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This is what I was talking about earlier. This may be a little faster but being in a car isn't a 0-60 test constantly or foot to the floor constantly. He said the engine wasn't refined, also commented on the shifty idle that others have with this engine. GX460 was no dragster but oh it was buttery and refined and you felt like you were driving a Lexus. It feels like a mini LX. I was in one earlier today lol. V8 barely has to work even though its numbers aren't the greatest.
Here are some pictures and screen shots from my time in the GX550. I know for many this is minutia, but these are the things that struck me as being a little surprising. Not suggesting these should be deal breakers for anyone set on buying one - but I would at least go and sit in all the seats and feel around a bit to make sure the 550 will be a good fit for you.
There is almost the same amount of usable cargo space behind the third row. On the left is my GX460 with the GX460 cabin air filter box for size and on the right is the GX550 with the same box. Maybe there is an extra inch? Hard to say. Cargo
Here are screen shots from a video where I tug on the magazine pocket in the GX550. Notice that there is no hard backing on the front seats - just the seat material. That causes the entire seat covering to move and give way when the magazine pocket is tugged on. It gives the impression/feeling (at least to me) of the front seats having a third party seat cover on them.
Here is a shot of the back seat arm rest. Notice the stitching and how the covering gathers a bit and seams are not well defined aligned
Front Seat Cup holders. I have a standard 12 oz cup I got from the Lexus barista in the one of the cup holders. The other cup holder is obscured by the plastic cover that can be rolled out over both of them. If you look you can notice that the top of the lid is just at or slightly below the edge of the center console making it a bit fiddly to pick up without accidentally pulling off the lid.
These are not issues to me at all. The arm rest curves for the bracket that holds it. The leather in the 550 is much more premium than the cheap vinyl leather in the 460.
It has a much more premium look inside.
The engine has significantly more torque than the 460, which although smooth, is a sluggish engine.
I've had my 460 for 6 years and 125k miles.
The overall design is amazing but not for everyone. And the body on frame is not for everyone. That's why Lexus makes the TX, this is for the customers that want better mileage, a more on road luxury experience is a large SUV, but don't need 8000 lbs of towing and rock crawling ability.
When the 460 came out, there was tons of criticism compared to the 470. Same with this. The 550 is superior in almost every way. It being slightly bigger might be a negative for some. For the money, it's the most capable SUV in its class. If you don't need the ruggedness, the TX is a really nice option.
The 550 is bigger and more powerful. It delivers great value, as Lexus always does, prices very well for premium features and quality.
"The leather in the 550 is much more premium than the cheap vinyl leather in the 460."
Like the 460, leather is only in the Lux 550 models. The cheap vinyl (nulux) is in the Prem and Overtrail models. Of course it wasn't always the case that there was Nulux in the 460. Originally, all GX460's had leather - even the most stripped down base model. The Lux model (called Premium at the time during the 4 model years from 2010-2013) had Semi-Aniline leather and the non-Prem models all came standard with non semi-aniline leather. One had the option to upgrade to the Semi-Aniline from the base leather. For example, my base 2013 has the semi-aniline leather (as well as power third row, dual auto dimming side mirrors etc.).
I can see why some, even many, would prefer the GX550 over the 460 but I would just make sure if coming from older Lexus products you make sure you spend some time making sure the interior is going to make you happy.
The engine issue in the tundra and LX is minor and already addressed. I wouldn't worry about it at all.
Seriously? Not worry about it? You’re definitely a car salesman…..they haven’t even come out with a remedy yet. My dealer says that’s at least 5 months out. Dealers won’t take them in on a trade either…oh, and they have to remove the long block, yeah don’t worry about it LMAO
I have an RX-450H with semi-aniline leather (it's plastic coated like most leathers of course and only leather on the seating surfaces) and an ES-350 with NuLuxe. The NuLuxe is far softer and wears much better than the real leather with less cracks and wrinkles over time. Far prefer the NuLuxe! The interior of the 550 very plasticky and not all as soft or well appointed as my 450 which has carbon fiber and Yamaha real wood throughout. Looks like $80k is the new $40k. After looking at the new GX 550 and the new 4Runner and about 12 other higher end SUVS of all brands I still come back to the GX and 4 Runner despite the high prices and stark interiors. They are just the best for me right now. I had a deposit on the Toyota LC but it's poor acceleration and extremely bad brake performance turned me off and I'm going to move that deposit over to the 4Runner. The LC also looks too much like the new Ford Bronco!
These guys can be kinda clueless and the last people to listen to about the GX - goatee guy used to drive around and argue that it makes sense to drive around in the winter in Utah in a Lotus. These are 0 to 60 guys who can only understand sports cars. They are so pleased with themselves with the G Wagon comp when clearly it is the Defender Lexus is benchmarking.
Just got my GX550 Lux+ - It is loaded and cost was 87K + TTL - out the door 95K.
I paid no markup.
Very good sales experience
Not disappointed. It is very well appointed, and true to "real" SUV - truck based , and quality is excellent
Is the 10 year warranty, or the tire protection package worth it
Hey everyone. Im in the market to buy one of these but cannot choose between the Premium+ and the OT (non-plus). They are both about the same price and near the top of my budget. Going to an OT+ is unfortunately not an options.
With that said I really want the OT but the lack of "seat memory" is holding me up. I am 6'7" and my wife is 5'9" so needless to say we move seats around quite a bit.
Does anyone think adding this would be easy .. meaning maybe a button and some coding... or is it missing ecu modules and crap too?
Hey everyone. Im in the market to buy one of these but cannot choose between the Premium+ and the OT (non-plus). They are both about the same price and near the top of my budget. Going to an OT+ is unfortunately not an options.
With that said I really want the OT but the lack of "seat memory" is holding me up. I am 6'7" and my wife is 5'9" so needless to say we move seats around quite a bit.
Does anyone think adding this would be easy .. meaning maybe a button and some coding... or is it missing ecu modules and crap too?
I believe they all have seat memory, that would be a strange thing to omit when it's on every model.
Of course you can also get the Land Cruiser premium edition with real leather, memory seats, nice 265/60 ridge grappler tires for a little less than the 550. The first edition LC is pricy but has the rails and skid plate.
I actually like the LC power train more, the iforce 4. The LC loaded with the tire upgrade and premium package is very nice and a few thousand less.
06-04-24, 03:57 PM
