it a few days for a test drive.

IMO...

Likes:
- Spindle, light and fogs. LX and RX's are a bit too wide IMO.
- Ride: stable and nice
- NuLuxe is not bad.
- Reliability

Dislikes:
- Alligator feel leather of the Premium
- Dash too simple
- 3rd row could be better.
- Seat could be better. Leg/thigh support would be good

For the price and build quality, GX is a winner for me. I could see me in one if I need another suv. My neighbor has an LR4. It's a nice suv but the behind really turns me off. I can't seem to accept the tail lights. We were interested in the GL so we rented GL for a week for our trip. I wasn't impressed esp. with that price range. My adult passengers also hate the 3rd row.

 

Glad you enjoyed it.



In what way is it too simple?

 

I like the wood trim and I think I recently read Lexus does not use fake wood. Maybe you are implying it looks fake? The silver painted plastic that scratches easily is a BIG complaint from me. The navigation sucks in my 2011 and seems to be a little better on the 2014 (no experience with it).
I had duel exhaust installed so my vacuum cleaner sound is on steroids

I fought buying my GX due to the exterior and interior look, but I couldn't find anything else that gave me the peace of mind with reliability in a luxury SUV. I hit a point in my life where I don't finance anything and $40k was my sweet spot for a car.... Son of a biatch, I have dumped another $10k into this truck to make me happy with my cringe purchace I keep my cars for 200+k miles and I am at 85k on my GX now and all is good. I bought it in 2013 at 40k miles.

 

Depends on the model. On the ES, for example, the wood on the steering wheel seems real, but the rest of the wood-tone inside, to me at least, seems fake.

 

Incorrect. ALL Lexus vehicles use genuine wood, including the ES. The wood in the GX is real.

Good review. I'm not a huge fan of this generation GX, I did like the GX470...

 

yep, it has better body lines. The 460 is not as stout looking. Tall and skinny with no beefy appearance.

 

Thanks.


The wood on Lexus steering wheels is definitely real....nothing fake about that. There is no mistaking it. But for some of the other strips, they look and feel questionable.

The GX here is a good example, On the thread-specific GX, the steering wheel wood is definitely real. So, in this particular case, are the strips on the dash and door panels. But see that wood-tone flip-up lid on the console, behind the shifter? Sit in a GX, and feel that lid, and to say that's real is a pretty hard sell. It is nothing but a thin plastic wood-tone veneer on top of an equally-thin piece of plastic with a latch on it.

IF I'm wrong on that, however, and that thin console-lid IS real wood, then fine....it certainly fooled me.

 

Whether they look and feel a certain way to you or not, they ARE real. Lexus has stated many times that all their vehicles have real wood trim. Its a thin veneer mated to a plastic backing as all automotive wood trim is, but it is real.

No, it is a thin real wood veneer on top of a thin piece of plastic with a latch on it.

 

My 2011, it looks consistent

 

OK.....no sense going on and on about it. If it actually is real, fine.

 

I`m confused though. Lets take an example of the famous fake wood mfg Acura. Their things are shiny as hell and are actually fake according to their designers for the pre 17s. They have gone ahead and changed that this upcoming refresh 17s with real wood. So the fake wood trim is plastic with some kind of wrap or the veneer.

And real wood trim is something like open pore wood say in something like XC90 or laser cut stuff from Yamaha in the new RX?

 

Wood trim is really up to the user to decide if they like. To some wood trim might not look good while to someone else they might love it. I don't really care if wood trim is real of not, current Lexus wood trims are not the greatest. I personally like the matte faux wood from the 08 Land Cruiser as my favorite trim in a Toy/Lex model.

 

On a side note, my first and lasting memory of the GX was always the little weiner it had for a camera hanging under the Lexus badge on the grille. Who in the Lexus boardrooms thought it was a good idea? The previous gen was such a handsome vehicle in comparison.

 

The fake wood is just plastic with a printed woodgrain. Real automotive wood is a thin veneer that is bonded to a plastic backing that gives it shape. This is done to avoid cracking, expansion with temperature, to save weight and cost. Open pore wood, matte wood, gloss wood, whatever the process is always the same.