The Lexus GX was once forbidden fruit in Australia, but its introduction seems to have gone down well with local buyers.
Arriving in Australian showrooms in mid-2024, it has since become the favourite in the lucrative high-end upper-large SUV segment – though there is a catch. While it outsold the likes of the BMW X7, it fell short of more direct off-road rivals like the Land Rover Defender – even if they’re classed in different price segments – by a considerable margin.
That’s to be expected though, as the GX is fairly pricey and much more niche than other ladder-frame SUVs that offer diesel power. The most important factor, however, is the GX’s platform, which is surprisingly versatile across the Toyota stable.
Built on the brand’s TNGA-F body-on-frame platform, the GX is related to Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Series, 250 Series Prado and Tundra pickup, as well as its premium brand’s larger Lexus LX. The GX is only available with a V6 petrol engine, which keeps it from cannibalising sales of the closely related, four-cylinder diesel-powered Prado.
With all that in mind, is the GX still worth considering in 2026?
How much does the Lexus GX cost?
Occupying the middle of the three-grade GX range, the Sports Luxury is priced at $124,840 before on-road costs.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| 2026 Lexus GX550 Luxury | $118,320 |
| 2026 Lexus GX550 Sports Luxury | $124,840 |
| 2026 Lexus GX550 Overtrail | $130,770 |
The GX’s most direct rival is the Defender, which in five-door guise starts at $99,500 before on-roads when fitted with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol option bumps prices above the GX, to $124,300 before on-roads.
Otherwise, the Nissan Patrol V8 tops out at $110,660 before on-roads, while the Prado range tops out at $100,690 before on-roads in flagship Kakadu trim.
You could also consider the LandCruiser 300 Series, which starts at $99,340 before on-roads in base GX trim and tops out at a hefty $147,910 before on-roads for the flagship Sahara ZX.
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
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What is the Lexus GX like on the inside?
Your view of the GX’s interior will differ depending on whether you’re looking at it or sitting in it.
If you’re just looking, its awkward design is hard to ignore. The dashboard is huge and imposing, and it seems to end quite abruptly with the sharp air vent housings at either end floating aimlessly near the side windows.
It’s not particularly slick in its lines or screen integration, making the interior look haphazard and inconsistent with the stylish look of most other modern Lexus cabins. The dash also sits quite high, with a very narrow platform, which when combined with the slim windscreen creates odd aesthetic proportions.
But once you’re in the driver’s seat, it all feels very proper. The upright dash – and lovely dark green metallic paint on the bonnet – makes it feel like you’re in the cockpit of a military vehicle, giving you a real sense of presence behind the wheel.
You’ll also find the cabin’s ergonomics are spot-on, as everything falls nicely to hand. It’s easy to get comfortable thanks to a wide range of adjustments in the leather-appointed seats – complete with a luxe massage function – which are comfortable and supportive by default.
Then comes material choice. Highlights include tasteful gunmetal accents, grain-textured plastics, and leather-finished surfaces. But the standout is, by far, the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
With its perfect thickness, nicely proportioned overall diameter, and silky-smooth finish, it’s super-satisfying to hold. We’re willing to forgive some of the cabin’s ungainly design cues when Lexus has nailed the single item you interact with most.
The buttons on the wheel, however, are noticeably less satisfying. Thankfully, they’re real buttons that aren’t finished in piano black, but their click feels a little cheap, lacking the robust, meaty action of the buttons in some other Toyota cars.
Steering wheel heating is still standard here, as is electric adjustment. The stalks and paddle shifters are intuitive and also feel sturdy, even if the latter are only plastic – metal would be nice.
If you’re used to modern Toyotas, you won’t find anything new with the GX’s screens. That’s not a bad thing though, because the 14-inch infotainment display is a quality unit with crisp graphics and snappy loading times. As a side note, the Mark Levinson sound system here isn’t quite as punchy as we’d have liked.
Physical climate controls are stripped back in typical Toyota fashion, leaving them digital and locked in an always-on ribbon at the bottom of the display. These controls are at least large and legible, but we do wish the two classy-looking physical dials were notchier in their rotation.
The instrument display, meanwhile, is fairly neat. We like its simplistic graphics, and the option to display readouts like battery voltage and oil pressure is cool and uncommon in many new cars – even if they’re a little wasted in GX models without auxiliary electric fittings and the like.
It’s still somewhat cumbersome to navigate using the buttons on the steering wheel, so some time spent figuring out each different layout and how to access the various settings menus won’t go amiss.
