Hello all, new to the forum from Massachusetts. Have a Premium Plus Incognito on order from my local dealer and expected within a few weeks.
Here's a longer post for some of your weekend forum browsers:
This was an unexpected purchase. Our 2022 GX460 was totaled in a recent freak thunderstorm, city tree snapped off with a large branch poking a hole through the windscreen damaging bodywork and electronics. Luckily we were not inside the vehicle. We had no intention of letting go our GX460 and it was supposed to be a 10 year + vehicle and was to pass on to our children (if they could afford gas, lol ). We owned our previous Lexus for 10 years+ before our GX460. Apple carplay on the 2022 GX460 sealed the deal when we bought it. Family of four, we loved everything on our GX460, driving it up from MA to VT/NH for skiing almost every weekend past two years on a set of dedicated Method MR316 with Blizzak VM-2. When it snows, we drive
Loved the Mark Levinson audio and smooth V8. On our drive up to the mountains, our son and I would spot and thumbs up fellow GXs, LXs, Forerunners and Land Cruisers heading the same direction (where else could you be going in NE Winter at 4am except chasing snow?)
When I received a call from the insurance adjuster informing that our vehicle was totaled, it felt like I was stabbed in the back. It felt even worse when we went to collect our plates and our belongings at the collision center. There are much worse things in life, but this felt like a funeral. All the happy and fun family memories we had with our GX460 and the places we went to .. now gone. I hope this never happens to you all.
So reluctantly, I was forced to shop for a new vehicle in a very short period of time, and following were my picks:
#1 X5 sD40i - just for context I owned an E36 back in the days and I love silky BMW sixes. I still think it is a travesty to put a 4 pot turbo in a luxury car. If Bimmers were cheaper to maintain and more reliable, I might never have moved to a Lexus. X5 ticked all the right boxes, B58 engine, very comfortable seating, BMW self drive, superb handling and ride, and 27mpg highway made sense for our long weekend drives. But the tech was also overwheling - . Also was concerned with some of the plastics on the dash - air vents seem fragile and might break. The lack of rear legroom for passengers was the ultimate deal breaker. You really could not slide your feet under the front seats. I could imagine this would be the perfect luxury SUV for many and why you see so many of them on the roads.
#2 LC250 - seriously, I liked everything about it and have a soft spot for Land Cruisers going back to FJ40s. I prefer how understated LC looks compared to the GX550. I also would not have to explain to others " .. but my GX is actually a Land Cruiser Prado, built in Tahara factory, made so I could pick up your friends when their Land Rovers get stuck" . The haters will always say Land Cruisers are too expensive (true) compared to others in the same class, but if you know, you know I also liked the classic LC colors, button on dash and easy access controls vs GX550 touch screen. You get MTS, front sway disconnect, rear lockers as standard on LC trim. On the premium trim, you get most of the features on a GX550 premium plus including leather seats. It drove very nicely with the hybrid - torque was sufficient and another plus was slightly better gas mileage. I was sold on the LC, except one small problem - our younger son's deal breaker was that he must have heated rear seats... hmm..
#3 Rivian R1S - but why you ask??? This was the only EV that seems build for snow and has over 400 miles range. Maybe its time to go green. The Rivian drove like an European SUV, very firm ride even on comfort setting. Lots of tech but not intrusive. Large cargo area and captain seats also meant we could load up multiple set of skis without needing our roof box or garage restrictions when travelling. Our main concern was for winter day trips to the mountain chasing snow. Could it get us to north VT - up to 200+ miles one way without having to charge in freezing temps? Did the math, and nope, won't work, it became too complicated, we would have to stop on the way and back to charge. Other quirks to maximize range during summer or winter, you would also need to adjust climate control to "moderate" settings, cap top speed at 70mph etc etc. Lots of fun geeky stuff you could do to improve range but not for everyone.
#4 . Defender - I like the looks and it is very comfortable and very capable. But this would have to be a lease as I was concerned (rightly) about reliability. Yes, a new one would be under warranty, but I do not have the time to take it back to the shop for minor niggles here and there. And no, I do not want to speed dial my Land Cruiser friends asking them to pick me up when I am stuck
#5 Lexus TX - my kids .. what?? full stop.
