2010 Lexus GX 460 sticks to its trucky roots

The 2002 Lexus GX 470 was little more than a Toyota 4Runner with a healthy dollop of Lexus luxury on top, but at the time, it didn't have to be anything more than that. It seemed just about every automaker that had an SUV in the stable was introducing an uplevel version to capitalize on American consumers' insatiable appetite for luxury sport-utes, so why not Toyota? Lexus had already adopted the full-size Land Cruiser, so it made sense to bring along the 4Runner for the slightly less well-heeled.

Although it didn't set the charts on fire, the GX won over enough people that Lexus has continued churning it out virtually unchanged until now. In fact, the company easily moved every 2009 model it made. Still, even the best vehicles need to be updated from time to time, and with an all-new 2010 4Runner hitting dealers, it was time for this Lexus to undergo a similar overhaul. But the state of the economy, environment and the changing luxury SUV market itself meant that the Japanese automaker needed to rethink a few things for its sophomore endeavor. And it has.

We spent time on and off road in San Diego County during our stint with the new 2010 Lexus GX 460, and what we have learned was quite surprising. Despite the market's shift toward crossovers, the GX is still body-on-frame and has a V8, full-time four-wheel drive and takes up just as much space as the previous generation model. It still looks like a truck, drives like a truck and handles like a truck. But is that such a bad thing? Is there still a place for this type of vehicle... or is it simply an anachronism from a once-thriving, but now rapidly vanishing market? Follow the jump to see what we discovered.
The first order of business is to address the look of this new Lexus. Although it's nearly identical to the recently released European Land Cruiser, a few details separate it from its Stateside counterpart, and although it shares its platform with the 2010 4Runner, it actually looks more like the big brother USDM Land Cruiser and Lexus LX 570. Specifically, those rear wheel arches that dominate half of its profile prove that the new GX is still designed to captivate bigger-is-better truck lovers. No sissy RX crossover curves for this bad boy. It's a truck and doesn't want anyone to forget it.

The all-new body rides on a second-generation frame essentially unchanged in its dimensions. The wheelbase is identical, but the length goes up by an inch, the width increases by 0.2 inches and while ground clearance stays the same, the overall height is down a couple of inches due to the revised roof rails. The streamlined roof rack is part of an overall effort to clean-up the design – a brief that also includes the relocation of the rear hatch's lock, handle and wiper into recessed, hidden positions. Love it or hate it, it's definitely a rugged looking vehicle, even if we think it looks like it could have debuted in 2000 just as easily as 2010.



Although the rear door is still a left-opening swing gate, Lexus has added a convenient flip-up function for the rear glass to make it much easier to toss a few items in or lift lighter objects out. The fact that this second-generation luxury SUV still lacks a proper swing up rear hatch seems inexcusable, but Toyota execs were quick to point out that the mechanism works quite well for most needs and that the move to top hinges would change weight distribution, complexity and cost. We'd guess that if every other manufacturer out there can make it work, Toyota should be able to as well.

The changes to the interior are probably less controversial. Lexus has adopted a fresh color palette as well as new wood for the doors and dash. It definitely looks cleaner and more modern, with a particularly tidy center stack that features a sliding panel to cover some auxiliary controls for the stereo. With an announced base price of $51,970 and $56,765 for the Premium edition, you'd expect a ton of standard features inside, and Lexus doesn't disappoint.



The standard dash setup has a 4.2-inch display screen, while nav-equipped cars get a bright eight-inch unit. That screen also displays images from the front, side and rear cameras for off-roading, backing up and parking. It also shows the helpful parking guidelines in cars with the optional Intuitive Parking Assist.

The center console is roomy and features split adjustable armrests, standard USB/iPod ports, as well as suspension settings and crawl control switches on vehicles so-equipped. The standard stereo system sounds good enough but doesn't hold a candle to the optional 17-speaker, 7.1-channel Mark Levinson system in one of our testers. We'd definitely pop for it along with the rear seat entertainment system that puts screens behind each front seat headrest.

The front chairs are comfortable and supportive, and feature standard heating and ventilation. The second row now has a 60/40 split with the smaller passenger side seat incorporating a new flip and slide feature to allow better access to the now-standard third row. Somehow Lexus managed to improve legroom for both the second and third row, despite the fact that most other interior dimensions are slightly smaller.



The third row is one of the biggest changes for this second-gen GX. It's not the most comfortable place to sit during a long drive, but should be fine for children or even adults on short runs. A switch on the rear hatch folds the rear thrones into the floor, and while overall cargo volume is down slightly, we doubt that small amount will be missed for the added convenience of this wünder-bench.

There are only six GX SUVs in the country, and they would be needed at the upcoming LA Auto Show – intact.

