Toyota is on quite a tear lately, specifically in the truck and SUV segment. There is a silver lining of allowing trucks like the Tundra and Sequoia (which share a platform) and Lexus LX and GX to go a decade-plus without major redesigns: when they finally do get a major overhaul it feels like the Lakers have brought home the NBA Title (technically, they do that more frequently than these rigs have been updated.)

As a two-time Tundra owner, I was impressed by the totally new Tundra – so much that, for a while, I was seriously considering the new Sequoia due to its balance of off-roading capability and daily driving (read: daily school drop-offs) comfort and greatly improved fuel efficiency.

The GX was last redesigned in 2009, and if you know your GX’s you know it wasn’t all that different from the first-generation GX which launched in 2002. A favorite of hard-core off-roaders and city dwellers alike, the venerable GX has continued to sell well thanks to facelifts and technical upgrades.  However, the competition in the SUV space has only gotten fiercer in the intervening years – as has the sticker shock at the fuel pump.  

Enter the all-new Lexus GX, which debuted this week. My younger brother is the one who tipped me off, first with speculator images he’d found on the web and later with news that the official images from Lexus were out. A former Tundra owner and current owner of not one, but two J80 Land Cruisers, Steve is the target market for the Lexus GX’s new  Overtrail and Overtrail+ grades. At the Tokyo Outdoor show, Lexus displayed the Team Jaos LX that competed in the Baja 1000 and foreshadowed the new GX’s off-road bent with a display of a heavily customized outgoing GX set up for serious overlanding duty.

The Overtrail grade comes with off-roading goodies including 33-inch All-Terrain tires, 18-inch wheels, and…drum roll please…electronic locking rear differential. Lexus states that improvements to the electronic transfer case make switching from 4lo to 4hi faster.

For those of us who like the idea of being able to handle the elements, but plan on staying 99.999% on paved roads – the GX still has plenty to offer. My family leased a previous-generation GX and utilized it’s off-road capabilities a handful of times, mainly during ski season.  While that came in super handy, for suburban dwelling families like ours might make more use of the Premium and Premium+ trims.

The 2024 Lexus GX will be available in two powertrain options. At launch, the GX will come with a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 that produces 349 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque (outperforming the outgoing naturally-aspirated V8 which was good for 301 horsepower and 329 lb.-ft.)  Towing capacity has skyrocketed from 6,500 to 8,000 lbs. for the Premium, Premium+, and Overtrail grades with a standard tow hitch.  A hybrid is slated for later release, in keeping with Toyota’s strategy of giving consumers the choice of gasoline-only or i-FORCE MAX hybrid powerplants for the Tundra and Sequoia.

All of these performance improvements are impressive. That being said, the one of the areas the GX has improved the most is in the looks department.  Lexus has clearly studied the target consumers here, and pulled out the stops to nail the aesthetic balance of rugged overlanding rig meets black tie event valet line. The GX is giving off Defender, G-wagon, and Rivian vibes – and the internet is definitely here for it. If you don’t believe me, Google “Lexus GX” and see how many folks are literally salivating over it.

Lexus’ intrepid designers have squared off the GX to give it that bold, utilitarian look, and widened stance by 3.74 inches (Overtrail by 4.52). The signature Lexus spindle grille has been updated and looks much more intentional on the GX than it did in generations past where it seemed like the designers were forced to pull something that looked OK on sedans and coupes and force it on to the Lexus SUVs. The length of the GX has increased by 2.75 inches and the wheelbase has also grown by 2.36 inches. I’m loving the pronounced crease at the beltline and the integrated fender flares on the Overland edition. 

Clean, squared-off, tough — all things that we’re looking for in our SUV design.  Underpinning all of this is Lexus engineering and reliability — making this an absolute no-brainer for anyone considering a full-size luxury SUV.  The immediate question is how many LA Car folks I’m going to have to arm wrestle to get a chance to test the new GX out in person.

The 2024 Lexus GX will be assembled at Lexus’ Tahara plant in Japan, and is slated to go on sale here in the U.S. in early 2024.