#6 Gx550 finally. Lets not kid ourselves, fellow GX460 owners, some of us had been following GX550 from launch and would have been impressed by what we saw and read and the upgrades and improvements. So of course, the GX550 was #1 on my list of replacement vehicle but I wanted to make sure I tried some other vehicles to make sure we made the right choice. We test drove with family and everyone gave a thumbs up. Also helped that our Lexus dealer has always taken care of us for a long time. During our test drive, I immediately missed the smoothness on our GX460 V8, yes the 3.6TT is more powerful, but it felt rough and not as refined. I will also miss our Mark Levinson audio on our GX460. Standard audio on the GX550 premium is nowhere as good. Bummer ML is not available as an option on Premium trims. I liked almost everything else on the GX550, better tech, including very slightly better mpg. Did not like that the rear seats are no longer adjustable fore/aft and only fold in two sections compared to three sections on the GX460. Felt like the GX460 had better legroom and the ability to pull down center rear seat on our GX460 allowed us to load skis for quick trips or to the mountain or to IKEA. I considered Overtail plus trim. Really liked the look and aggressiveness with the 18" AT tires. It seems "complete" with eKDSS, rear lockers, rugged tires, and I don't have to listen to my Land Cruiser friends whining to me, "Your cough.. cough.. pretend Prado250 does not have real 4x4 capabilities. are you going for a mall crawl this weekend?". I could not understand why Lexus had to omit the rear ventilation controls and move the rear air vents from the top to rear console. This and the extra $10k+ was not justifiable for us... so due to availability, I ended up with a Premium Plus Trim in Incognito. It was configured with factory roof rack but I might switch it out for a set of cross rails to fit our Thule Alpine box. Another plus point with the GX550 is that I think our existing Method 18x9 +18 wheels from the GX460 might fit on the GX550..
Edit - there was also a #7 choice - we considered getting a used CPO 2022/23 GX460 but there aren't any available nearby. This would would also saved us some money. When I looked up prices on Autotrader, used 2022 and 2023 are selling for what 2023 owners paid for (with incentives) last year. Happy with how little our GX460 depreciated since 2022. Another plus point for having a Lexus/Toyota.
Hope I made the right decision. Looking forward to hanging out here with fellow GX'ers. Cheers.
Joe
Here's a longer post for some of your weekend forum browsers:
This was an unexpected purchase. Our 2022 GX460 was totaled in a recent freak thunderstorm, city tree snapped off with a large branch poking a hole through the windscreen damaging bodywork and electronics. Luckily we were not inside the vehicle. We had no intention of letting go our GX460 and it was supposed to be a 10 year + vehicle and was to pass on to our children (if they could afford gas, lol ). We owned our previous Lexus for 10 years+ before our GX460. Apple carplay on the 2022 GX460 sealed the deal when we bought it. Family of four, we loved everything on our GX460, driving it up from MA to VT/NH for skiing almost every weekend past two years on a set of dedicated Method MR316 with Blizzak VM-2. When it snows, we drive
Loved the Mark Levinson audio and smooth V8. On our drive up to the mountains, our son and I would spot and thumbs up fellow GXs, LXs, Forerunners and Land Cruisers heading the same direction (where else could you be going in NE Winter at 4am except chasing snow?)When I received a call from the insurance adjuster informing that our vehicle was totaled, it felt like I was stabbed in the back. It felt even worse when we went to collect our plates and our belongings at the collision center. There are much worse things in life, but this felt like a funeral. All the happy and fun family memories we had with our GX460 and the places we went to .. now gone. I hope this never happens to you all.
So reluctantly, I was forced to shop for a new vehicle in a very short period of time, and following were my picks:
#1 X5 sD40i - just for context I owned an E36 back in the days and I love silky BMW sixes. I still think it is a travesty to put a 4 pot turbo in a luxury car. If Bimmers were cheaper to maintain and more reliable, I might never have moved to a Lexus. X5 ticked all the right boxes, B58 engine, very comfortable seating, BMW self drive, superb handling and ride, and 27mpg highway made sense for our long weekend drives. But the tech was also overwheling - . Also was concerned with some of the plastics on the dash - air vents seem fragile and might break. The lack of rear legroom for passengers was the ultimate deal breaker. You really could not slide your feet under the front seats. I could imagine this would be the perfect luxury SUV for many and why you see so many of them on the roads.
