2026 Lexus GX assessment | CarExpert

The Lexus GX was as soon as forbidden fruit in Australia, however its introduction appears to have gone down properly with native patrons.

Arriving in Australian showrooms in mid-2024, it has since develop into the favorite within the profitable high-end upper-large SUV section – although there’s a catch. Whereas it outsold the likes of the BMW X7, it fell wanting extra direct off-road rivals just like the Land Rover Defender – even when they’re classed in numerous worth segments – by a substantial margin.

That’s to be anticipated although, because the GX is pretty dear and rather more area of interest than different ladder-frame SUVs that provide diesel energy. Crucial issue, nonetheless, is the GX’s platform, which is surprisingly versatile throughout the Toyota steady.

Constructed on the model’s TNGA-F body-on-frame platform, the GX is said to Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Collection, 250 Collection Prado and Tundra pickup, in addition to its premium model’s bigger Lexus LX. The GX is simply out there with a V6 petrol engine, which retains it from cannibalising gross sales of the intently associated, four-cylinder diesel-powered Prado.

With all that in thoughts, is the GX nonetheless value contemplating in 2026?

How a lot does the Lexus GX value?

Occupying the center of the three-grade GX vary, the Sports activities Luxurious is priced at $124,840 earlier than on-road prices.

The GX’s most direct rival is the Defender, which in five-door guise begins at $99,500 earlier than on-roads when fitted with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol possibility bumps costs above the GX, to $124,300 earlier than on-roads.

In any other case, the Nissan Patrol V8 tops out at $110,660 earlier than on-roads, whereas the Prado vary tops out at $100,690 earlier than on-roads in flagship Kakadu trim.

You could possibly additionally think about the LandCruiser 300 Collection, which begins at $99,340 earlier than on-roads in base GX trim and tops out at a hefty $147,910 earlier than on-roads for the flagship Sahara ZX.

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

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What’s the Lexus GX like on the within?

Your view of the GX’s inside will differ relying on whether or not you’re it or sitting in it.

If you happen to’re simply trying, its awkward design is difficult to disregard. The dashboard is big and imposing, and it appears to finish fairly abruptly with the sharp air vent housings at both finish floating aimlessly close to the facet home windows.

It’s not significantly slick in its traces or display integration, making the inside look haphazard and inconsistent with the trendy look of most different trendy Lexus cabins. The sprint additionally sits fairly excessive, with a really slim platform, which when mixed with the slim windscreen creates odd aesthetic proportions.

However when you’re within the driver’s seat, all of it feels very correct. The upright sprint – and beautiful darkish inexperienced metallic paint on the bonnet – makes it really feel such as you’re within the cockpit of a navy car, supplying you with an actual sense of presence behind the wheel.

You’ll additionally discover the cabin’s ergonomics are spot-on, as every part falls properly at hand. It’s straightforward to get comfy due to a variety of changes within the leather-appointed seats – full with a luxe therapeutic massage operate – that are comfy and supportive by default.

Then comes materials alternative. Highlights embrace tasteful gunmetal accents, grain-textured plastics, and leather-finished surfaces. However the standout is, by far, the leather-wrapped steering wheel.

With its excellent thickness, properly proportioned total diameter, and silky-smooth end, it’s super-satisfying to carry. We’re keen to forgive a few of the cabin’s ungainly design cues when Lexus has nailed the only merchandise you work together with most.

The buttons on the wheel, nonetheless, are noticeably much less satisfying. Fortunately, they’re actual buttons that aren’t completed in piano black, however their click on feels a bit low cost, missing the strong, meaty motion of the buttons in another Toyota vehicles.

Steering wheel heating continues to be normal right here, as is electrical adjustment. The stalks and paddle shifters are intuitive and in addition really feel sturdy, even when the latter are solely plastic – metallic could be good.

If you happen to’re used to trendy Toyotas, you gained’t discover something new with the GX’s screens. That’s not a nasty factor although, as a result of the 14-inch infotainment show is a top quality unit with crisp graphics and snappy loading instances. As a facet word, the Mark Levinson sound system right here isn’t fairly as punchy as we’d have preferred.

Bodily local weather controls are stripped again in typical Toyota vogue, leaving them digital and locked in an always-on ribbon on the backside of the show. These controls are not less than giant and legible, however we do want the 2 classy-looking bodily dials have been notchier of their rotation.

The instrument show, in the meantime, is pretty neat. We like its simplistic graphics, and the choice to show readouts like battery voltage and oil stress is cool and unusual in lots of new vehicles – even when they’re a bit wasted in GX fashions with out auxiliary electrical fittings and the like.

