Eric's Autos: 2024 Lexus GX550

When Toyota brought back the Land Cruiser this year, it no longer came standard with a V8. It now comes only with a turbo-hybridized four.

If you'd like something more than that -- as well as less -- Lexus has it.

The new GX550 is a premium-badged (and slightly larger) iteration of the new Land Cruiser that comes standard with a turbocharged V6.

Without the hybrid assist.

Plus a third row -- which the new Land Cruiser no longer offers.

What It is

The GX550 is a midsize, luxury-badged SUV related to the slightly smaller Toyota Land Cruiser. It comes standard with three rows and a twin-turbocharged V6 rather than a turbocharged (and hybridized) four and two rows of seats.

Prices start at $62,900 for the Premium trim, which comes standard with 20-inch wheels, synthetic leather seat covers (heated and ventilated for the driver and front-seat passenger) plus a 10-speaker audio system, sunroof, 14-inch LCD touch screen and navigation.

The $67,900 Premium + adds a power tilt-telescoping/heated steering wheel, power-folding third row, a surround-view exterior camera system and heaters for the second row. It stickers for $67,900.

The $75,900 Luxury trim adds massaging front seats, second-row sunshades and 22-inch wheels.

A top-of-the-line Luxury + gets an adjustable suspension system, power-deploying running boards, a refrigerated center console cubby and a 21-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.

There's also an Overtrail iteration that comes with offroad upgrades such as 18-inch wheels with 33-inch all-terrain tires, adjustable dampers, locking rear differential, electrically disconnecting front and rear sway bars to allow for greater wheel articulation offroad, plus roof rails and a Kinetic Dynamic Suspension designed to reduce body roll during cornering.

It lists for $67,900.

There's also a + version that adds the massaging seats, second-row heaters and power tilt/telescoping steering wheel. That one lists for $75,900.

Both versions of the Overtrail delete the otherwise standard third row.

What's New

The GX550 is the new replacement for the discontinued GX460.

What's Good

-- A V6 is standard.

-- Tows more (as much as 9,000 pounds and no less than 8,000 pounds) than the V8-powered GX460 (6,500 pounds) and uses a little less gas.

Standard third row (no longer available in the new Land Cruiser).

What's Not So Good

-- Little V6 needs a pair of turbos to pull all this weight.

-- Overtrail's additional offroad capability costs passenger-carrying capacity.

-- Only uses a little less gas than the old V8-powered GX460.

Under the Hood

One of the ways Lexus -- which is Toyota -- justifies the GX550's higher MSRP is by giving it a bigger standard engine than the Land Cruiser, which stickers for $55,950 to start (a difference in price of just shy of $7,000).

The Lexus-ized iteration of the Land Cruiser comes with a 3.4-liter turbocharged V6 rather than the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that's standard in the LC.

All GX550s (like all Land Cruisers) come standard with a full-time four-wheel-drive system with 4H and Low ranges and locking differentials.

Overtrail versions get a Crawl mode as well as skid plates and the previously mentioned off-roading upgrades, plus different front/rear fascias that allow for greater angles of approach and departure when off-roading.

On the Road

All that's missing is the sound -- the chief emotional problem, so to speak, with these small, turbocharged replacements for the V8s that used to come standard in vehicles like this.

When you push the GX550's start button, you don't hear what you used to hear. The discontinued GX460 may not have been as powerful, but it sounded more powerful when you started its V8. It also had the pleasing/calming V8 bass tone at highway speeds.

That's gone now.

What you get instead is more power -- and better performance. That's not small compensation. The GX550 gets to 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds -- one second sooner than the discontinued V8-powered GX460.

Also -- as mentioned above -- significantly more torque and significantly sooner too. The GX550 may "only" have a small V6 now, but (courtesy of the boost) it can pull as much as some half-ton trucks and feels stronger than its V8-powered antecedent because the power (torque) is accessible with less pedal effort.

At the Curb

The GX550 is about 3 inches longer (197.1 inches) than the rebooted Land Cruiser (193.8 inches) and that allows for the third row that's no longer available in the LC. It's not much of a third row -- but having the extra seats for in-a-pinch situations can mean the difference between needing one vehicle and needing another -- for the two who couldn't otherwise come along.

With its third row out (or absent, if you decide to skip it) the GX550 has 76.9 cubic feet of cargo space, an increase of about 12 cubic feet versus the old GX460 and almost twice the space available in the LC with its second row up (37.5 cubic feet).

Since it's a Lexus, the GX550 comes standard with equipment such as 20-inch wheels (the LC comes standard with 18-inch wheels) as well as a flatscreen main gauge panel and a larger 14-inch secondary LCD touchscreen that looks more integrated with the rest of the cabin than the smaller 12.3-inch screen that's available in the LC. You also get a standard 10-speaker audio system that's optional in the LC.

And you can order equipment such as the optional seat massagers for the driver and front-seat passenger and a top-shelf 21-speaker Mark Levinson ultra-premium audio system -- as well as a beverage chiller built into the center console -- that isn't available with the LC.

If you look closely, it's clear the GX550 is related to the LC but the Lexus looks more high-end, as it ought to -- being a Lexus -- while the LC looks more rugged.

But the GX550 is just as rugged as its more rugged-looking, slightly littler brother.

The Rest

If you're wanting a hybrid GX550, wait. Word is one's coming next year. It will offer more power and -- presumably -- better gas mileage.

The Bottom Line

If you're wanting a V6 (and that extra row) rather than a turbo-hybridized four and seats for no more than five, the GX550's got both.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.