As you might expect from a new Lexus, there is enough technology inside this LuxUte to choke a horse. The 2010 GX 460 features a boatload of safety features like active front headrests that move up to support your head in certain types of accidents, a newly available Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS) that follows steering inputs through curves, high intensity discharge (HID) headlights, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) that boosts braking when the system determines it's needed, a class-leading ten standard airbags, an optional Pre-Collision System (PCS) that includes Dynamic Radar Cruise Control and an optional Driver Attention Monitor and Lane Departure Alert (LDA).

That last feature is not new in the industry, but it's pretty slick nonetheless. It uses two small cameras mounted up front to detect lane departures and another steering column-mounted camera that reads the driver's face. An alert is sounded if the system detects that the driver isn't looking straight ahead for a few seconds and an object appears in the road ahead. If the system anticipates a collision it will alter the steering ratio in anticipation of sharp steering inputs and will also pre-tighten the seat belts. We didn't get a chance to test anything but the dynamic cruise control, which we barely felt kick in to back off our speed a bit as we started to gain on a slower-moving car ahead.



We can't wait to dive into these features more thoroughly in our upcoming full review. One area worth delving into now though is the mechanicals. As the name implies, the 2010 GX 460 now features a slightly smaller 4.6-liter V8 from the Tundra pickup. In this application it puts out a robust 301 horsepower and 329 pound-feet of torque. That's up nearly 40 HP over the outgoing 4.7-liter V8, yet this new GX gets 13 percent better fuel economy at 15/20 MPG. Still not exactly Prius-rivaling numbers, but respectable for a 5,300-pound luxury SUV that can seat seven, tow 6,500 pounds and sprint from 0-60 in a couple of ticks less than eight seconds.

The engine feels strong on the road and the new six-speed transmission makes the most of that power. The cabin is quiet even when matting the throttle to the floor, and over the course of a 30-minute run down a blissfully traffic-free Southern California freeway, we never had to raise our voices to be heard. It's sedan quiet and nearly sedan smooth. When we finally reached our exit and transitioned onto twisty side roads, we were surprised by the lack of body roll – it's there, but doesn't compromise the ride or handling – so it simply drives like any other Lexus. That is until we reached our destination – The Vessels Ranch, home to championship-winning racehorses for 60 years.



We had been given a route book and some basic instructions. These were the only GX SUVs in the country and they would be needed at the upcoming LA Auto Show – intact. As such we needed to take it easy and be mindful of the running boards and expensive 18-inch wheels. Imagine our surprise then when our route through the ranch took us from gravel roads to rutted paths between the corrals, to steep and dusty hills through the surrounding avocado orchards. Not exactly rock crawling at Moab, but a lot more rugged than we expected.

That's when we started to appreciate the "real truck" ingredients underneath this GX – Torsen center differential, front independent coil-spring suspension, rear live-axle with four-link suspension featuring coil springs on base models and pneumatic cylinder air suspension on Premium trim vehicles, and the new electronically controlled transfer case, which loses the shift lever in favor of a button on the console. Our Premium tester even had the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which is now standard on all 2010 GX 460 models. The system allows greater wheel travel by essentially disconnecting the anti-roll bars in off-road situations. Back on tarmac, KDSS reattaches the bars hydraulically, reducing body roll and improving handling. It's an amazing bit of tech.



The ranch route gave us a chance to try out the adjustable suspension settings, full-time four-wheel drive, crawl control feature and even the front and side wide-view cameras. The GX handled everything we threw at it with so much aplomb that we suddenly realized what this vehicle is all about. Folks who have owned or driven Toyota 4Runners or Land Cruisers or their LX or GX brethren know that these things can handle trails. Sure, a Jeep Wrangler or Hummer H2/3 can tackle even more rugged terrain, but we're guessing the GX would be good enough or better for the average buyer's off-roading needs. The fact that not many people will need to ford a stream or tackle a mud bog – let alone drop hay bales around their hilly 2,000 acre ranch – doesn't negate the value of the GX 460.

It may seem antiquated to those who would never consider going anywhere that isn't covered in concrete or asphalt. For those who do, they don't have to give up their luxury car ride and amenities, nor do they have to settle for a full-size SUV that takes up more space and costs more to own and operate. It's definitely a shrinking market, but Lexus is convinced it will be able to maintain its 25 percent market share – it only needs to find 14,000 buyers to meet that goal.

The 2010 Lexus GX 460 is trucky and proud of it. It feels sturdy and gives its owner the confidence to tackle almost any situation. Add in the typical array of Lexus amenities and safety features and you'll also have confidence that you and your family will be comfortable and safe along the way, wherever the trail may take you.