Storage up front isn’t as generous as the car’s boxy body would suggest. Sure, the centre console houses the usual pair of cupholders beneath a sliding cover, plus a single wireless phone charger, a large, traditional gear selector and an array of other buttons, but what’s with that sloped panel up front?
The drive mode selector and other buttons make sense, but there’s so much wasted space here. It doesn’t make sense to have a cutesy sliding cover just for the 12V outlet; surely this area could’ve been ‘dug out’ to install an additional storage cubby below the central air vents? At least the two USB-C ports are easily accessible.
Otherwise, there’s a small-ish passenger-side glovebox, small bottle holders in the door cards, and a small cubby under the central armrest that doubles as a refrigerated cool box. It’s a shame, and it does get awkward if you’re doing a road trip with multiple people.
The second row is spacious, though headroom is again unexpectedly compromised. You feel like you sit quite high in the back compared to the front, and ceiling space is unfortunately compromised by the otherwise luxe, dimmable, fixed-glass roof.
There’s no limit to creature comforts though, as there’s a dedicated climate panel and two USB-C ports on the back of the centre console, along with heating for the outboard seats. Air vents are found in the ceiling, and legroom is decent if you’re not caught in the middle.
It’s a similar story for the two third-row seats, which aren’t all that comfortable but will be serviceable for short trips. Each side gets two cupholders and a USB-C port, and you can electrically raise and lower each seat using switches in the boot. Storage space is significantly reduced in the process.
Speaking of, the GX’s boot is far more practical and larger than that of its awkwardly packaged Prado (182L-906L-1829L) platform-mate. A powered tailgate is standard, allowing full access to the square, spacious cargo hold – lowering the third and second rows of seats creates a truly cavernous space.
Topping it off is a 230V outlet on the driver’s side of the boot, along with a full-size spare mounted under the vehicle.
| Dimensions | Lexus GX550 Sports Luxury |
|---|---|
| Length | 5015mm |
| Width | 1980mm |
| Height | 1935mm |
| Wheelbase | 2850mm |
| Cargo capacity | 291L (all rows up) 1138L (third row folded) 2177L (third and second rows folded) |
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
The beating heart of the GX550 is a 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, producing 260kW of power and 650Nm of torque. Drive is sent to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission.
| Specifications | Lexus GX550 Sports Luxury |
|---|---|
| Engine | 3.4L twin-turbo V6 petrol |
| Power | 260kW |
| Torque | 650Nm |
| Transmission | 10-speed auto |
| Drive type | Full-time four-wheel drive |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 12.3L/100km |
| Fuel economy (as tested) | 13.9L/100km |
| Fuel tank capacity | 80L |
| Fuel requirement | 95-octane premium unleaded |
| CO2 emissions (claimed) | 279g/km |
| Kerb weight | 2575kg |
| Payload | 600kg |
| Braked towing capacity | 3130kg |
| Gross vehicle mass (GVM) | 3175kg |
It’s worth noting that the Sports Luxury is the only GX grade with 3130kg braked towing as standard, as the other two variants offer 3500kg.
Our time with the GX550 was longer than usual. This included a week’s worth of normal highway commuting in typically poor Melbourne traffic, offset by freer-flowing country driving.
This was followed by a 400km-long road trip hauling a full boot’s worth (with both rear rows folded) of camping gear and equipment, followed by roughly 40km of low-speed driving on rough-ish dirt roads.
Over that varied driving, our tester recorded higher average fuel economy than what Lexus claims. It’s not at all surprising that the GX is thirsty, but something worth considering nonetheless.
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
How does the Lexus GX drive?
Perhaps ironically for a large luxury SUV sold alongside the car-based Lexus RX, the enemy of the GX is its ladder-frame platform, which seems to undermine a lot of the Lexus-flavoured enhancements over the related Prado.
If you’ve driven the current Prado, particularly a lower-spec variant without adaptive damping, you’ll know that it’s unexpectedly firm and uncomfortable on bumpy sealed roads. Unfortunately, that seems to be a trait of this platform, because the GX Sports Luxury left us underwhelmed.
Its ride just isn’t as supple as we’d have hoped, even with the adaptive damping. It’ll crash and buck over bumps, throwing its occupants around inside and producing a raft of concerning noises from the back-end in the process – likely from the interior plastics, but still.
We presume the colossal alloys of the Sports Luxury are a key factor in this, as we’ve found the Luxury and Overtrail to be much more cushy. Mind you, this setup is still preferable to the base Prado’s passive suspension, but arguably less palatable than the cheaper Ford Everest.
