First Drive: The 2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+ Is a Home Run

If you think that automakers are content to let the aftermarket suck up profits from off-road enthusiasts, think again. Over the past half-decade, we’ve seen nearly every marque try its hand at something with meaty tires, hoisted suspension, and a skidplate or six. The roster has only gotten bigger and better: Ford’s Bronco is back and buzzing, the Jeep Wrangler has never been more impressive, and the full-size truck wars have officially left the pavement. Even supercars are snorting dirt like it’s going out of style.

If the space interests you at all, the Lexus GX is almost certainly a familiar sight. These machines have always excelled where the going gets rough, but since the GX’s inception in 2002, its reputation as an off-roader and overlander has been inextricably tied to the aftermarket. Beloved for their bulletproof reliability and sturdiness, the GX is often treated as a blank canvas for custom and off-the-shelf adventure parts. With the new Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims, that well-regarded trail capability is finally the focal point of Lexus’s own strategy.

As we’ve written about previously, the GX is able to go in this direction because a new model—the three-row TX—fulfills Lexus’ need for a luxurious, on-road-focused SUV.

Our first date with the 2024 Lexus GX 550 took place in Tucson, Arizona, at the vehicle’s official press launch. We spent the day rolling through desert trails and over nearby highways and roads, sampling a few of the six trims offered on the new GX (Premium, Premium+, Luxury, Luxury+, Overtrail, and Overtrail+). At the end of the day, the Overtrail variants were the ones that most held our attention.

Added to the base price of $77,250 (including a $1350 destination fee), the options list on the $80,915 GX 550 Overtrail+ you see here was relatively modest: $350 for bi-tone paint that adds a blacked-out roof to contrast the sandy Earth (flat tan) paint; a 21-speaker Mark Levinson surround-sound system for $1140; a head-up display for $900; and a few other small-ticket options. An MSRP north of $80,000 is no small sum, but for what you get, the price feels right. (To learn about the trim-specific features of the Overtrail and Overtrail+, click here.)

Specs: 2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+

• Price: $77,250/$80,915 (base/as-tested)
• Powertrain: 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, 10-speed automatic transmission
• Horsepower: 349 hp @ 4800–5200 rpm
• Torque: 479 lb-ft @ 2000–3600 rpm
• Layout: Full-time four-wheel-drive, four-door, 5–7-passenger body-on-frame SUV
• Manufacturer-estimated fuel economy: 15 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, 17 mpg combined
• 0–60 mph: 6.5 seconds
• Competitors: GMC Yukon AT4, Land Rover Defender 110, Chevrolet Tahoe Z71

Toyota and Lexus are nearing the back half of a gargantuan product turnover, with everything from the Tacoma to the Land Cruiser to the LX and GX entering new generations. All of the aforementioned vehicles (and then some) now ride on Toyota’s TNGA-F platform, a global architecture underpinning everything built by Toyota or Lexus with a body-on-frame architecture. According to Lexus, the new frame is 20 percent stiffer than its predecessor.

Atop that new frame sits what might be Lexus’ best-ever SUV design. Gone are the days of a massive spindle grille creating a visual black hole at the nose of the vehicle. The new metal is more cohesive and avoids veering into hyper-aggressive territory. The linear, geometric shape has whiffs of the new Land Cruiser—the upward turn of the beltline on the second-row door looks exactly the same—but you’ll forgive the similarities because, well, they both look fantastic.

The outgoing GX had a mishmash of body lines and surfaces that never melded, resulting in a busy, not-quite-right profile. By contrast, this one feels resolute and whole, from the angular hexagonal wheel arches to the conservative but cohesive front and rear ends. It’s as if Lexus’ designers finally nailed the GX appearance that can both attract new customers and give longtime fans something both familiar and fresh.

Relative to the outgoing GX 460, the new GX 550 is larger in almost every dimension. Overtrail variants are 4.52 inches wider, while the other trims gain just 3.74 inches of width. The wheelbase grows 2.4 inches, now up to 112.2 (which, not coincidentally, is the same wheelbase as the LX 600), and overall length increases to 197.05 inches, up nearly 5 inches from the old GX. Unless you’re parking your new GX 550 next to an older generation, though, that added footprint isn’t apparent.

From the inside, the growth is even less noticeable. Forward and lateral visibility are remarkable, thanks in part to that lower beltline and an A-pillar that’s been pulled rearward to stand the windshield more upright. The hood features a depression in the middle flanked by bulges on either side, which makes placing the GX’s nose a cinch. To help occupants better gauge just how tilted they get on a trail, the GX’s dashboard is almost perfectly flat, with a low, uniform height across its entire width.