It’s nonetheless considerably cumbersome to navigate utilizing the buttons on the steering wheel, so a while spent determining every completely different structure and learn how to entry the assorted settings menus gained’t go amiss.

Storage up entrance isn’t as beneficiant because the automobile’s boxy physique would recommend. Certain, the centre console homes the same old pair of cupholders beneath a sliding cowl, plus a single wi-fi telephone charger, a big, conventional gear selector and an array of different buttons, however what’s with that sloped panel up entrance?

The drive mode selector and different buttons make sense, however there’s a lot wasted house right here. It doesn’t make sense to have a cutesy sliding cowl only for the 12V outlet; certainly this space may’ve been ‘dug out’ to put in a further storage cubby beneath the central air vents? At the least the 2 USB-C ports are simply accessible.

In any other case, there’s a small-ish passenger-side glovebox, small bottle holders within the door playing cards, and a small cubby underneath the central armrest that doubles as a refrigerated cool field. It’s a disgrace, and it does get awkward when you’re doing a highway journey with a number of individuals.

The second row is spacious, although headroom is once more unexpectedly compromised. You are feeling such as you sit fairly excessive within the again in comparison with the entrance, and ceiling house is sadly compromised by the in any other case luxe, dimmable, fixed-glass roof.

There’s no restrict to creature comforts although, as there’s a devoted local weather panel and two USB-C ports on the again of the centre console, together with heating for the outboard seats. Air vents are discovered within the ceiling, and legroom is first rate when you’re not caught within the center.

It’s the same story for the 2 third-row seats, which aren’t all that comfy however might be serviceable for brief journeys. All sides will get two cupholders and a USB-C port, and you may electrically increase and decrease every seat utilizing switches within the boot. Cupboard space is considerably decreased within the course of.

Talking of, the GX’s boot is much extra sensible and bigger than that of its awkwardly packaged Prado (182L-906L-1829L) platform-mate. A powered tailgate is normal, permitting full entry to the sq., spacious cargo maintain – reducing the third and second rows of seats creates a very cavernous house.

Topping it off is a 230V outlet on the motive force’s facet of the boot, together with a full-size spare mounted underneath the car.

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

What’s underneath the bonnet?

The beating coronary heart of the GX550 is a 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, producing 260kW of energy and 650Nm of torque. Drive is distributed to all 4 wheels through a 10-speed automated transmission.

It’s value noting that the Sports activities Luxurious is the one GX grade with 3130kg braked towing as normal, as the opposite two variants provide 3500kg.

Our time with the GX550 was longer than ordinary. This included every week’s value of regular freeway commuting in usually poor Melbourne visitors, offset by freer-flowing nation driving.

This was adopted by a 400km-long highway journey hauling a full boot’s value (with each rear rows folded) of tenting gear and gear, adopted by roughly 40km of low-speed driving on rough-ish grime roads.

Over that diverse driving, our tester recorded increased common gas financial system than what Lexus claims. It’s under no circumstances stunning that the GX is thirsty, however one thing value contemplating nonetheless.

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

How does the Lexus GX drive?

Maybe satirically for a big luxurious SUV bought alongside the car-based Lexus RX, the enemy of the GX is its ladder-frame platform, which appears to undermine lots of the Lexus-flavoured enhancements over the associated Prado.

If you happen to’ve pushed the present Prado, significantly a lower-spec variant with out adaptive damping, you’ll know that it’s unexpectedly agency and uncomfortable on bumpy sealed roads. Sadly, that appears to be a trait of this platform, as a result of the GX Sports activities Luxurious left us underwhelmed.

Its experience simply isn’t as supple as we’d have hoped, even with the adaptive damping. It’ll crash and buck over bumps, throwing its occupants round inside and producing a raft of regarding noises from the back-end within the course of – doubtless from the inside plastics, however nonetheless.

We presume the colossal alloys of the Sports activities Luxurious are a key issue on this, as we’ve discovered the Luxurious and Overtrail to be rather more soft. Thoughts you, this setup continues to be preferable to the bottom Prado’s passive suspension, however arguably much less palatable than the cheaper Ford Everest.

It even makes this specific GX appear comparatively fragile off-road, as hard-pack grime roads pockmarked with all types of holes, bumps, and ruts really feel like they might ship a shock absorber by means of the bonnet if taken too quick.

In fact, the Overtrail exists to focus extra on off-road use, and that variant is usually extra compliant with its chunky all-terrain tyres, smaller alloys, and tweaked suspension setup. The Sports activities Luxurious simply comes throughout a bit posh.

