I had been fiending to give more Toyota off-road offerings a try ever since I drove a 2020 Land Cruiser Heritage Edition last fall. I’d slightly fallen in love with this massive beast, and wanted to know if, elsewhere in the Toyota/Lexus lineup, there was something that could compare. And for a considerably lower price.
Enter the 2021 Lexus GX 460. It’s not a Toyota, and it’s not a dolled-up, re-badged Land Cruiser. It’s something that’s a tad leaner (just a tad) and narrower, offers a bit more luxury, and is actually built in the same factory as the Land Cruiser in Aichi, Japan. It’s marketed elsewhere as a smaller Land Cruiser, too; surely there’s a good chance it’d stack up in all the ways I dug the ‘Cruiser, namely how fun it was off the well-traveled tarmac of Southern California.
So then, what’s the GX all about? After a recent seven-day stretch with one in top trim, I was not disappointed. Here’s how it all went.
Big thanks to Lexus for lending me this Premium trim, Atomic Silver example for this review. At the very base, the Premium is $64,365. My tester, after various additional opulence, appearance, and off-road options, came out to $71,690 after delivery (this means it's already a hair cheaper than a base Land Cruiser, by the way).
The GX Is All About Big, Athletic, and Capable Looks
The GX 460’s exterior hasn’t changed in a while since its debut as a second-gen model around ten years ago, with the most noticeable exception being up front. Taking up a lot of real estate in this region is its very, very large front grille with sharp LED headlights, which were thrown on in 2020 to spruce it up a tad. Elsewhere, key to its aesthetic for more than a decade (way more, even) are its large, pronounced wheel arches with all the room in the world for clearance and articulation beneath them. So large in fact, that its body-on-frame design is immediately noticeable (you can literally see its substantial frame from within the wheel arch), signifying that this isn’t an everyday, unibody SUV, but rather a genuine truck chassis.
It's generally athletic-looking, and exudes the look of a truck that can be driven over and through anything. It also sits up quite high, offering a commanding view of the road. All of these features, combined with being very narrow (just 74 inches wide; 5 inches less than a new Land Rover Defender), means it's designed for one thing: capability on more than just city streets.
It might look more upscale, and feel more upscale as well (more on that later), but this luxury truck’s true high-card is off-road driving. It’s actually the platform-sibling to the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, a sturdy truck that’s sold all over the world, and beloved for its toughness and reliability. The GX is essentially a Prado with some upscale design features and luxury.
One of the Quietest, Most Pleasant Places To Be For the Money
Inside, my Luxury trim tester was fully outfitted with upgraded, burgundy leather seats with both heating and cooling, 330-watt Mark Levinson sound system, and three-zone climate control. Leather adorned the door cards and dash as well, with substantial-feeling switchgear and surfaces to fill in the rest of the GX’s interior touch points. It was a plush, quiet, and comfortable place to be, with great visibility all around and great ergonomics. I fit in it quite nicely, and bet every other body type and height would as well.
The three-zone climate control was quick to toggle and functioned flawlessly in 100+ degree Fahrenheit heat. I had the opportunity to take it off-roading at Southern California’s Hungry Valley OHV Park, and despite the heat, added stress on the power and drivetrain from crawling up some serious rocky grades at low speeds, and running the A/C and vented seats on high all day, I never saw the water temp gauge reach halfway.
The GX offered so much comfort in such a harsh environment. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lexus specifically engineered the GX/Prado to be able to mob across roads peppered with sand dunes in Dubai, in the middle of the Summer, while maintaining a pleasant 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
My tester featured Lexus’s OG infotainment system; those who’ve paid any attention to the brand since at least the early 2010s will almost certainly recognize it. This is due to Lexus not really being too keen on upgrading in this department—it looks a bit dated. While people seem to lambast the brand for this, I actually find it to be endearing. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here. The system moves smoothly between screens, makes Bluetooth connections quickly, isn’t overly complicated, and has a nice, big, easy-to-read screen.
Sure, modern infotainment systems are far ahead of this design and features-wise, but I appreciate Lexus staying on the conservative side of development here. I’ve experienced more than a few headaches navigating the latest-and-greatest by some manufacturers, Lexus’s strategy is rather refreshing.
A Sturdy, Tried, And True V8 Powertrain, Bolted Up To Four-Wheel Drive
Beneath the GX 460’s massive hood lives Lexus’s 4.6-liter 1UR-FE V8 that produces 301 hp and 329 lb-ft of torque. Despite propelling this 5,192-pound beast via full-time four-wheel drive, it’ll still reach 60 mph from a standstill in 7.4 seconds.
