ADVocate

I never do understand these questions. If you have to ask people to justify why you should get a particular item, don't bother. If your wife cannot justify the difference in price, why proceed. She would probably not appreciate the upscale details. The reason the product line exists, IS to cater to people who can appreciate the differences. Some people masquerade their viewpoint in order to diminish the difference between the two vehicles. The two vehicles are just that, TWO different vehicles. Even after seeing the interior, if your wife is still on the fence about the worthiness of the purchase. Simply do what your comfortable with.

GatorGreg

Yeah the difference between taking my GX for service vs. taking my Spyder for service is like night and day. At Lexus, I am greeted by hot service babes (I don't think that's their official title though ) who cater to my every (well almost every) need. At Toyota, I'm lucky if someone even notices when I drive up

dholling13

4 runner has what feels to be a chop top roof, none of the cool suspension stuff, nor audio toys. Buy the GX because the wifey is worth it.

tigmd99

It's interesting about the 4runner vs. GX suspension options. The GX has the adjustable suspension, rear air bags, and optional KDSS. The KDSS is now seen in the '08 Toyota Land Cruiser.

The 4runner has optional rear air suspension and XREAS. The '08 LX570 has the electronic version of XREAS from the 4runner.

It seems like Toyota and Lexus trade suspension secrets on the new TLC/LX570.

rj4510

If you're happy with your Toyota dealers service and can't tell the difference between the two, go with the 4Runner. I've never been able to get a straight answer from any of my area Toyota dealers. I also found that up front, the Lexus seemed to cost more for service, but in the end, my Toyota dealer would always find a way to make a $300 quote add up to $1,200. I end up finding a way home or renting a car and return to a dirty car with grease stains on my interior.

My Lexus dealer on the other hand tells me it's $1,200 for the same type of service, I get sticker shock, a free loaner car, coffee and pastry and am sent on my way. I return to a nicely washed car, detailed interior, another round of snacks if I wish, a smile and a big thank you for doing business with them.

Even the Ford and Dodge dealers in my area try harder than Toyota. it's a real shame, but I left Toyota because of it. I just couldn't leave the company, because reliability is huge in my book.

All said and done, the GX is a far more refined vehicle and I got used to the barn door I originally hated. The seats, ride, noise level and sound system are far superior and I can't seem to wipe off that stupid looking grin when I drive it.

lonewolf69

... with Gas prices soaring as it is now and crude going for $110.00 per barrel... sometimes I wish, I didn't have a 4WD V8, a V6 with 2WD sounds mighty tempting...

But then I sit in the GX with the PLUSH leather seats and the Mark Levinson entertainment package and it does soothe the soul for a a bit, until reality sets in and I need to fill her up again...

I'm so STOKED for a hybrid GX or Diesel GX....


-Alex

<VENOM>

I think the best thing is to let her pick what she wants especially if she is gonna be driving it.

The GX compared to a Limited, small things are different but your still driving a vehicle that is way better then many of cars on the road, Toyota dealers are hit and miss with service and treatment but Lexus is all out baller status but you pay for it

Depending on the area some dealers configure V6 and V8 Limiteds differently, around me a V6 does not come with Nav, they supposedly exist, if you start looking at V6 Sports and SR5 then most that would consider a GX will never consider the 4Runner.

If you do get a 4Runner get it with Xreas, handles so much better

The G Man

Thats one of the reason why I traded in my GX, I was getting sick of the $60 to $70 fill ups every 5 days.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

So, what did you get? Let's look at the math and see if you're saving money.

Kidding aside, in MOST cases, trading vehicles to improve gas mileage doesn't make economic sense (just like buying a hybrid often doesn't). I've seen sooo many people make trades such as the following (example based on 15,000 miles per year):
Vehicle A @ 18 MPG uses 833 gallons of fuel
Vehicle B @ 25 MPG uses 600 gallons of fuel
So they trade for Vehicle B, save 233 gallons per year @ $3.30 per gallon = $769 annual savings.

So, they spend several thousand dollars to trade for the higher MPG vehicle, and give up Vehicle A which they really prefer to drive instead of Vehicle B, yet in the longer run may be worse off. Of course there are often other factors to consider, but many times, the trade just doesn't make sense on a MPG/money savings basis -- it is just an emotional knee-jerk reaction to the OMG! Gas is $3.xx per gallon!

