brent0226

Down here in Texas, it's pretty rare to see snow. We just took a vacation to Colorado up in the mountains, and we took the GX and a 2wd F150.

First thing we noticed - each time we stopped to refuel the GX and F150 (5.4l V8, 4 speed auto), the GX always took more gas. This was quite surprising considering they were similarly laden and driven right behind each other the whole way.

The GX's engine felt very weak up in the high altitude. I didn't drive the F150 for comparison's sake, but I was surprised that the engine lost that much of its pep. It took forever to pass people.

However, when we got to the snow, it was quite a different story. The only fun our GX's drivetrain had experienced before was a little bit of rain; the snow was the real test. Upon arriving at the cabin with a long, powdered-snow-covered driveway, the GX drove all the way to the front with no problem at all. The F150 turned sideways and got stuck halfway up the driveway (keep in mind we're Texas folk who don't know what snow is ).

I tried a few tests on the system, such as putting the right wheels in snow and the left wheels on pavement; I gave it a lot of gas from a stop, and it just pulled straight forward. I heard no crunching of the traction control system transferring power right to left, which surprised me.

Overall, we were impressed with its capabilities. We did, however, notice a few faults that are annoying:
* the 3rd row seats rattle constantly

* the auto A/C system is seriously a joke; doesn't work nearly as well as the F150's or our Jetta's; the heater in Auto mode is SO loud you have to crank up the stereo

* heated seats are a joke; our Jetta's heated seats get so hot you could fry an egg on them

* navigation system - on the winding roads through the mountains, its map data wasn't perfect; this caused us to jump back and forth between the road and alongside the road, and each time we snapped back to the road, there was a voice prompt "please proceed on [road name]" (which would happen once every 3 minutes or so)

* there just isn't much leg room in the back seat

* the front of the driver's cushion needs to come up higher! and the passenger seat needs to have at LEAST seat height/tilt adjustment (like the RX330)


Here are some things that were impressive:

* tranny is smooth as butter

* headlights are very good, as well as the high-beams

* Mark Levinson ROCKS especially bass!

* steering wheel is comfortable for long stretches

looknow12

Thanks for the review. On the seats, make sure the straps are as tight as can be. If they are not, youll definitely get a rattle. Pull it tight against the velcro.

steevr

Also make sure the seat belts are behind the retaining clips. Ours weren't and the buckles were banging against the side.

brent0226

I've tried pulling the straps really hard before. The back right one still bangs against the edge when going over bumps. I think I'm just going to put a piece of felt between the wall and the little rubber stopper; hopefully that'll cure it

lsy

I just got back from Mammoth Mountain with my GX. The last 5 days, Mammoth has gotten over 50 inches of snow. My GX was out in the snow for the whole trip. I had no problems getting out of the snow drifts, driving around the snow laiden roads and climbing up the snowy hills. I just pointed the GX where I want it to go and it went there with no problems. And this is with no snow chains or snow cables.

Today was the worst day to drive around Mammoth because the snow removal was slow. I guess they had just too much snow to deal with. Some of the roads had around 6 inches of powdered on them, some had packed powder and some with ice under the snow. But I'm happy to say, my GX made me one happy Lexus owner!

On my way out of town today, I did see another GX with snow cables on. Kind of surprised me. Another note, there were alot of GXs up in Mammoth (at least 2 in my complex). Last year, you could count on one had the number of GXs up there. I bet all the GX owners were driving around town with smiles of confidence!

lourdes

I really wish that my 04 GX had Xenons. Not sure why Lexus didn't offer that ....

steevr

Go with the H11 plug and play HID kit from Xenondepot.com. Many of our members in this forum have purchased it (including two sets myself....one for our GX and the other for my in-law's GX) and have been extremely happy. With the projector lenses that our GX have, it's just as is they came from the factory.

lourdes

I was reading that thread last night - did you do the install yourself ? My MB has the Xenon kit and the difference is huge ..

steevr

Lourdes,

Tony posted a DIY step by step guide complete with photo's of our GX's.

Takes about 45 minutes. If you know how to use a wrench to remove the battery cables, you can easily do it yourself.

Here's the thread.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=114059

Kash

yes the xenons make a big differnce