The 2022 Lexus GX 460 is a novel SUV amongst its friends. That’s largely on account of the truth that this second era was launched all the way in which again in 2009, first in China, and the next yr in North America, being carefully associated to the Toyota 4Runner in addition to the global-market Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Regardless of its age, it has soldiered on as one of the standard fashions within the model.

Final yr it noticed a 15 % improve in complete gross sales over the earlier, although, by October this yr, deliveries are down 6.2 % in comparison with 2021. Nonetheless,  why are folks nonetheless flocking to this old-school SUV? We took one on a 2,000-mile street journey to see if we may discover out. Right here’s how the GX 460 stacked up in spite of everything these miles.

Aggressive And Angular

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The GX has a presence about it. The ‘Spindle’ grille on the entrance is its most distinguished function. It flows backward from that time with onerous angles and sharp design particulars that easy out as they traverse the size of the physique. The rear fenders as an illustration are a lot softer than the entrance finish. Nonetheless, the again finish isn’t completely devoid of inflexible shapes. The rear window and tail lights do their greatest to convey the 2 ends of this SUV collectively.

Most GXs include 18-inch wheels however the prime Luxurious trim provides 19s. Talking of which, we drove one step under that, the Black Line Particular Version. It provides a black headliner, darkish chrome exterior accents, black-accented 18-inch wheels, distinctive bumpers, and a black ash wood-trimmed inside.

As an individual who’s not very concerned about SUVs of this dimension, it grew on me over the week-long journey. Each passenger made constructive remarks about it too. The GX definitely doesn’t make it that apparent that it shares a platform with the Toyota 4Runner.

A Acquainted Household Area

The GX 460 contributes to Lexus’ repute for its high-quality interiors. The panel gaps are tight, the switchgear feels good to make use of, and the little particulars are pleasing to the attention and the contact. The motive force seat appears like a command middle because of well-labeled buttons, knobs, and switches on both sides of the wheel together with the wheel itself.

The black ash wooden trim present in each the entrance and second-row seems to be and feels nice too. The entire cabin advantages from excellent sound deadening. It’s extremely quiet no matter pace and situations outdoors. The sound system is nice too however we’d ditch the trackpad and the older 10.3-inch infotainment system for the brand new one within the newest Lexus RX if in any respect doable.

Seating is a little bit of a combined bag. The entrance chairs are very supportive and have a number of the most aggressive bolstering within the phase. That bolstering is a bit broad for me however wider folks will certainly recognize it. We’d like to see extra changes from Lexus as our take a look at automobile had 8-way power-adjustable seats and most rivals go lots additional so as to tailor seat fitment to their driver. Nonetheless, it was straightforward sufficient for entrance occupants to get comfy in the course of the lengthy journey.

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The second-row outboard seats are additionally excellent. Whereas they lack energy adjustment, they’re nonetheless 4-way adjustable with handbook slides and a manually-reclining seat again. Second-row legroom is nice too thanks partially to scalloped entrance seat backs that add knee room. The center seat within the again is a bit tough although if we’re trustworthy. It’s not as properly padded and as we had a complete of 5 in our occasion, it meant utilizing the third row for seating versus cargo.

That third row is tight for many adults. It’s even tighter if you additionally want to make use of a few of that area for cargo. And that’s as a result of with the third row up within the GX 460 there’s virtually no room by any means behind it. We managed to stuff some bike wheels, a motorcycle restore stand, and some different miscellaneous instruments in that area however nothing else. With all three rows in place, there are solely 11.6 cubic ft of storage again there.

One factor we are able to reward no matter location within the GX 460 is the local weather management. Certain, there may solely be three zones however the system is robust and quiet on the similar time. Roof-mounted local weather vents additionally add to the effectivity. The general expertise within the GX is one among supreme consolation and calm. It’s an insulated and comfortable place to spend time, particularly should you’re within the third row with baggage subsequent to you.

A Naturally Aspirated V8

Pop the very massive hood of the GX 460 and also you’ll discover plenty of plastic. Beneath that lies a 4.6-liter V8 that develops 301 hp (224 kW) and 329 lb-ft of torque (445 Nm). It routes energy to all 4 wheels by a six-speed computerized gearbox. Very similar to different facets of the GX, it appears antiquated on paper. It will get an EPA-estimated 15 mpg within the metropolis and 19 on the freeway. That’s solely adequate for 16 mpg mixed.

