2024 Lexus GX First Drive: Intentionally Old-School

A Saguaro cactus takes seventy-five years to grow its first arm. It takes years more — sometimes decades — before this first arm is joined by more; some of the oldest cacti dotting the Sonoran Desert have forty or more limbs, evidence of lifespans stretching hundreds of years. As I stood in the arid air of Tucson, Saguaros speckled every few feet all the way to the horizon in every direction, it was impossible to not be overcome with the weight of eternity. The passing of centuries provided me this vista and this moment. It's hard to speak for the Saguaros, but it seemed worth the wait to me.

This contemplation of timelessness got me in the appropriate mood for the new Lexus GX. On an automotive timescale, the outgoing GX has lived a Saguaro's lifespan; the second generation was introduced to American buyers at roughly the same time Barack Obama campaigned for his first term as president. Second-generation GX's are now tackling Moab with their fourth owners while the same exact SUVs sit, zero miles on the odometers, in Lexus showrooms. 

Victoria Scott/SlashGear

Beholding the first new Lexus GX in fifteen years, therefore, feels like watching a succulent in Sonora sprout its first arm. But would the third-generation GX impress like the ancients of Arizona, or had the evolution of luxury SUVs finally surpassed its glacial pace? I hopped in a 2024 GX and headed into the forests of Saguaro to find out.

The first thing that struck me about the new GX 550 is its dramatic styling. Gone is the front bumper overbite and megachurch-parking-lot chrome maw that last looked modern before the Trump administration began. Instead, Lexus has leaned heavily into the GX's off-road market for the third generation. An upright flat windscreen, boxy body lines, squared-off fender arches, and short overhangs give it a tough appearance. Massive FJ Cruiser-inspired mirrors, a low belt line, and a dramatic hood scallop ensure that visibility on tight trails is excellent. In short, the GX bulked up, and it's much more handsome, if a bit militarized.

The all-new, off-road-focused Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims ensure that it can back up those rough-and-tumble looks with actual ability. Although more placid packages are offered — indeed, Lexus expects its volume model to be the mid-grade, on-road-first Premium+ trim — the GX is clearly designed with off-roaders in mind. Its underpinnings reflect this. While the rest of the midsize luxury SUV market has abandoned the traditional SUV formula in favor of unibodies, the new GX adapts the body-on-frame GA-F architecture introduced on the 2022 LX (and global Land Cruiser). Suspension is double-wishbone in front, four-link in the rear, with adaptive suspension available on higher trims.

The real show-stopper, however, is the Lexus-first Overtrail trim, laser-targeted at the off-road market. This brings a host of overlanding goodies to the GX platform, including Toyota's electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (e-KDSS). This system electronically monitors road conditions and detaches the sway bar links during intense off-roading, to allow for over two feet of suspension articulation without sacrificing on-road stability.

Before I'd be able to flex the rear axle in the remotest reaches of the Sonora, though, I needed to get to them. This meant navigating the beige-and-taupe jungle of downtown Tucson; the pavement snakes of I-10 would be a solid test for the freshened frame. The cabin is overall comfortable, with a very upright seating position. The steep windscreen pushes the A-pillars very far to the corners of the driver's peripheral vision, which made for phenomenal sight lines in corners as I drove through the twisting B-roads of Tucson's hills.

The low side window beltline and flat, narrow, and unadorned dashboard gave the GX's interior a decidedly retro aesthetic (and made it easier to drive). An upright PRNDL lever, which feels appropriate in the GX, helps drive home that this is a return to the SUVs of yore.

All GX trims get a 14-inch center touchscreen with just enough physical controls to make it easy to use at a glance. The touchscreen is below the dash eyeline, which keeps the interior feeling uncluttered. Lexus's UI is quick-responding and attractive; although most climate controls are touchscreen-only, they are constantly displayed, which helps alleviate any frustrations caused by a lack of buttons.

