Waiting almost a decade and a half to redesign a vehicle doesn’t just seem lazy; it comes across as woefully neglectful. The first-gen Lexus GX lasted a Methuselah-like 14 years without a truly significant refresh. Lexus rested on its laurels because there wasn’t much competition in the luxury three-row body-on-frame category. Its rugged construction, V8 engine, four-wheel drive, locking center differential, and two-speed transfer case cemented its capability. But eventually, the GX fell behind in styling, technology, and efficiency.
The second-generation Lexus GX has shown its age for a while now, even though it has continued to sell quite well, even in its final year. While some owners took the GX off-road, the vast majority were driven by families who wanted something more prestigious, albeit less practical, than a minivan.
The first-gen model felt like a gussied-up Toyota 4Runner, only worse, thanks to the enormous Lexus spindle grille slapped on in a mid-cycle refresh. This, combined with what looked like aftermarket taillights and ungainly bodywork, made the GX look awkward and outdated.
The 2024 GX550 looks like no other car on the road.
Lexus GX 550 Styling and Trim
Lexus has finally changed the design for 2024—and made sure it wouldn’t get mistaken for anything other than a capable and purposeful premium SUV. Rather than a dowdy pseudo-luxury look with rugged underpinnings, Lexus cemented the GX’s body-on-frame construction and off-road character. It looks like no other SUV currently on the road with only some resemblance to its less expensive Toyota Land Cruiser sibling. Ditching the crossover-like sloped hood, angular headlight clusters, and the taffy-pull front end of the old GX, Lexus has redefined its premium mountain goat with boxy styling and heaps of character.
The 2024 GX550 lineup is structured differently than previous generations. There are three tiers, each with upgraded trim levels: Premium/Premium+, Luxury/Luxury+, and Overtrail/Overtrail+.
Premium starts at $64,250; the top dog of the range is Luxury+ at $81,250. Premium and Luxury trims come standard with three-row, seven-passenger seating, but you can opt for a two-row configuration that can handle five or six passengers. Every “+” upgrade adds equipment on top of its respective trim level. For Premium and Luxury, creature comforts get bumped up. Off-road componentry, such as an adaptive suspension system with more wheel articulation, levels up for the Overtrail model. Paint, upholstery, wheels, and tires are also trim-specific.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 Premium+ we drove has even more presence in person than in photos. With a rich Nightfall Mica blue hue, it looks ready for both your boulevard and offroading. It’s not pure boxiness the way a Mercedes G-Wagen is. Instead, the 2024 GX 550+ bears a more vertical—but still angular—front end with a fresh interpretation of the brand’s spindle grille. The thin LED daytime running lights sit atop flat front slab-like sections that flank the grille. The big clamshell hood is notched and creased for looks, as well as for enhanced visibility. The 2024 GX completes the squared-off look with angular wheel arches, a tall and boxy greenhouse, and the heavily creased tail section with the full-width taillight. None of it looks derivative, overdone, or boring. From a distance, you wouldn’t mistake it for anything other than a GX.
Physical knobs for climate and audio are situated nicely below the big touchscreen.
Lexus GX 550 Interior
The last GX’s interior was solidly built, but aesthetically stuck in the 2010s. Still, it functioned wonderfully, with big buttons and knobs within easy reach of the driver. Even the materials quality was impressive: wood, leather, and high-grade plastics were everywhere. But the 10.3-inch touchscreen looked like an afterthought bolted in at the last minute, and the accompanying touchpad control was about as precise to use as a two-tined fork in a bowl of noodles. It cried out for modernization in terms of styling and technology, while also needing to convey an ethos of toughness. The 2024 GX finally answers that call.
Although I lament the loss of buttons, switches, and knobs in most new premium-level vehicles on the market, the 2024 Lexus GX leans more toward tradition. It does so while providing superb in-car technology in the form of a huge and vivid 14-inch touchscreen and a 12.3-inch multi-information display gauge cluster. I love the traditional shift knob (no rotary or push-button versions here) because it’s easy and fits in with the GX’s purposeful chunkiness.
If Lexus had relegated most of the GX’s operations to the touchscreen, there might have been collective weeping and gnashing of teeth throughout the GX devotee community. Thankfully, physical knobs for climate and audio are situated nicely below the big touchscreen. The wiper and turn signal stalks are satisfying to use.
