The Lexus GX is only recently getting the love it’s always deserved. Often overshadowed by its large LX and more attainable 4Runner cousins, Lexus’ Land Cruiser Prado is a superb old-school luxury SUV. I say old-school because the current generation model has been in production since 2009, and Lexus is itching to replace it. The Japanese marque has released a rather revealing teaser photo of the new Lexus GX, and this reborn midsize luxury SUV comes over all blocky and charmingly utilitarian.
When you first glance at the new Lexus GX, here are a few things you won’t notice: Body-color mirrors, chrome trim on the grille, or sleek slimline roof rails meant more for parking garage clearance than hauling rooftop cargo. Could it be that the bling era of luxury SUVs is finally coming to a close and manufacturers are embracing the rugged roots of the segment? I mean, any metallic trim on the new GX appears to be delicately-placed instead of smeared on with a trowel.
Then there’s the rugged styling that appears to take influence from historic models, notably the J70 Land Cruiser and J90 Prado. I mean, just look at how upright that windscreen is, especially compared to the current GX 460. It almost doesn’t look like it’s from this century, given how flat it appears to be. Moving around to the side, and although Lexus has done its best to obscure the GX with splashing water, the strong J90 Prado DNA of the greenhouse shines right through. Speaking of the greenhouse, the greenhouse-to-body ratio is properly old-school, with the potential for expansive views out of this midsize rig.
Likewise, it’s difficult to hide the upright C-pillar and strong beltline of the new Lexus GX behind flying water, although the water does a good trick of making the front bumper look blobby. However, if we look at a prior teaser for Lexus’ new rugged machine, we can get a better sense of what may be going on at the front corner of the GX. Strong, angular flares bulge out of a fairly flat fender, so the black strip we’re seeing up the left front corner in the latest teaser could just be a prominent fender garnish.
Moving to the surface below the black grille, the slotted fascia of the new Lexus GX feels decidedly retro, and in a good way. It’s a concession to honesty, recognition that the spindle grille never really needed to flow down the entire front end of the GX. There’s a great sense of “get it done” about this styling choice, which is refreshing now that even electric cars have fake grilles. Speaking of retro, a close-up of the tailgate suggests a separately-opening rear window. How nice is that?
The Lexus GX has been an overlanding sleeper hit for years. Not quite as bulky as a full-size Land Cruiser but arguably just as tough; the current V8-powered GX is the sweet spot between massive Land Cruisers and less-powerful 4Runners. It’s the sort of SUV that will take you and your team off-road in comfort without any of the fears that accompany most luxury SUVs. Lexus seems to have taken note of this key demographic and used this info to churn out a far different sort of SUV than everyone expected. It feels like Lexus is going after the Land Rover Defender with the new GX, and so long as the powertrain and suspension is sufficiently capable, it should succeed. Needless to say, we’ll learn far more about that on June 8, when Lexus plans to show the world the entire next-generation GX.
(Photo credits: Lexus)
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This honestly looks fantastic, I’m already looking forward to buying a used one in 5 years when I’m finally ready to part ways with my 2012 4Runner.
Initial thoughts: the grill looks light years less bad than before
“Light years less bad” – precisely said.
I’ve found it funny for a while that Toyota builds the J76 Landcruiser, Prado, 4Runner, and Fortuner all at the same time.
Perhaps what we’re seeing is the Prado being made more chunky to supercede the old J76.
As the former owner of a 2006 GX and current owner of a 2016: While I’m not crazy about the spindle, I will say that it has grown on me since buying it. Hard to say if the new look is better or worse yet, but I am more concerned about trading the butter-smooth, dead-reliable 300HP 4.6 liter V8 for some overly-complex twin-turbo 6-banger hybrid.
I tow constantly (boat, camper, skidsteer, etc.) and while I am certain the new engine will be more powerful, I worry that it won’t be as reliable for folks who actually use it, and I’m dreading turbo issues ala Ford EcoBoost.
With the GX, you might be looking at the 2.4 turbo + hybrid with the smaller chassis. Honestly, the hybrid part might be more effective when in the weeds, as the torque comes on immediately. As for towing… You’re right and can’t help you there. The increased steady-state power needed for towing taxes hybrids.
The last thing I would want to listen to while towing up every hill is the droning whine of a turbo hybrid 4-banger. If it comes to that, I’ll just wait until they get EV batteries sorted or just buy another V8 Tundra or a newer (but still V8) GX.
As the owner of a 20 year old GX, I’m glad to finally see an update. Since the pictures don’t show much, I hope I’m not too let down when they show the rest of the redesign – while I never cared for the spindle grill, I’m pretty lukewarm about what these photos do show.
I was not expecting to want to replace my ’16 GX. While I don’t care for the looks (goofy spindle at the cost of approach angle) or the mileage, I bought it with the intention of running it for at least a couple of decades. Now…I kinda want to trade it in…
Appreciate that they’re going with less curves and more angles. Hopefully this trickles down to all their high-riding vehicles to the point where the RAV4 looks like a modern 1990 Land Cruiser.
Hop, do a 8cms higher hood just for the sake of looking tougher… Ridiculous
My wife’s daily is a ’17 GX and while we weren’t looking to upgrade for a while this new one looks fantastic. I’m excited for the full reveal.
Love the GX and would love to consider one for my wife but the fuel economy is a non starter for her. I think it gets something like 16 or 17 combined and that’s a deal breaker in her eyes…slash I try to be somewhat conscious of my own carbon footprint and wouldn’t feel great about it either.
I’m really hoping we get some hybrid powertrains in these and I think we will. Seems like Toyota is replacing every V8 with iForce MAX stuff and I assume this is next in line. If that’s the case it’ll be on our list when we eventually replace her car. I love the idea of a luxury off roader and I think a lot of other enthusiasts do too…which is why these have had a bit of a redemption arc recently.
As an LX470 owner looking to potential downsize in the next few years, I’ve been hoping that Toyota/Lexus would move away from the squinty eyes and oversized grilles, and go back to a more utilitarian/boxy look. This definitely looks pretty promising. Elegant looks + Lexus reliability? Look out world!
The new Defender concept is almost 10 yrs old and got mixed reviews, the die hard Defender fans were not happy when 6yrs ago when it was confirmed the new gen was going to look close to it. Now it’s kinda the new standard, new GX takes cues from it, heck I would even say Ford copied the design style with the new Bronco.
Now the overlanding crowd need enough rich people to buy a lot of theses so they can get them as used cars someday.
It’s about time that the GX gets some love. Always felt like a half-baked global product with a tacked on Lexus badge (I would have rather had a Prado, honestly). These were also for the longest time the cheapest way to get a V8 4runner. I have high hopes for this.
Spindle grill still ugly. When lord will they relent?
It’s kind of like watching a guy double down on a bad argument when he’s obviously wrong because of sunk cost fallacy.
I guess I should be more understanding given that I’m that guy way more often than I care to admit. And I’m wrong so very often. Sigh. 😀
as an owner of the pre-spindle grill GX460, I will tell you most of the public like the spindle, especially on a 60k vehicle. it gives then Escalade feel and look. it gaudy jewelery for cars but people love it. look at sales number of 2010-13 and 2014 on. In 14 when the spindle first appeared they doubled the sales from 13 just because of the grill. For the record I do not like the spindle and only looked at 2010-13 models because of that.
Meh, it’s getting better. I’d rather this ‘flat’ spindle they’re trying now as seen on the new LX than the ‘pinched’ smushy mess on the current GX. The ‘forehead’ on the new RX is super ugly, though.