The Lexus GX is your Japanese luxury off-roader, quietly launched in PH with Php 7.578M starting price

It may have taken more than a decade, but the third generation of the Lexus GX luxury off-roader has finally arrived in the Philippines, albeit quietly.

Since the nameplate’s introduction in 2002, the GX has always been the luxury counterpart of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. This third generation model was revealed about a year ago and keeps its body-on-frame architecture, riding on the TNGA-F platform shared with the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 and Lexus LX.

The Philippine-spec 2024 Lexus GX is available in two variants: the GX 550 Overtrail and the GX 550 Premier.

The exterior is a huge departure from the previous generation, now taking on a rugged off-road SUV theme, with Lexus’ signature styling integrated into it. It is what the company calls rugged sophistication.

In front of course is the large spindle grille flanked by slim LED headlights. The side shows its body lines which seem to have been inspired by previous generations of the Toyota Land Cruiser series. The rear loses the vertical taillights with full-width wraparound LED taillights in its place, keeping up with today’s trends.

The GX 550 Overtrail, being the more rugged option, comes with blacked-out fender flares, door handles, and roof. It also comes with 33-inch all-terrain tires wrapping the 18-inch matte gray alloy wheels, and a rugged set of roof rails. 

The higher GX 550 Premier comes with more luxurious appointments such as gloss-black exterior trim, 22-inch two-tone alloy wheels, and sleeker roof rails.

Inside, the all-new Lexus GX keeps its premium SUV motif albeit with a touch of ruggedness, adopting Lexus’ Tazuna concept for better ergonomics. Both variants have the same feature set such as leather seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Where they differ is in seating capacity where the Overtrail can seat five people, while the Premier can seat seven with captain seats on the second row. The Premier also gets a 21-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system as opposed to the Overtrail’s 10-speaker system.

Under the hood of both 2024 Lexus GX variants is a 3.4-liter V35A-FTS twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine shared with the Lexus LX. In the GX, it produces a slightly less 349 horsepower and the same 650 Nm of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. 

The Overtrail comes with Multi-Terrain Select (MTS) which gives the GX various modes for different kinds of conditions. These are Rock, Mud, Sand, and Auto.

For safety, the 2024 Lexus GX is equipped with the Lexus Safety Sense 3.0 advanced driver-assist suite giving it a Pre-Collision System, Automatic High Beams, Lane Departure Alert, Dynamic Radar (adaptive) Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Safe Exit Assist, and Lane Tracing Assist. It also gets a 360-degree Panoramic View Monitor.

Now for the pricing bit, it starts at Php 7,578,000 for the GX 550 Overtrail, and goes up to Php 8,578,000 for the GX 550 Premier. Buyers will be able to take advantage of a three-year or 100,000 kilometer vehicle warranty, whichever comes first, as well as a free 1,000 kilometer maintenance check-up.

What do you think of the all-new Lexus GX?