It even makes this particular GX seem relatively fragile off-road, as hard-pack dirt roads pockmarked with all sorts of holes, bumps, and ruts feel like they could send a shock absorber through the bonnet if taken too fast.
Of course, the Overtrail exists to focus more on off-road use, and that variant is generally more compliant with its chunky all-terrain tyres, smaller alloys, and tweaked suspension setup. The Sports Luxury just comes across a little posh.
As for that adaptive damping, there are a handful of different settings to choose from. Its standard mode is as we’ve described, while its Comfort setting is a little softer but still harsh over sharp imperfections.
It’s in fact its hardened Sport setting that seems the best-calibrated, as it does exactly what it says on the tin and helps the GX to feel a touch more agile – as agile as a tall, three-row SUV can be, anyway. You can’t drive daily in this setting because it’s excessively firm, but it does demonstrate decent body control.
Fortunately, we found the GX’s steering to be pleasant. It’s weighted nicely by default and is very communicative, yet still manages to mask big bumps without feeling dead. You generally have a strong understanding of how the car will react to your inputs as a result.
It makes the GX easy to pilot through suburban areas because it doesn’t complain about taking sharp turns with a bit of aggression. It isn’t sporty by any means, but it gives you confidence when navigating roundabouts or making tight turns.
But the major drawcard of the GX550 over the Prado is its beastly twin-turbo petrol V6. With decent sound (albeit synthetic when in Sport S+ mode) and impressive performance, the Lexus’s powertrain is far superior to its Toyota equivalent.
It’s super-smooth and absolutely hauls when you plant the accelerator pedal, making it great for a quick overtake on a caravan or truck. The transmission is also clever, as it never seems to trip over its multitude of gears and rarely makes itself known in normal driving.
Kickdowns are quick and accurate, but you can still take control of the gears by switching into manual mode or hitting the steering wheel paddles. It’s a great powertrain and a near-perfect fit for the GX.
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The only downside is that it is very thirsty, and therefore not ideal for long-haul road trips. Then again, if you are concerned about economy and saving fuel, you would just buy the diesel Prado or the LandCruiser 300 Series instead.
In typical Toyota fashion, the GX’s safety systems are all fairly well-sorted. We had no problem trusting its adaptive cruise control and lane-centring functions, even if it’s reluctant to apply significant steering lock, and there’s a high-quality arrangement of parking sensors and cameras to make parking a breeze.
Our only complaint here is that its driver monitoring system is more sensitive than we expected. It’s not a dealbreaker, but we’re noticing it more in newer Toyotas, and we hope it doesn’t become the norm.
Generally, though, the GX Sports Luxury is a mixed bag on the road. Its firm ride takes away from the lovely steering and meaty engine, though its level of refinement is otherwise fairly strong, aside from a touch of wind noise at high speed.
For a full breakdown of the GX’s off-road capabilities, check out our video review below:
| Off-road dimensions | Lexus GX550 Sports Luxury |
|---|---|
| Track front and rear | 1665mm (front) 1670mm (rear) |
| Ground clearance | 225mm |
| Approach angle | 26º |
| Departure angle | 23º |
| Ramp breakover angle | 23º |
| Wading depth | – |
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
What do you get?
Lexus sells three distinct GX550 variants in Australia.