(Not saying that the above is G-Man's scenario -- just saying that I see it a lot.)

The G Man

Lol, I know trading in a car just for mileage doesnt make sense. The mileage was one of the reason but not the only reason. I usually trade cars in every 3 or 4 years anyways. This time, I traded the GX in a year early for the GS. I get 50% better mileage and 1000% more fun to drive and tons more toys on the GS. The main reason was my wife just bought a SUV, so there is no need for 2 SUV in the family. I figure I should trade in my GX because its a big V8 and the trade in value on trucks with big V8 engines are dropping like crazy. I got a decent trade in value but I figure the longer I wait, when gas hits $5 a gallon, the worst the situation will be.

BobsGX

I hope you get a creak and rattle free GS since most of them have those problems. A couple of months ago I was thinking of trading in my 07 GX for an 08 GS460. While I did like the GS, reading about all the creaks and rattles put the GS out of my head. And now 2 months later, I'm glad I kept the GX. I would miss riding up so high as compared to the GS. Can't beat the visibility and the ease of carrying things in the rear.

The G Man

BobGX, my GS have the famous dash creaks in the cold weather. I took it into the dealer 3 weeks ago and they have a tech who specialize in the GS rattles, imagine that Anyway, he install a noise kit from Lexus and the problem is gone. The dealers are getting real good at the GS rattle problems. I must admit, my GX was solid, no rattles for 3 years.
The GS rattle can be fix, it’s a good thing it’s a Lexus, not something like a Range Rover. My Lexus dealer bend over backwards trying to fix the rattle problems. I am still getting use to my new low rider, but I don’t really miss the ride height of the GX as much I thought I would. The GX is actually too high for my taste, it tough getting in and out and the height makes highway driving more work than it should be. I prefer the ride height of the RX much better. When ever we need to carry something big, we just take my wife's SUV. We find ourselves taking out the GS a lot more than the SUV, especially on weekends.

lonewolf69

I6Turbo,

You're right "economically" speaking if you work out the math it might not be better, but D*MN, "pyscologically" speaking, it seems to be better...

I find myself going to the GAS station every 4 ~ 5 days to fill up, but my camry needs to get filled up every two weeks...

Situation, 4 weeks of commute on each car for my job:
GX every week I have to fill up
Camry twice during the 4 weeks
This was a little unscientific experiment and the entire experiment took a grand total of 8 weeks for both cars.

Daily commute from my house to the train station and NO other trips, something is not right. I"m thinking with a HYBRID or a 6 cylnder engine, I can stretch my 4 week commute to maybe 2 or 3 fill ups instead of the 4 that I'm currently used to on the GX.

It's getting late and I KNOW I'm not making much sense with this post, but hopefully you guys can read this and "extrapolate" what I'm trying to say..>?

Again, please to rip me a new ONE, this was truly an UN scientific approach but PAID for with my time and wallet and my experience may be different than yours (YMMV), but for me, I'm not liking the fact that I have to visit the GAS station every 4~5 days (FACT)....

rj4510

It really comes down to whether you think you need an SUV or not, or if you can get by with a smaller one. For me, deck height was a big factor determining whether or not my dogs could jump in an out of the car or travel with enough room to lay down. The RX was out of the question. There were a few wagons I could have purchased, but none I liked.

People generally want to pay for something they like as well. We can all probably get by on lesser cars, but every time we had to make a payment, we'd be thinking we wish we had a quieter, more plush, more powerful more whatever car. Undoubtedly gas mileage is a factor, but it's not everything and especially not much when comparing 4Runners and Gxs.

What I find kind of strange is how we on this forum will pay thousands more for a GX over the 4Runner and then complain about the gas mileage. If it's between a 4Runner and a GX, gas mileage is not a big factor. not even on the V6. I used to have a V6 4Runner and usually averaged 19mpg and now I get 17 on my GX. That's about 10% better on the 4Runner, but very little in terms of real savings.

lonewolf69

RJ,

I didn't really "complain" about the GAS mileage until GAS really started to climb over $3 per gallon. I've had the GX for many years with NARY a complaint. Don't get me wrong, I still love my GX, but that LOVE been "strained" a bit lately...

As I've said, it's just the dialy grind of having to go to the gas pump every 4 or 5 days when my other car only goes there once every other week. Wasn't really expecting a lecture/reprimand for voicing my opinion...

'nuff said...


-Alex