As for that adaptive damping, there are a handful of various settings to select from. Its normal mode is as we’ve described, whereas its Consolation setting is a bit softer however nonetheless harsh over sharp imperfections.

It’s in actual fact its hardened Sport setting that appears the best-calibrated, because it does precisely what it says on the tin and helps the GX to really feel a contact extra agile – as agile as a tall, three-row SUV could be, anyway. You’ll be able to’t drive every day on this setting as a result of it’s excessively agency, but it surely does display first rate physique management.

Luckily, we discovered the GX’s steering to be nice. It’s weighted properly by default and could be very communicative, but nonetheless manages to masks massive bumps with out feeling lifeless. You typically have a robust understanding of how the automobile will react to your inputs consequently.

It makes the GX straightforward to pilot by means of suburban areas as a result of it doesn’t complain about taking sharp turns with a little bit of aggression. It isn’t sporty by any means, but it surely provides you confidence when navigating roundabouts or making tight turns.

However the main drawcard of the GX550 over the Prado is its beastly twin-turbo petrol V6. With first rate sound (albeit artificial when in Sport S+ mode) and spectacular efficiency, the Lexus’s powertrain is much superior to its Toyota equal.

It’s super-smooth and completely hauls if you plant the accelerator pedal, making it nice for a fast overtake on a caravan or truck. The transmission can be intelligent, because it by no means appears to journey over its multitude of gears and infrequently makes itself identified in regular driving.

Kickdowns are fast and correct, however you possibly can nonetheless take management of the gears by switching into guide mode or hitting the steering wheel paddles. It’s an awesome powertrain and a near-perfect match for the GX.

The one draw back is that it is rather thirsty, and subsequently not superb for long-haul highway journeys. Then once more, if you’re involved about financial system and saving gas, you’d simply purchase the diesel Prado or the LandCruiser 300 Collection as an alternative.

In typical Toyota vogue, the GX’s security programs are all pretty well-sorted. We had no downside trusting its adaptive cruise management and lane-centring capabilities, even when it’s reluctant to use vital steering lock, and there’s a high-quality association of parking sensors and cameras to make parking a breeze.

Our solely grievance right here is that its driver monitoring system is extra delicate than we anticipated. It’s not a dealbreaker, however we’re noticing it extra in newer Toyotas, and we hope it doesn’t develop into the norm.

Typically, although, the GX Sports activities Luxurious is a blended bag on the highway. Its agency experience takes away from the beautiful steering and meaty engine, although its stage of refinement is in any other case pretty robust, apart from a contact of wind noise at excessive velocity.

For a full breakdown of the GX’s off-road capabilities, try our video assessment beneath:

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

What do you get?

Lexus sells three distinct GX550 variants in Australia.

2026 Lexus GX550 Luxurious gear highlights:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Full-size spare wheel
• 7-seat capability
• 200A alternator
• Auto LED headlights
• LED tail-lights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Heated facet mirrors with puddle lamps
• Roof rails
• Privateness glass
• Illuminated fastened facet steps
• Energy tilt and telescopic steering wheel column
• Paddle shifters
• Leather-based-accented gear shift knob and steering wheel
• NuLux upholstery
• 8-way entrance seat energy adjustment with 2-way lumbar
• Driver seat reminiscence
• Heated and ventilated entrance seats
• Heated outboard second-row seats
• Energy-folding third-row seats
• Energy tailgate
• Rear opening glass hatch
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay
• Wired Android Auto
• “Hey Lexus” pure voice recognition
• Satellite tv for pc navigation
• DAB+ digital radio
• 10-speaker sound system
• Color head-up show
• Wi-fi charger
• 6 x USB-C ports
  • 2 x entrance
  • 2 x second row
  • 2 x third row
• 2 x 12V sockets
• 220V outlet
• Three-zone local weather management
• Single-colour inside ambient lighting
• Three drive modes

GX550 Sports activities Luxurious provides:

• 22-inch alloy wheels
• Adaptive damping
• ‘Excessive Grade’ LED headlights with adaptive high-beam
• Auto extending/folding facet steps (in lieu of illumination)
• Radiator grille shutter
• Panoramic glass roof
• Illuminated scuff plates
• Refrigerated cool field
• Digital rear-view mirror
• Distinctive door trim, pillar material, and dashboard end
• Heated steering wheel
• Semi Aniline leather-accented upholstery
• Entrance massaging seats
• 10-way energy adjustable driver’s seat (thigh assist)
• 21-speaker Mark Levinson sound system
• Rear sunglasses
• Tailgate kick sensor
• Multi-colour inside ambient lighting
• Bank card key (along with common fobs)
• 5 drive modes
  • Regular
  • Eco
  • Consolation
  • Sport S
  • Sport S+

