2023 Lexus GX

If it feels like every review of the Lexus GX 460 you read at the beginning of a new model year is like the one before, it's because it's remained very much the same car since the current J150 generation's introduction in the USA as a 2010 model, and it's starting to get quite old. This is the case with the 2023 Lexus GX, which again sees very few changes. It's a real old-school body-on-frame SUV based on the underpinnings of the Toyota 4Runner, with a naturally aspirated V8 engine delivering 301 hp to the road via a permanent all-wheel-drive system. What it lacks in speed, economy, and agility, it makes up for in go-anywhere ability, durability, and legendary reliability. It's not a new-style crossover, and that limits its appeal to buyers who appreciate its old-fashioned simplicity and don't mind its age-related foibles. It has the off-road credentials to take you places few crossovers can, and rivals will be SUVs that blend off-road ability and luxury in a similar way, such as the Land Rover Defender and Discovery. Does the granddaddy GX still cut it against these capable and far more modern youngsters?

The price of the 2023 Lexus GX starts at $57,575 for the base GX 460, while the GX 460 Premium will cost you $58,910. The Premium-based Black Line SE goes for $62,310, and the Luxury for $67,080. These are the Lexus GXs' MSRPs, excluding the destination and handling fees, which Lexus states is $1,150 for 2023 for SUVs like this.

A body-on-frame SUV on a 14-year-old platform is not going to ride and handle like a modern SUV. Lexus has done a lot to eliminate noise and improve comfort - and indeed the car is quiet and the suspension softly tuned - but it can only do so much. Big shocks are absorbed, but broken tar taken at speed elicits the constant jostling and shimmying that used to be the hallmark of old-style SUVs. Handling is vice-free but ponderous, if not quite floaty, and grip limits are rather low on the mud- and snow-rated tires, especially under braking. Around town, the GX is comfortable enough, with light if lifeless steering and a high vantage point from which to plan your moves in traffic. Just exercise patience, because the engine and transmission are lazily set up with economy in mind. Of course, off-road, it all comes together, and the GX has the hardware to surprise with its abilities. The permanent AWD and locking center differential will take it anywhere its ground clearance will allow; just check not to snag those lengthy overhangs.

By any modern measure, the Lexus GX is outdated and outgunned by the competition, and for the normal everyday duties to which people subject the typical SUV, the ponderous handling and heavy-footed feel might be annoying. Modern rivals do city-bound tasks much better. If relative mechanical simplicity, a good ol' naturally aspirated V8, and excellent off-road ability allied with luxury and comfort are priorities, the GX is probably the only mid-size SUV that delivers on all scores - and it will keep on trucking for years to come. But in terms of efficiency, handling, and performance, it is now very far behind the curve and will never survive a straight-up comparison against a superbly capable and far more sophisticated rival such as the Defender. It depends on where your priorities lie, because the GX is a throwback to a bygone era and won't be everyone's cup of tea.

With a bevy of standard driver assists such as pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-departure warning standard on all trims, in addition to power front seats, dual-zone climate control, navigation, the adjustable Lexus Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System, and a fully featured infotainment system, the base GX 460 has enough features to keep you happy, but we'd go one up to the Premium, which costs only a little more and adds heated front and rear seats, rain-sensing wipers, and LED foglights. Rather than splashing out on the flagship, we'd stay true to the reason you'd probably buy the GX in the first place - its off-road chops. To go explore beyond the well-trodden path where those city crossovers could never go, the GX Premium makes a lot of sense at just over $60k.