The seating position provides expansive road views, and sightlines over the notched hood are mostly unhampered. The NuLuxe synthetic leather seats might as well be real leather—you can’t tell the difference unless you get close and take a big whiff. Not only is NuLuxe thick, soft, and attractive, but it’s also far more durable than leather and can surely keep up with the GX’s famously long lifespan. It also doesn’t need to breathe like real leather, because the ventilated front seats are standard equipment.
In terms of interior room, the new GX utterly buries the old one while also thumbing its nose at direct competitors like the BMW X7 and the Land Rover Range Rover. Six-footers can comfortably sit in the second row behind tall front occupants. Six feet is about as big as you want to push it in row three, but not due to a lack of legroom. The floor is pushed up due to the rear suspension, and the higher footwell contributes to raised knees in the back. Even so, the 2024 GX still manages to eclipse its older self by a few inches in terms of legroom. The GX’s third-row seats can also recline or fold flat into the floor to create more space. Those who want to carry more gear (and two fewer people) can opt for the Overtrail model.
Rather than make a GX that appeals to everyone, Lexus offers distinct flavors to please each end of the SUV spectrum: on-road creature comforts (Premium and Luxury) and off-road ruggedness (Overtrail). Our Premium+ was plenty nice inside, but the Luxury trim ups the ante with semi-aniline leather upholstery, 10-way adjustable front seats with massage, heat, and ventilation, illuminated door sill plates, and second-row window shades, and big 22-inch wheels. The Overtrail trims look more rugged, have enhanced off-roading chops, and ditch the third-row seats, making it the version to choose for overlanding, camping, and other outdoor adventures.
The new GX may be heavier than the old one, but it doesn’t feel like it when you push the engine.
Driving the Lexus GX 550
Under the hood of the 2024 GX is an engine that’s two cylinders down. The 4.6-liter V8 with 309 horsepower and 329 lb-ft of torque has been replaced by a 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 that churns out 349 horsepower and 379 lb-ft of torque. That torque number is 150 more than the old one, and it’s on tap at 2,000 rpm instead of the old GX’s 3,500. That increase is palpable from the word go.
The new GX may be heavier than the old one, but it doesn’t feel like it when you push the engine. Getting up to speed feels far less laborious, and the GX even feels fleet of foot when compared to the 2023 GX 460. Power comes from a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 mated to a 10-speed automatic. Peak torque is 479 pound-feet reached at a mere 2,000 rpm. The 2024 GX 550 goes from 0 to 60 mph in a little more than 6 seconds, a whole second quicker than the 2023 GX 460. Off the line, it almost feels spritely rather than communicating its 5,517 pounds of curb weight. Steering is shockingly good for something this big and heavy. Whereas the old GX felt vague, the new one is a more precise instrument, relatively speaking.
Our Premium+ trim leans more toward the urban jungle with its 20-inch wheels, passive dampers, and excellent steering. The bigger wheels (not quite the massive 22-inch versions on the Luxury+) contribute to a firmer on-road ride, but it nails the upscale SUV look nicely.
The redesigned GX stays true to its roots with full-time four-wheel drive, a lockable Torsen center differential housed within the low-range transfer case. If it’s true off-roading capability you want, you’d be better off choosing one of the Overtrail models. Most GX Premium and Luxury trim buyers will likely never take it over more than aggressive suburban speed humps, but it’s nice to know they still have the most capable off-roader in the Lexus lineup.
Those who buy the Overtrail either want to look tough or test out the transfer case that permits use of the low-range gearset without locking the center differential for off-road switchbacks. The GX Overtrail and Overtrail+ also benefit from an Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS) that can disconnect the front or rear anti-roll bars independently for greater off-road stability.
To cap off an already impressive list of superlatives, the GX boasts a maximum tow rating of 9,096 pounds, way up from the old GX’s fair-to-middling 6,500 pounds. That will surely draw buyers who want to pull camping trailers, boats, and ATVs. The GX 550 also gets a smidge better in the efficiency department. It gets 15 city/21 highway/17 combined, up from the old GX’s 15/19/16. Despite the bump in power, the improved torque at low RPMs and the additional transmission gears both aid in the efficiency effort.
Lexus has pulled off a masterstroke with the new GX, appealing to almost every kind of SUV customer. It’s a head-turner in a form-meets-function kind of way. The GX one-ups itself in the off-road department and finally delivers distinct flavors. An Overtrail+ owner will undoubtedly pull alongside a Luxury+ owner and give the nod of approval, and vice versa. The GX 550 might just be the best SUV redesign we’ve seen in a very long time—and it’s very much worth the wait.
