Why does the GX open like a hearse? And the worst part, is that it opens the wrong way, opposite the curb!

I am an IS owner, and would definitely consider the GX for my wife and the future kids. But the only thing in my opinion keeping this from "perfection" as Lexus strives for, is this tailgate.

Anyone know why this design exists, and are they going to go to a hatch type tailgate?

 

It doesn't bother me. I thought it might bother me, but really hasn't been an issue at all. I hardly ever parallel park anyways, so there is no wrong side. Even if I do parallel park, it's not that big of a deal. Never had a situation where I couldn't open the barn door either - and my garage is small.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful truck! I would love to own one. However, that door should lift from the top like the RX and LX. Not sure what Lexus was thinking making the GX different like that.

Also, I think having the 3rd row of seating hurts too because even when the sides are strapped up, you lose some space in the trunk area.

 

It opens the way it does because the Prado is originally designed to carry the spare on the back door. I actually kinda wish the spare was on the back door.

 

I had the GX for 3 years and never once did I say, I wish it had a hatch instead of the barn door. In fact, my wife who is pretty small and my 10 year son loves it. At 1st, I had the same feeling as you did, but have grown to like it or simply get use to it. The only time I would load alot of stuff on a regular basis is at the supermarket and there is no parallel parking there Just think about it, are you buying a truck or a door
You do know that you can take out the 3rd row seat if you the space.

 

oh heavens NO. I would not have bough ti if this was still there, Ugly deal breker

 

Different strokes for different folks

 

No big deal for me. The in-laws have a RX with the automatic rear hatch. Does nothing for me, but.....the thought did come to mind the other day when it was raining pretty hard and I was placing the groceries into the rear. A hatch would have covered me for sure. But a little water never hurt.

 

Design of the door makes sense in Japan, where you drive on the left side, the curb is on the left side as well, hence the door that opens that way. I know that maybe Lexus should have considered a different design for NA, but they haven't. Maybe it would have been too expensive, or tailgate would have been too high for women - opinions vary. Interestingly the new LX has the double folding tailgate. The bottom portion limits your reach inside the vehicle. I guess there is no perfect solution.

 

I think part of the issue is how tall and narrow the rear of the truck is. Imagine how bloody tall/long the hatch would be, and the clearance issues.

A split gate might work, but as gsobol says, it would limit your reach into the truck.

I love the barn door, frankly. Very rarely has it been annoying at all, and I always appreciate how low-effort it is to open the door. Plus, you don't need to deal with struts weakening over time, or expensive and failure prone hydraulics used in the new power liftgates. I like simple.

 

Everybody makes valid points. I for one experienced s issues, the first I bought an electric range that the store didn't ship because it was an out of box item. The other when I bought a dresser. I still managed to get it home and out of the truck even with the barn door style so I'm still content.

 

Had an '05 Infiniti QX56 (which I would still have if it wasn't for their brake problem) but traded it for the GX. The QX56 had the power liftgate and it was way better than the Lexus barn door IMO.

I would hope a redesigned GX would include a power liftgate and an in dash harddrive for CDs. But the GX is a great truck - just returned from a week in the mountains of Colorado and it handled like a champ.

 

The designers need to develop the third row to be useful like the GMC Acadia or Lincoln Navigator, where the 3rd row is on the same level as the 2nd row. The trunk floor can be raised so that when you fold the seats down, the whole trunk is flat. Of course, that much requires in independent rear suspension.

 

If the GX had the spare on the back door (ugly), I for one would not have even looked at the GX.

 

I assume everyone here rotates their spare tire in with the right side tires (If you haven't it's about as easy as pumping gas)....

The hatch opening like a barn door isn't a pain and is actually kind of nice; it also makes it that much different than a 4 Runner .