#2 LC250 - seriously, I liked everything about it and have a soft spot for Land Cruisers going back to FJ40s. I prefer how understated LC looks compared to the GX550. I also would not have to explain to others " .. but my GX is actually a Land Cruiser Prado, built in Tahara factory, made so I could pick up your friends when their Land Rovers get stuck" . The haters will always say Land Cruisers are too expensive (true) compared to others in the same class, but if you know, you know
I also liked the classic LC colors, button on dash and easy access controls vs GX550 touch screen. You get MTS, front sway disconnect, rear lockers as standard on LC trim. On the premium trim, you get most of the features on a GX550 premium plus including leather seats. It drove very nicely with the hybrid - torque was sufficient and another plus was slightly better gas mileage. I was sold on the LC, except one small problem - our younger son's deal breaker was that he must have heated rear seats... hmm..#3 Rivian R1S - but why you ask??? This was the only EV that seems build for snow and has over 400 miles range. Maybe its time to go green. The Rivian drove like an European SUV, very firm ride even on comfort setting. Lots of tech but not intrusive. Large cargo area and captain seats also meant we could load up multiple set of skis without needing our roof box or garage restrictions when travelling. Our main concern was for winter day trips to the mountain chasing snow. Could it get us to north VT - up to 200+ miles one way without having to charge in freezing temps? Did the math, and nope, won't work, it became too complicated, we would have to stop on the way and back to charge. Other quirks to maximize range during summer or winter, you would also need to adjust climate control to "moderate" settings, cap top speed at 70mph etc etc. Lots of fun geeky stuff you could do to improve range but not for everyone.
#4 . Defender - I like the looks and it is very comfortable and very capable. But this would have to be a lease as I was concerned (rightly) about reliability. Yes, a new one would be under warranty, but I do not have the time to take it back to the shop for minor niggles here and there. And no, I do not want to speed dial my Land Cruiser friends asking them to pick me up when I am stuck
#5 Lexus TX - my kids .. what?? full stop.
#6 Gx550 finally. Lets not kid ourselves, fellow GX460 owners, some of us had been following GX550 from launch and would have been impressed by what we saw and read and the upgrades and improvements. So of course, the GX550 was #1 on my list of replacement vehicle but I wanted to make sure I tried some other vehicles to make sure we made the right choice. We test drove with family and everyone gave a thumbs up. Also helped that our Lexus dealer has always taken care of us for a long time. During our test drive, I immediately missed the smoothness on our GX460 V8, yes the 3.6TT is more powerful, but it felt rough and not as refined. I will also miss our Mark Levinson audio on our GX460. Standard audio on the GX550 premium is nowhere as good. Bummer ML is not available as an option on Premium trims. I liked almost everything else on the GX550, better tech, including very slightly better mpg. Did not like that the rear seats are no longer adjustable fore/aft and only fold in two sections compared to three sections on the GX460. Felt like the GX460 had better legroom and the ability to pull down center rear seat on our GX460 allowed us to load skis for quick trips or to the mountain or to IKEA. I considered Overtail plus trim. Really liked the look and aggressiveness with the 18" AT tires. It seems "complete" with eKDSS, rear lockers, rugged tires, and I don't have to listen to my Land Cruiser friends whining to me, "Your cough.. cough.. pretend Prado250 does not have real 4x4 capabilities. are you going for a mall crawl this weekend?". I could not understand why Lexus had to omit the rear ventilation controls and move the rear air vents from the top to rear console. This and the extra $10k+ was not justifiable for us... so due to availability, I ended up with a Premium Plus Trim in Incognito. It was configured with factory roof rack but I might switch it out for a set of cross rails to fit our Thule Alpine box. Another plus point with the GX550 is that I think our existing Method 18x9 +18 wheels from the GX460 might fit on the GX550..
Edit - there was also a #7 choice - we considered getting a used CPO 2022/23 GX460 but there aren't any available nearby. This would would also saved us some money. When I looked up prices on Autotrader, used 2022 and 2023 are selling for what 2023 owners paid for (with incentives) last year. Happy with how little our GX460 depreciated since 2022. Another plus point for having a Lexus/Toyota.
Hope I made the right decision. Looking forward to hanging out here with fellow GX'ers. Cheers.
Joe
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at this rate I will be pushing up daisies before it comes.