GX550 Overtrail provides:

• 18-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres
• 5-seat capability
• Digital-Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System
• Electrical rear differential lock
• 240A alternator
• Two-tone paint
• Normal metallic roof
• Bridge-type roof rails
• Provisional mounts for rock rails
• Unpainted wheel arch mouldings
• Overtrail-specific entrance and rear bumpers
• Overtrail-specific black exterior accents
• Illuminated fastened facet steps
• Auxiliary instrument panel switches
• NuLux upholstery
• Olive Inexperienced Ultrasuede inside accents and stitching
• Overtrail-specific softened seat bolsters and stiffened seat base
• 8-way entrance seat energy adjustment with 2-way lumbar
• 10-speaker sound system
• Single-colour inside ambient lighting
• Off-road terrain modes
  • Auto
  • Dust
  • Sand
  • Mud
  • Rock
  • Deep Snow

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

Is the Lexus GX secure?

The Lexus GX has not been crash-tested by ANCAP and is subsequently unrated.

Nevertheless, whereas technically a special mannequin, it’s value mentioning the Toyota Prado on which the Lexus relies acquired a five-star security score from ANCAP in 2024. This doesn’t essentially translate to a five-star rating for the Lexus.

Normal security gear highlights:

• 9 airbags, incl:
  • Entrance
  • Knee
  • Aspect
  • Entrance-centre
• Adaptive cruise management with cease/go
• Autonomous emergency braking
  • Day and evening pedestrian, bicycle owner detection
  • Daytime motorcyclist detection
  • Junction help
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver monitoring system
• Entrance and rear parking sensors
• Lane departure alert
• Lane-trace help
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Secure exit help
• Encompass-view monitor
• Site visitors signal recognition
• Tyre stress monitoring

GX550 Overtrail provides crawl management, downhill help management, and a multi-terrain monitor.

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

How a lot does the Lexus GX value to run?

Lexus Australia backs its vary with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Servicing is required each six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first.

For 2026, particular person service costs for the GX have elevated by $100. With servicing required twice per yr, its whole service value over 5 years is now an eye-watering $6950.

Consumers do, nonetheless, get three years of complimentary entry to the Lexus Encore program, which incorporates roadside help, a service mortgage automobile, Ampol gas presents, and entry to unique occasions and presents.

As for rivals, Land Rover presents five-year service packs for the Defender. Six-cylinder turbo-diesel fashions are lined by a $3500 pack, whereas the pack for the supercharged V8 bumps that to $3900.

The Nissan Patrol’s yearly companies value $499 every, totalling $2495 over 5 years. The diesel Prado, in the meantime, has the identical service intervals because the GX, however 5 years of servicing will value $3950.

To see how the Lexus GX stacks up towards the competitors, use our comparability instrument

CarExpert’s Tackle the Lexus GX550 Sports activities Luxurious

The Lexus GX is a stunning car, however the mid-spec Sports activities Luxurious compromises the formulation.

Like different GXs, its inside is visually brash and lacks the category of most different Lexus fashions, even when its supplies and tech are all of high-quality. We are able to’t assist however really feel the Prado’s inside matches its physique significantly better.

We additionally discovered the Sports activities Luxurious’s experience agency regardless of being the other in different trim ranges. It’s disappointing that the adaptive damping can’t masks the affect of the large alloy wheels, which makes the Sports activities Luxurious appear much better suited to (prosperous) city environments.

And we will’t neglect the service pricing, which has no enterprise being as costly as it’s. All that mixes to make the Defender look like a way more logical possibility when you nonetheless need a high-end giant off-road SUV with a robust engine. Even the Prado makes extra sense when you’re the kind who likes to journey greater than 400km on a tank of gas.

Nonetheless, we will’t knock the lusty petrol V6’s efficiency, the transmission’s good behaviour, and the beautiful steering. The GX additionally presents robust worth in comparison with the Prado and 300, with the extent of ordinary gear on provide right here troublesome to argue towards.

The factor is, we just like the GX, and if none of that considerations you, it’ll nonetheless be a superb purchase. It’s simply essential to contemplate what you’ll use it for; the top-spec Overtrail will most likely serve you greatest as an all-rounder.

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MORE: Discover the Lexus GX showroom