2026 Lexus GX550 Luxury equipment highlights:
- 20-inch alloy wheels
- Full-size spare wheel
- 7-seat capacity
- 200A alternator
- Auto LED headlights
- LED tail-lights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Heated side mirrors with puddle lamps
- Roof rails
- Privacy glass
- Illuminated fixed side steps
- Power tilt and telescopic steering wheel column
- Paddle shifters
- Leather-accented gear shift knob and steering wheel
- NuLux upholstery
- 8-way front seat power adjustment with 2-way lumbar
- Driver seat memory
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- Heated outboard second-row seats
- Power-folding third-row seats
- Power tailgate
- Rear opening glass hatch
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless Apple CarPlay
- Wired Android Auto
- “Hey Lexus” natural voice recognition
- Satellite navigation
- DAB+ digital radio
- 10-speaker sound system
- Colour head-up display
- Wireless charger
- 6 x USB-C ports
- 2 x front
- 2 x second row
- 2 x third row
- 2 x 12V sockets
- 220V outlet
- Three-zone climate control
- Single-colour interior ambient lighting
- Three drive modes
GX550 Sports Luxury adds:
- 22-inch alloy wheels
- Adaptive damping
- ‘High Grade’ LED headlights with adaptive high-beam
- Auto extending/folding side steps (in lieu of illumination)
- Radiator grille shutter
- Panoramic glass roof
- Illuminated scuff plates
- Refrigerated cool box
- Digital rear-view mirror
- Unique door trim, pillar fabric, and dashboard finish
- Heated steering wheel
- Semi Aniline leather-accented upholstery
- Front massaging seats
- 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat (thigh support)
- 21-speaker Mark Levinson sound system
- Rear sun shades
- Tailgate kick sensor
- Multi-colour interior ambient lighting
- Credit card key (in addition to regular fobs)
- Five drive modes
- Normal
- Eco
- Comfort
- Sport S
- Sport S+
GX550 Overtrail adds:
- 18-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres
- 5-seat capacity
- Electronic-Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System
- Electric rear differential lock
- 240A alternator
- Two-tone paint
- Standard metal roof
- Bridge-type roof rails
- Provisional mounts for rock rails
- Unpainted wheel arch mouldings
- Overtrail-specific front and rear bumpers
- Overtrail-specific black exterior accents
- Illuminated fixed side steps
- Auxiliary instrument panel switches
- NuLux upholstery
- Olive Green Ultrasuede interior accents and stitching
- Overtrail-specific softened seat bolsters and stiffened seat base
- 8-way front seat power adjustment with 2-way lumbar
- 10-speaker sound system
- Single-colour interior ambient lighting
- Off-road terrain modes
- Auto
- Dirt
- Sand
- Mud
- Rock
- Deep Snow
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
Is the Lexus GX safe?
The Lexus GX has not been crash-tested by ANCAP and is therefore unrated.
However, while technically a different model, it’s worth mentioning the Toyota Prado on which the Lexus is based received a five-star safety rating from ANCAP in 2024. This does not necessarily translate to a five-star score for the Lexus.
Standard safety equipment highlights:
- 9 airbags, incl:
- Front
- Knee
- Side
- Front-centre
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Day and night pedestrian, cyclist detection
- Daytime motorcyclist detection
- Junction assist
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver monitoring system
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Lane departure alert
- Lane-trace assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Safe exit assist
- Surround-view monitor
- Traffic sign recognition
- Tyre pressure monitoring
GX550 Overtrail adds crawl control, downhill assist control, and a multi-terrain monitor.
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
How much does the Lexus GX cost to run?
Lexus Australia backs its range with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is required every six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first.
| Servicing and Warranty | Lexus GX |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 5 years, unlimited kilometres |
| Roadside assistance | 3 years (Lexus Encore) |
| Service intervals | 6 months or 10,000km |
| Capped-price servicing | 5 years ($695 each) |
| Average annual service cost | $1390 |
| Total capped-price service cost | $6950 |
For 2026, individual service prices for the GX have increased by $100. With servicing required twice per year, its total service cost over five years is now an eye-watering $6950.
Buyers do, however, get three years of complimentary access to the Lexus Encore program, which includes roadside assistance, a service loan car, Ampol fuel offers, and access to exclusive events and offers.
As for rivals, Land Rover offers five-year service packs for the Defender. Six-cylinder turbo-diesel models are covered by a $3500 pack, while the pack for the supercharged V8 bumps that to $3900.
The Nissan Patrol’s yearly services cost $499 each, totalling $2495 over five years. The diesel Prado, meanwhile, has the same service intervals as the GX, but five years of servicing will cost $3950.
To see how the Lexus GX stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the Lexus GX550 Sports Luxury
The Lexus GX is a lovely vehicle, but the mid-spec Sports Luxury compromises the formula.
Like other GXs, its interior is visually brash and lacks the class of most other Lexus models, even if its materials and tech are all of high-quality. We can’t help but feel the Prado’s interior fits its body much better.
We also found the Sports Luxury’s ride firm despite being the opposite in other trim levels. It’s disappointing that the adaptive damping can’t mask the impact of the huge alloy wheels, which makes the Sports Luxury seem far better suited to (affluent) urban environments.
And we can’t forget the service pricing, which has no business being as expensive as it is. All that combines to make the Defender seem like a much more logical option if you still want a high-end large off-road SUV with a powerful engine. Even the Prado makes more sense if you’re the type who likes to travel more than 400km on a tank of fuel.
Still, we can’t knock the lusty petrol V6’s performance, the transmission’s good behaviour, and the lovely steering. The GX also offers strong value compared to the Prado and 300, with the level of standard equipment on offer here difficult to argue against.
The thing is, we like the GX, and if none of that concerns you, it’ll still be a good buy. It’s just important to consider what you’ll use it for; the top-spec Overtrail will probably serve you best as an all-rounder.
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