Due to its gearing and low-end torque, the 460 was a joy to launch away from stop lights. Further up in the gear ratios, it also had plenty of power on-tap to get up to speed on the highway and carve past slower drivers with ease. Its 6-speed automatic transmission operated very smoothly, which was perhaps the least-truck-like aspect to it; no clunk when shifting into reverse like other trucks I’ve tested, and buttery-smooth shifting in all scenarios.
Full-time four-wheel drive is the only available drivetrain, and it's quite good. Low-speed turns didn’t reveal any conflict between the front and rear differentials. Off-road, it dug in and gripped all surfaces without any issue. It has various modes for off-road driving, but quickly turning off the road and right into a deep gravel path didn’t require any of them, just more persuasion with my right foot. This is the mark of a truly capable and fun rig.
My tester was equipped with the Off Road Package, which included a fuel tank protector, transmission cooler, a panoramic view monitor in the center infotainment screen, and configurable modes for more ease in low-grip scenarios. It was a total champ off-road, from deep gravel to washboard surfaces and crawling up and down some very menacing grades. I’ve driven some very capable off-roaders in the past year, and the GX is among the best. It refused to flinch at literally anything I threw at it.
There are several physical switches and buttons located between front passengers in the center console for configuring the GX’s Multi-Terrain Select off-road settings, all of which are easy to figure out and toggle. Locking the center differential for climbs and descents, as well as changing between four-wheel high and four-wheel low, were no-nonsense.
Descent control was essentially downhill cruise control, and despite the ABS system producing some odd clicking and clacking noises, it did a great job getting me safely down a pretty menacing hill. The speed at which it dove down was adjustable on the fly as well; this could be a great party trick for any off-roader who’s inclined to scare the living daylights out of their passengers.
An Excellent Ride With Straight-Axle, Body-On-Frame Undertones
Calmly cruising around the street, the GX was very docile. Its featherlight steering, small-for-its-size turning radius, and narrow body made navigating tight, Los Angeles streets quite easy. I never thought I’d call a 5,192-pound off-roader a great city car, but it was actually great for such a hectic task.
Rather surprisingly, the 2021 GX 460 has hydraulic power steering. This is surprising because it seems like electrically-assisted steering racks have become far more commonplace for all trucks and SUVs in this day and age. Yet another aspect that sort of reminds us that the GX hasn’t changed much over the past ten-or-more years. Again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Due to being the Luxury trim, my tester was equipped with optional air suspension, which could be configured between Comfort and Sport, or even raised up for more off-road clearance at low speed. There wasn’t a whole lot of difference between Sport and Comfort, just slightly more cushioning over sharper bumps in the road when configured to the latter. Combined with double-wishbone independent suspension up front, and four-link independent suspension in the rear, the ride was quite comfortable, yet still felt nicely-planted.
Engineering in its independent double-wishbone front suspension are arms meant to decrease brake dive, which improved comfort even more on city streets as well as slowing down quickly for impending traffic on the highway.
The fact that it's a body-on-frame truck with a genuine live, straight-axle out back shined through; there was no mistaking the way it rode over bumps and undulations. I dug this for sure; it’s a big, comfortable truck that’s great in-town and has great modern amenities, but it never lets you forget that it’s all business underneath, ready to drive over whatever the road turns into ahead.
With 13.3-inch ventilated discs up front, and 12.3-inch ventilated discs in the rear, the GX’s brakes were plenty strong for all forms of city street and highway driving, and maintained confidence off-road.
A Brilliant Mix of Old and New
The GX 460 is a very capable, comfortable, and easy-to-live-with truck. I averaged just below 19 MPG during my week-long stint with it, and really enjoyed its do-everything charm. Everything I threw at this mighty while off-roading was quickly brushed off by its excellent, electronic off-road assistance tech, blended with a good ol’ fashion center-locking differential, narrow body, excellent ground clearance, and good approach (21 degrees), breakover (23 degrees), and departure (21 degrees) angles.
As far as stacking up with the Toyota Land Cruiser goes: it's definitely a solid, less-expensive, and easier-to-live-with alternative.
Lexus has been quite conservative in the GX’s progression over the past eleven-whole-years, but it’s obviously working for them; they’ve consistently sold over 25,000 units in the U.S. since 2015. And after my week with it, I can see why. It’s a well-built, great-to-live-with truck, with tons of room, decent gas mileage, as well as an undoubtedly epic amount of capability off-road. It is the high-key “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Word on the street is this mantra will continue at least through next year, too.