Lexus GX 550

Overview

LEXUS’ chunky GX, a take on the Prado from parent Toyota, is not only a long-awaited addition to the brand’s Australian line-up but definitively different from the Prado by its petrol-only range topped by a rapid super-sport version, the GX550.

This introduces a twin-turbo V6 petrol to the luxury brand which becomes its second off-road compliant model (after the Land Cruiser 300-based LX) to sit above the all-wheel drive hybrid RX.

The GX, lured to Australia from its long-standing presence on the US market, doesn’t get a hybrid version. It’s also not available as a diesel, separating it from the Prado, and at the moment, comes only with the 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo engine.

Where’s the attraction? The Lexus introduces high-end luxury and build quality to compete – in price and ability – with the hard-core off-road capable Land Rover Discovery, Ineos Grenadier and Nissan Patrol. Oh, and the Toyota Prado and Land Cruiser 300.

So why not buy a 300? Well, it’s big and, for some customers, too big. The Prado is diesel only, the Ineos is possibly a bit too left of centre for traditional 4WD buyers, the Discovery (and Defender) are worthy rivals and can be as good – perhaps better in some cases when comparing the Defender – while the Patrol is, all things considered, likely the better rival.

This test car – the GX550 Sports Luxury – meets its rivals with its $130,770 (plus costs) price tag. There’s a less expensive Luxury model for $118,320 (plus costs).

But the Lexus comes with more than luxury fittings and a weighty price tag. The brand is renowned for looking after its customers and has offers including the Encore program that has discounts and offers at restaurants, sporting events, priority bookings at entertainment venues and so on. There’s valet services, pick-up and delivery of owners cars for servicing, and heaps more.

The Prado has a five-star crash rating but the GX hasn’t been tested. It is, however, loaded with safety gear including the comprehensive Toyota-Lexus safety system, autonomous braking and pre-collision systems, active cruise, lane-departure warning and lane-trace assist, intersection collision avoidance, road-sign monitor, emergency steering assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear-cross traffic monitor, and stacks more.

The reversing camera has a washer system – which is handy – and there’s also tyre pressure monitoring. The GX has a full-size spare wheel mounted under the rear floor.

Pay the extra for the Sports Luxury and you get extra goodies including the very helpful automatic folding sidesteps.

Sidesteps are a great addition to a proper 4WD, obviously because the leg-up given helps people small in stature. But the downside is that these steps can get caught up on some off-road obstacles, and become problematic in sandy conditions.

The auto fold up, fold down is triggered from the door handle so operates independently from one side to the next.

That’s a welcome entry point. The driving position is pretty good, with the ride height giving plenty of confidence-inspiring visibility and the 12.3-inch driver’s screen and heads-up display shouting information clearly.

Lexus’ GX is obviously based on the Toyota Prado, with the same basic specifications but with more equipment. It also has very different trim, including timber-look accents for the dashboard and door cards.

This includes the bigger central monitor and with it, more screen-based switches – such as HVAC fan speed, for example – which becomes more fiddly for the driver to adjust. The Prado has easy-to-use manual buttons.

Standard fare in the Sports Luxury includes a brilliant 21-speaker Mark Levinson audio, front seat massaging, heated and ventilated front leather-trimmed seats, a refrigerated cool box (between the front seats), 12.3-inch screen for the driver and 14-inch centre touchscreen, heads-up display and panoramic roof.

The boot has 291 litres (all three rows up); 1138 litres (third row flat – electrically); and 2177 litres with the two rear seat rows collapsed.

Lexus has a five-year or unlimited distance warranty service costs of $5950 for five years for 10 services (that is, every six months).

There are three years of roadside assistance and Lexus offers a free loan car when servicing.

Effectively, buy a Lexus and you’re getting more than a 2.5-tonne metal block in your driveway. It becomes like a club.

All that dovetails with an SUV that’s as relaxing to own as it is to wait in the Lexus showroom lounge. The wait’s over … Here's what it’s like to drive.

Driving

You’ve already worked out that a 3.5-litre petrol V6 with two turbochargers pushing through a 10-speed auto box is no slouch. All true. The GX550 may weigh 2.5-tonnes (dry and free of humans and luggage) but it can really get up on its four 22-inch wheels (Sports Luxury model) and fire.

It’s an alluring machine … one that has good cabin room for seven people, can tow up to 3500kg (depending on grade as the Sports Luxury is rated at 3130kg), has a very comfortable cabin loaded with pretty much every conceivable convenience fitting, a 650km range for touring, and 4WD with low-range and diff’ locks and electronic traction aids.

Much of the first impression comes from the rumble from the exhaust, a background that threads through the entire drive experience and one that becomes magnetic enough to maintain the driver’s attention. Even though it’s not quite up to V8 levels, this audio even becomes addictive for some occupants.

Matching that is the seamless flow of the cogs through the 10-speed auto. It can be manipulated by the paddle shifters, to allow the gears to hold and the engine to run up the rev range and rise from an exhaust rumble to a mechanical roar.

The 3.5-litre V6 is from Toyota’s V8 engine design (the block is practically the same, just missing a couple of cylinders) and shares much with the Prado and 300’s V6 diesel.

In the Lexus, the engine delivers 260kW at 4800rpm and torque of 650Nm at 2000rpm, with the feeling that it could take substantially more.

Lexus claims 12.3 litres per 100km but the closest I got as an average was 14.2 L/100km. That’s a 560km range.

City work saw the computer read out around 17L/100km, so obviously prefers the open road. Of course, it needs premium 95 RON fuel.

I guess most people don’t think Toyota (and Lexus) place much weight on theatre (aside from the obvious in the Lexus LC and Toyota 86 variants) but this SUV is one of the exceptions. More fun than a stick, actually.

You can get carried away. All that noise and the way the engine pushes the power through to the wheels gives the impression that it’s a sports machine but the first corner is enough of a flag to water down initial impressions.

It will handle fine, but it needs to be coaxed out of a tendency to understeer. The understeer is only one warning. It also has a bit of body roll.

That’s not to say the GX won’t run confidently through the beds, just not at the speed and with the enthusiasm intimated by the eagerness under the accelerator pedal and the exhaust’s soundtrack.

Treating it with respect to its SUV genes, the GX is a smooth rider and has plenty of comfort for its occupants. The 22-inch wheels aren’t as firm as you’d first think (the entry-level Luxury version gets 20-inch rubber) while the mechanical suspension is compliant enough so you won’t miss air suspension.

Off the road the Lexus is a strong performer. Like the Prado, there’s full-time 4WD with a switch for low range.

There’s good breeding here, too, with the GX sharing the TNGA-F ladder frame chassis and its enhancements borrowed from the Land Cruiser 300 and Lexus LX 600 which incidentally has the same engine as the GX550.