We are able to affirm these numbers are spot on. It’ll truly pull a bit greater than 19 mpg on the freeway should you’re extraordinarily cautious although. We’re simply glad it’s no worse. Rivals, just like the Genesis GV80, in its most fuel-hungry configuration, get an EPA-estimated 18 mpg within the metropolis and 23 on the freeway as an illustration.

To our shock, the V8 doesn’t really feel almost as previous as these statistics may recommend. Round city and on the freeway we discovered it to be very easy, torque-rich, and rewarding. Punch it onerous from a slower pace and it’ll take a wholesome second or two to downshift. As soon as it’s within the optimum gear it’s fairly quick for being so massive. You may shortcut that system by shifting the old-school gear lever into ‘Sport’ and downshifting earlier than mashing the go pedal. If there’s something slowing the GX down it’s the gearbox, not the engine.

Refined Journey Management

Put merely, the 2022 Lexus GX 460 is simple to pilot. That’s true whether or not the journey is brief and candy or actually spans a number of states at a time. A lot of that ease comes down to sophisticated driving dynamics. This could be a two-and-a-half-ton behemoth nevertheless it doesn’t really feel prefer it. It doesn’t float or dart across the street. It feels lighter and smaller than it truly is. A few of that comes all the way down to the superb Kinematic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS).

To place it merely, as an alternative of mounted stabilizer bars, the GX leverages cut up stabilizer bars which are mechanically managed in real-time to extend street holding potential or off-road articulation. The expertise of going from freeway speeds to off-road trails with no main distinction in trip consolation is considerably surprising. It’s an superior system that we have now a separate deep-dive article about.

And it’s this SUV’s potential to overcome each pavement and trails that make it stand out in its discipline. Certain, there are just a few others that may accomplish the identical duties. And a few have higher options. However the GX has a confirmed document of hardcore reliability constructed up over the many years. That’s value quite a bit by itself.

On prime of that, steering enter for an off-roader is met with intuitive responses from the entrance wheels. The accelerator and brake pedal likewise present predictable and deft suggestions and management. It’s to not say that these techniques are good, however they offered a significantly better expertise than we initially anticipated. In comparison with comparable autos in the identical phase, the GX offers up little or no by way of its on-road expertise and actually drives away from others on off-road trails.

Security Tools

Each 2022 GX 460 no matter trim comes with Lexus’ Security System+ suite. It consists of dynamic cruise management, lane-departure warning, a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, intuitive parking help, and computerized excessive beams. Throughout our journey, we had the possibility to check most of those options, and most work very properly.

The record of excellent performers begins with the dynamic cruise management. It has a number of distance settings and easy operation in all settings. We additionally favored the pre-collision system which labored particularly properly after we had been reversing. Not solely does it spot crossing site visitors nevertheless it alerted us to crossing pedestrians simply because it ought to.

The automated excessive beams had been a little bit of a combined bag. They don’t have any delay in any respect so the second they see a spot the place the brights can be utilized they’ll pop on. That features moments the place an oncoming automotive could be very clearly seen to you the motive force however not but to the system. The result’s generally flickering and flashing excessive beams at instances after they’re merely not acceptable. On the similar time, after we had been placing in a whole bunch of miles on the freeway it was good to set them and neglect them.

The one disappointing function was the lane-departure alert which appeared to have a thoughts of its personal. At instances it will alert instantly upon touching the lane marker and different instances it will do nothing in any respect as we navigated from one lane to the opposite with out signaling. It’s value noting that the majority rivals have extra security tech from lane-keep help or navigation-based dynamic cruise management that may gradual for turns.

The Verdict

The 2022 Lexus GX doesn’t have all the fanciest new tech obtainable available on the market. It doesn’t have a fuel-sipping futuristic powertrain. And it’s not dramatically inexpensive than rivals to make up for its shortcomings. What it presents although is one thing that may’t be simply neglected. And that’s rock-solid reliability and familiarity.

House owners gained’t have to fret about some fancy function failing on them unexpectedly. And that features those that plan to take their GX far off-road too. These qualities are massive elements that contribute to the GX’s excessive residual worth and why it’s top-of-the-line off-roaders for many who plan on maintaining it lengthy, lengthy after the guarantee runs out.

Photographs Stephen Rivers / Carscoops