2024 Lexus GX Review: Serious SUV Brings Big Capability With A Big Price

That the 2024 GX manages to stand out even in Lexus' SUV-heavy line-up is as much a matter of legacy as it is styling and capability. To describe the third generation truck as "long anticipated" is to undersell even the lengthy timescales typical of the automotive industry. At almost a decade and a half old, the prior version of the GX was starting to feel less like a foundation of Lexus' range, as much as simply forgotten.

GX fans, then, could've been excused a dual sense of dread. On the one hand, Lexus might've simply decided that there was no place left for a body-on-frame SUV with real off-road talents, particularly given the existence of the similarly-scaled TX and LX.

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Arguably more ominous, though, was the possibility of a new GX that abandoned the very things which made the nameplate popular. A platform that concentrated more on pavement-based comfort than roaming off-road; a drivetrain that put frugality first, not flexible capability. Reinvention, we can stomach, but assimilation? No, surely not for the Lexus GX.

The good news, then, is that for all it has changed, Lexus hasn't forgotten the GX's core value proposition. The 2024 GX remains body-on-frame, tapping the same Toyota Group GA-F platform that the new Land Cruiser and Lexus LX. Priced from $64,250 (plus destination), all trims are full-time 4WD, complete with a Torsen locking limited-slip center differential. Towing capacity, trim-depending, can exceed 9,000 pounds (and no GX is rated for less than 7,600 pounds).

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In short, the big Lexus SUV remains a big deal off-road, and the new Overtrail trims (from $69,250 plus destination) lean into that capability. They add an electronically controlled locking rear differential, and the Adaptive Variable Suspension system that's shared with the flagship GX 550 Luxury+ version priced from $81,250 plus destination. That adds adaptive dampers, which can adjust to suit both unpredictable off-road conditions and for more enthusiastic on-road driving.

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The GX Overtrail and Overtrail+ alone get the Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS), which promises to make maximum use of the detachable sway bar links. Push the SUV really hard — as in, when more than two feet of articulation from the suspension could come in handy — and E-KDSS will automatically trigger that disconnect.

Power comes courtesy of a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6, with 349 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. That's two less cylinders, two more turbos, and four more gears than the outgoing GX 460 with its naturally aspirated V8.

While the loss of yet another V8 can be a sad thing, it's tough to argue with Lexus' decision, here. 150 lb-ft more torque in the new GX is not to be sniffed at, and nor is the — slight — improvement in fuel economy. Sure, the 2024 SUV is only rated for 15 mpg in the city, 21 mpg on the highway, or 17 mpg combined, but it is, at least, a 1 mpg improvement in highway and combined numbers over the V8.

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More important is how the bump in power is delivered. The old V8 never felt particularly sluggish, but peak torque is not only up, but arrives sooner in the third-gen GX: at just 2,000 rpm, versus 3,500 rpm. Though the platform prioritizes capability over comfort, the GX surges forward like a playful rhino, complete with some unsurprising bounce and shudder.

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It never feels unruly, though — and the adaptive dampers on this Overtrail trim helped keep things impressively stable and upright in Sport mode, despite my trying to provoke some body roll — and grip from the standard Overtrail/Overtrail+ 33-inch all-terrain tires on 18-inch alloys was always confident.

Those beefy wheels undoubtedly come into their own when off-roading — and we've already seen what a proficient truck the new GX is out in the rough stuff — but it's also fair to assume that most Lexus buyers will be sticking to asphalt. The Premium and Luxury trims miss out on the Multi-Terrain Select off-road modes, the Downhill Assist Control, and Crawl Control, but they make up for it with a snug third row to take total seating up to seven, and wheels either 20- or 22-inches in size.

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Given the aging cabin of the old GX arguably dated the SUV most conspicuously, it wouldn't have taken much for Lexus to vastly improve its new SUV. A second row captain's chair option is offered on the Premium+, Luxury, and Luxury+ trims; it swaps their three seat bench (with heated outboard seats) for a pair of heated individual chairs. Sturdy NuLuxe faux-leather is standard on the Premium and Overtrail, with semi-aniline leather on the Luxury trims.

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All variants get heated and cooled front seats, and all but the base trim has a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel. Luxury, Luxury+, and Overtrail+ get front massage seats, too, and all trims have a power tailgate with a handy opening glass window. 

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Three-row models have 10.3 cu-ft of cargo space with all seats up, 40.2 cu-ft behind the second row, and 76.9 cu-ft with both rows down. Two row Overtrail trims get 45.6 cu-ft behind the second row, or a healthy 90.5 cu-ft behind the front row.

Gone — thankfully — is the old 8-inch touchscreen with its clunky infotainment graphics and complete absence of smartphone projection. Lexus' intuitive Interface system is supplied instead, running on a 14-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. An 1,800 watt Mark Levinson audio system with 21 speakers is offered on the higher trims, and all get a 12.3-inch digital driver display.

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Four USB-C ports in the two-row trims are standard, and six in the three-row. All but the base spec get a 360-degree camera; a color head-up display is optional on all trims. Generally, Lexus' standard equipment list is healthy; only the fact that a wireless phone charger is inexplicably optional on the base Premium and Overtrail trims spoils the show.

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All trims get adaptive cruise control, lane-departure alerts with steering assist, lane tracing assist, blind spot warnings with rear cross-traffic alert, forward pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection and intersection support, and parking sensors with auto-braking. Higher trims add rear pedestrian detection.

Lexus wraps its improvements in dramatically new sheet metal, capping off what feels like a comprehensive — and compelling — upgrade to a beloved nameplate. The muscular, aggressive exterior of the third-generation GX certainly looks the part, and (maybe just as important) feels like it will age well. Considering how long the last one stuck around, that's a not-insignificant consideration.

Eventually, like that old SUV, the new GX will be expected to go off-roading in earnest. Probably not at the hands of the first owners, or even the second, but not for nothing has Lexus' body-on-frame beast cultivated a reputation for far greater capability in the wilderness than you might expect from the brand. Only time will tell if the added refinement of the third-generation will prove an electronics headache for that legacy.

For now, with the new car smell still wafting, the 2024 Lexus GX pitches two visions of what a big body-on-frame SUV should offer. Its luxury grades bring plush presence to the road; its Overtrail trims bundle much of that lavish experience up into an off-road-ready bubble. Either way it's a fitting upgrade to the GX badge, and though neither cheap nor particularly frugal, it arguably delivers the best of old-school and new-school SUVs in one capable package.