It is possible to configure a GX 550 to seat anywhere from five to seven passengers. The Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims hold just five butts, removing the third row entirely. Good riddance, at least for adult passengers; we forced ourselves into the third-row seats in another test car and found them quite punishing. A 112.2-inch wheelbase and a solid rear axle are not conducive to comfy way-back seating.

The new generation of the GX is powered by a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6 that churns out 349 hp and a whopping 479 lb-ft of torque. Those figures are up from the outgoing V-8-powered model, which produced just 301 hp and 329 lb-ft of torque. Power routes through a 10-speed automatic transmission to a full-time four-wheel drive system with a locking center differential across all models. Overtrail and Overtrail+ models get an additional locking rear diff. Towing figures are stout: Four of the six trims can pull over 9000 pounds, and the remaining two (Luxury and Luxury+) can still manage 7600-plus. By comparison, a comparably equipped GMC Yukon AT4 tops out at 8200 pounds. The previous generation of GX could pull 6500 at most.

Call me a Luddite, but I adored the dead-simple 4.6-liter V-8 in the outgoing GX. It was a thirsty, not especially powerful engine, but it felt unhurried and largely effortless in its GX application. Thankfully, the new powertrain feels even more unstressed. There’s enough giddyup to keep the driver entertained (0–60 takes just 6.5 seconds, down 1.3 seconds from the outgoing model), and the 10-speed automatic operates seamlessly in the background on throttle. We did, it should be said, feel the occasional clunk while coasting down to a stop.

Our morning drive was through a modest trail system carved through a nearby ranch. The (very) mild path was designed to lift the GX into the occasional three-legged stance and highlight the added wheel articulation from the Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS). The system can lock and unlock the front and rear roll bars in low-speed situations (read: crawling through a trail) to stretch the wheels downward and maintain those precious contact patches. At higher speeds, it re-engages the bars to help keep the GX poised in the corners.

I got the sense that we were barely scratching the surface of what the GX Overtrail+ could do. The knobby 33-inch tires, developed in collaboration with Toyo, clawed their way over the muddy rutted trail without a hint of lost traction. On the drive to and from the ranch, the taller sidewalls soaked up pavement imperfections like they weren’t even there. You’ll want an Overtrail if you live somewhere that suffers from potholes. Conveniently, the 18-inch wheels are also the best-looking option by a longshot; the shoes on the other trims leave a lot to be desired.

Unlike the previous GX, there is no height-adjustable suspension offered for this generation. Adaptive variable suspension is offered for Overtrail, Overtrail+, and the Luxury+ trim, the latter of which we also drove and is not pictured here. Our take: the standard dampers felt plenty sufficient.

User interfaces have been the bane of most modern Lexuses, but the new cabin layout improves upon them. (The center stack is an evolution of what’s featured in the compact Lexus NX.) This might be the first time I’ve been glad to see fewer buttons in a new car and more functionality assigned to a central touchscreen. In the older GX, controls to adjust drive modes, suspension settings, or off-road systems were tucked into what seemed like 15 different locations. Here, driving-related controls are concentrated just ahead of the shifter, making them much easier to use. Operating anything else, like the climate control or the radio (note the pair of knobs!) takes place almost entirely on the central screen and can be learned quickly.

Lexus is hoping to move 33,000 GX 550s this year, with the Premium+ trim ($69,250 starting MSRP) shouldering the lion’s share of those units. We’re betting that the Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims pull just as much weight. The automaker says it’s already received a record number of deposits for the new ute, and it’s not hard to see why.

Not only is this new GX exactly what fans wanted from an out-of-the-box capability standpoint, the new SUV will check all important boxes for customers who want a modern, stylish, and solid-feeling mid-size luxury SUV. It has the looks to lure even those who don’t dream of off-grid adventures and the chops to handle the escapades of those who do. If the GX 550 is any bit as reliable as its predecessors (Lexus says that roughly 95 percent of all GXes are still on the road today), this is a winning formula—and then some.

2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+

Highs: Home-run styling draped over an interior that finally feels additive instead of tolerable. Trim-specific features are worth every penny. Still room for the aftermarket to run wild.

Lows: Third row is cramped enough to make you ponder the necessity of its existence. Non-Overtrail wheel designs feel mismatched to the rest of the exterior.

Summary: Lexus finally let GX engineers and designers off the leash, to seriously cool effect. If it’s as reliable as the last generation, the third owner will probably love it as much as (if not more than) the first.

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