The Ins and Outs of the Lexus GX 460

 

After introducing the original RX300, Lexus realized a big gap between it and their premium LX470.  The RX300 was just a crossover with limited off-road capability and it could not carry more than five passengers.  On the other hand the LX470 had all the bells and whistles but the price point also stopped most customers.  To continue soak up the booming SUV market Lexus introduced the GX470 in 2003, a capable off-road SUV that is larger and more powerful than the RX but considerably cheaper than the LX470. 

In 2010, the second generation GX460 came out and Lexus put in a lot of modern updates in the vehicle, and it received the mid-cycle facelift treatments for 2014.  The interesting thing is after the facelift, 2014 GX sales have soared through the roof, even outselling itself when first debuting in 2010.  Is the now famous big mouth–grille–on the GX460 what boosted its sales to new heights?  Or is it something else? 

Exterior 

Truth is the original GX 460 never had a very attractive exterior appearance.  The overall boxy look of the SUV is quite similar to the 4Runner–they are cousins after all–but most complained about the front-end especially that awkward headlight design. 

The updated 2014 GX 460 front-end is a huge improvement.  The spindle grille design works well on larger cars in general and it gives the GX460 a more aggressive and beefier front, much like its big brother LX570.  The headlights are greatly improved as well with a more streamlined and meaner design.  The lower turn signal and fog light area still look somewhat weird but there is no argument that the overall presentation put the old design to shame.

 
 

The GX460 still has a side-swinging tailgate. Some think it is more convenient but there are few things to consider. First, the door swings to the wrong side making it hard to load cargo into the car when it is parked on the street. Moreover, the tailgate is noticeably heavier than the one on the GX470, and since it is quite large, you need to make sure you have plenty of space from the car behind you. The pop-out window on the tailgate continues to be a great plus, allowing you to load simple stuff into the cargo area without opening the tailgate. 

The radio head unit now doesn’t have a silly cover across its face, making it a cleaner design. The GX 460 is one of the remaining models with touch-screen navigation. The screen is plenty big and most importantly, it gained the latest navigation updates found on the latest IS.  But of course it suffers the same problem where the navigation system is quite slow in loading.  Our test car didn’t have the Mark Levinson but the audio system performed well. Curiously, it seemed better than the RX350 with the Mark Levinson.

 
 

The driver and passenger seats are big and comfortable though the leather seems to be on the rougher side. The second row hasn’t changed much from pre-facelift but is big improvements over the previous generation. The overall bench got wider and now the seats are front-rear adjustable. 

Depending on the trim levels you either get manual third row seats (our test car) or nicely powered ones. Unlike GX470 where the third row seats are folded and hanged on the side, they fold flat on the GX 460 for better utilization of space and cleanliness. On our test car it was actually not that hard to operate the third row seats. 

Flexibility plays a big role in the GX 460. With either the old GX 470 or the new GX 460, third row room is very tight, especially on the leg room. But with adjustable second row in the GX 460, it’s possible to compromise the second row leg room a bit and drastically improve the leg room for the third row passengers.

 

 
 

 2nd row passenger side seat pulled forward for access to 3rd row.

 

 

3rd row up with no cargo space and limited leg room (2nd row slightly forward from far back position)

 
 

Cargo space 

Of course, there is no free lunch. With the new fold down design on the GX460, it has a higher cargo floor and its overall shorter cargo length makes cargo space quickly shrink to none once the third row is up (whereas in the GX470 you still have some).
The second row now also gets full climate control capability compared to just air circulation in the GX470. You can also activate seat warmers on the second row now, making the vehicle even more desirable in colder regions.

 
 

Driving 

For the most part, the GX 460 is a wonderful SUV on the road. It delivers a very quiet and smooth ride in most road conditions, and noticeably less wind noise compared to the GX 470. The KDSS (Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System) is now standard on all GX460 and it definitely helps on cornering by reducing the amount of body roll. I actually feel the car handles better and more predictable over the RX350 F Sport. The tires provide very good grip as well through quick turns. 

Power delivery though is a problem for this car. The new 4.6L V8 is slightly more efficient than the old 4.7L and it is also quieter, however together with the 6-speed transmission (versus the old five speed), it creates a lack of power and gear hunting issue between 55 to 70mph. Basically once the car is in the 5th gear, it hesitates to downshift causing the car struggle to gain speed. After 70mph with higher rpm the acceleration is fine again. If you floor on the gas more the car will suddenly kick into 4th gear and surge forward but it creates a not-so-smooth ride. 

My only explanation is the transmission programming. For fuel efficiency, the transmission tries to shift into 5th and 6th sixth gear as soon as possible, generally around 50 to 60mph. However with the car being almost 5200lb and engine output at 301hp, it’s simply not enough to propel the vehicle comfortably in those gears, creating this feeling of lack of power. If the transmission programming can be a bit more aggressive and stay in 4th gear for longer or downshift to 4th gear more easily it would likely create a better feel. 

The steering wheel is also improved with better grip and response. I didn’t take the vehicle rock climbing, but in somewhat off-road conditions the GX460 still performed very well in maintaining traction while delivering great ride quality. Even on uneven and sandy roads, the GX 460 didn’t get very bouncy and cabin noise was kept to a minimal too. 

The Secret of Success for 2014 

So what makes the 2014 GX460 facelift such a successful vehicle in sales? It’s not the improved front-end and unlikely the improved steering, the answer is in the price. Most 2010-2016 GX460 was priced around $60k. It was up slightly from the outgoing GX470 and sales were decent the first year, hitting average 1300 copies a month with their best month almost 1800. However sales quickly dove to under 1000 since mid-2011. 

But with the refreshed 2014 GX 460, Lexus offered more flexibility on packages and lower pricing overall. With starting price of under $50k the GX 460 already provides a lot of car for the money. And a lot of the GX460 are now packaged at $55k, making it good $5k cheaper than the 2010-2013 when new. Clearly this is now a great price point for most consumers, as sales jumped right back into the 1500/month range. It’s been on the climb since then too, with the sales touching 2200 units in August 2014. 

For $55k you get a GX460 with a more handsome front-end, latest navigation system, 301hp V8, full-time 4WD, great off-road capability, as well as a third row. Most regular RXs are priced at mid to high $40k and the RX350 F Sport we tested even touched $53k, so for few thousands more you get a lot more with the GX 460. On the other hand, while compromising on space, power, and some other gadgets, the GX 460 is easily $30k cheaper than the LX 570. All these factors make the 2014 GX 460 a very desirable option. A no brainer, really.