All GX models get some traditional SUV grunt, too, with a 349 horsepower 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 in their engine bays. This drivetrain represents a 48 hp gain over the outgoing V8-powered GX 460. This engine offers a staggering 150 additional foot-pounds of torque over the old V8, as well, with 479 lb-ft total. This, combined with a spritely 10-speed automatic transmission, propels the GX to 60 mph in roughly six and a half seconds, and gives it a very truck-like towing capacity of just over 9,000 pounds on all variants except the Luxury trims. That means the GX can out-pull every midsize SUV currently on sale, luxury or otherwise (the much-less-luxe Dodge Durango is the closest competitor, at 8,700 pounds).

This traditional SUV nature applies to ride quality, too. The GX definitely had a demeanor belying its body-on-frame underpinnings: a little extra shudder over potholes, some tire slap on rough B-roads, and a bit of body roll on tight corners. It's not sloppy — indeed, it handles pavement with much more grace than its platform sibling, the Lexus LX — but buyers cross-shopping with unibody competitors such as the Mercedes Benz GLE or BMW X5 might find it uncivilized in comparison. Those buyers were already probably eyeing the more genteel Lexus TX, though, so it's hard to imagine this compromise being a real turn-off for most serious shoppers.

What serious shoppers will be most concerned with is how the GX behaves when it finally slips the bounds of cul de sacs and stucco homes. Out in the desert, far beyond the reach of Golden Corrals and middle-class ennui, I swapped out my Premium Plus GX for an Overtrail model. The Overtrail gets tough black cladding, an extra half an inch of ground clearance (for a total of 8.9 inches), beefier roof fails, a rear locker to match the standard center locking Torsen differential, and 33-inch all-terrain Toyos on 18-inch Overtrail-specific wheels, as well as the aforementioned e-KDSS system. If the standard GX is meant to be ruggedly overbuilt, the Overtrail GX is ready for a war zone.

Granted, the offroad numbers aren't wildly impressive on the face of it — 26 degrees of approach angle and 22 degrees of departure, both outperformed by a Land Rover Defender 110 — but I can assure you, off the paper and in the dirt, the GX excels. Those airy sight lines I enjoyed back in the 'burbs made spotting cacti and errant rocks a cinch. It was very easy for me to intuitively sense where the tires were thanks to the simple two-box design and upright seating position; if I still needed help, the Multi-Terrain Monitor panoramic camera system gave me my own personal 360-degree spotter right on my infotainment screen.

But truth be told, I didn't need a spotter. The e-KDSS system — which allows the 4-link rear wheels to droop 25 inches under maximum flex, five more inches than a Defender's — was so competent that it made off-road driving boring. I was trucking through dried-up stream beds in a straight line, unconcerned about vehicle tilt or precise wheel placement, because I was never in danger of tripoding (aka balancing the SUV on just three wheels). With 4-low engaged and the rear and center lockers engaged, the very concept of losing traction felt quaint. If the streams I'd been crossing had been swollen by monsoon season, that also wouldn't have been a problem; the GX can ford through over two feet of water.

I have overlanded in many biomes all throughout America; I struggle to think of many I've traversed that could give the GX a tough time. Overtrail buyers take note: the most remote campgrounds will be yours for the taking.

The new Lexus GX is an open admission of what the aftermarket has long known: it is the luxury SUV for off-road driving. It will still satisfy on-road, and for buyers who want to tow without upsizing to a full-size SUV, it's unparalleled. Still, shoppers who are more likely to frequent Martha's Vineyard over Moab will probably gravitate toward the TX or RX instead. That's a good thing.

With those two SUVs offering unibody calm to the genteel suburbanite, Lexus engineers got free reign to turn the 2024 GX into the pinnacle of old-school, body-on-frame SUVs. Fifteen years is a long time, but then again, Saguaro National park wasn't grown in a day, either. Every once in a while, patience is rewarded, and the new GX is one hell of a treat.