Big as a house and about as well appointed, behemoth body-on-frame SUVs are the crown jewel of many automaker's lineups. While the 5,130-pound 2018 GX 460 isn't the biggest boy in the Lexus stable – that title goes to the LX 570 – it still exudes that commanding presence that's so beloved by the buyers of these cossetting giants.
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What you must know before buying the Lexus GX 460- 2018 GX 460 available; 2017s sold out
- Bonus: $2,500 customer cash
- Finance: 2.9-percent APR for 60 months
- Lease: From $449 for 36 months
Limited availability for the GX 460:
The GX 460 is a niche vehicle and individual dealer inventory usually reflects that with very limited stock available. Deals on this model are unusual, but that changed several months ago when special offers were rolled out. Fortunately, a few offers remain in place for another month.
The first of the 2018s arrived late last year. As for the 2017s, that stock is long gone.
The current deals are in place through April 30, 2018, and represent regional offers for the western states. If Lexus makes an update before then, we’ll revise this page accordingly, so please check back.
A revised cash offer:
Cash offers come and go with the GX460. This month, Lexus has $2,500 in customer cash, funds you’ll use to offset your cost. You can’t combine this deal with promotional financing offers, however.
Finance your Lexus GX:
You can finance a 2018 GX for 2.9-percent APR for up to 60 months. If you prefer a 72-month loan, your rate is 3.9 percent. Although now higher than last month, the current rates reflect a broader movement of climbing interest rates.
This month’s lease offer:
You can lease a 2018 GX 460 with monthly payments of $449 and $3,999 due at signing.
Monthly payments are down $10 and your cash due at signing falls by $500 compared with last month. Your effective monthly cost of ownership is now $560 and that’s an offer we like for this SUV.
The one drawback here is your annual driving limit is 10,000 miles.
Limited availability for the GX 460:
The GX 460 is a niche vehicle and individual dealer inventory usually reflects that with very limited stock available. Deals on this model are unusual, but that changed several months ago when special offers were rolled out. Fortunately, a few offers remain in place for another month.
The first of the 2018s arrived late last year. As for the 2017s, that stock is long gone.
The current deals are in place through April 30, 2018, and represent regional offers for the western states. If Lexus makes an update before then, we’ll revise this page accordingly, so please check back.
A revised cash offer:
Cash offers come and go with the GX460. This month, Lexus has $2,500 in customer cash, funds you’ll use to offset your cost. You can’t combine this deal with promotional financing offers, however.
Finance your Lexus GX:
You can finance a 2018 GX for 2.9-percent APR for up to 60 months. If you prefer a 72-month loan, your rate is 3.9 percent. Although now higher than last month, the current rates reflect a broader movement of climbing interest rates.
This month’s lease offer:
You can lease a 2018 GX 460 with monthly payments of $449 and $3,999 due at signing.
Monthly payments are down $10 and your cash due at signing falls by $500 compared with last month. Your effective monthly cost of ownership is now $560 and that’s an offer we like for this SUV.
The one drawback here is your annual driving limit is 10,000 miles.
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2018 Lexus GX 460 Overview
What's New for 2018
Those opting for the Luxury Trim now get a second-row bench seat and semi-aniline leather upholstery as standard. The Sport Design Package, available as an upgrade to the Luxury Trim, now includes second-row captain's chairs.
Choosing Your Lexus GX 460
In a day and age where cars of all shapes and sizes have more cogs than cylinders, the 2018 Lexus GX 460's eight-cylinder and six-speed combo seems rather quaint. The 4.6-liter V8 churns out 301 horsepower and 329 pound-feet of torque, and, routed through a six-speed automatic, lets the two-and-a-half ton SUV go from zero to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and tow up to 6,500 pounds. Unsurprising for a heavy V8-powered vehicle is the mediocre fuel economy of 15 miles per gallon city, 18 mpg highway and 16 mpg combined.
Hiding in the chassis are a few tricks that strive to give the big SUV an on-road ride that belies its off-road prowess. One of these gee-whiz bits is the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System, which works to reduce lean via stabilizer bars that are automatically adjusted by the SUV's sensors. This allows it to adapt to on- and off-road terrain without sacrificing comfort or capability. The GX also boasts standard chassis control technologies like hill descent control and active traction control, giving it impressive off-road chops.
The GX 460 may have a strong resume when it comes to off-asphalt antics, but competitors are nipping at the heels of this long-in-the-tooth luxury SUV. The V6-powered Land Rover Discovery, for instance, is renowned for what it can do when the terrain gets rough, and has a starting price that's just a bit cheaper than the Lexus ($53,085 versus $53,150, destination included). With a recent overhaul, posh interior and go-anywhere capability, the Land Rover is formidable competition to the rugged GX 460.
Though it doesn't have trail-conquering hardware, the Mercedes GLE is perhaps situated squarely within the GX's sights, given the philosophies that guide both of these traditional luxury brands. The GLE offers identical horsepower from the standard 3.5-liter V6 and has a tow rating that's within 100 pounds of it's Japanese competitor. It also costs just $45 more, meaning potential buyers will need to do some serious soul-searching before making their choice.
The 2018 Lexus GX 460 comes three ways:
Base
For $53,150 (including the $995 destination charge), buyers get an unadorned GX 460. Standard features include 18-inch wheels, 10-way power front seats, a memory system for the driver's seat, mirrors, and steering wheel, Bluetooth, a nine-speaker sound system, the Lexus Enform Safety and Service Connect programs, Siri Eyes Free, and an eight-inch display touchscreen. Options include navigation ($1,530), blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert ($800), headlight washers ($100), parking assist ($500), as well as heated and ventilated front seats ($640).
Premium
The GX 460 Premium starts at $57,595, and, on top of what the base model offers, it adds navigation, parking assist, heated and ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, mahogany wood trim, and tri-zone climate control. Another $325 gets buyers second-row captain's seats, while the $2,060 Sport Design Package offers a bit of zest by way of 18-inch, six-spoke wheels, a chrome exhaust tip, an exclusive front fascia, a unique mirror design, a rear chin spoiler, and scarlet taillights. Headlight washers and blind-spot monitoring are again optional, while a wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob ($31) make it to the options list.
Luxury
The fancy-pants GX 460 Luxury has a starting price of $64,525. For that moolah, buyers get a power fold-flat third row, a wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob, a cargo area tonneau cover, a semi-aniline leather-trimmed interior, and an adaptive variable suspension. That latter piece of equipment utilizes electronically-controlled dampers that have three settings from which the driver can choose: Normal, Sport, and Comfort.
The Sport Package is again optional, but comes standard with second-row captain's seats rather than a bench. The Driver Support Package ($4,340) bundles a variety of safety features that includes pre-collision warning, a wide-view front and side monitor system, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, an off-road crawl control system, and a 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.
Even on the top-spec Luxury, Lexus refused to make the headlight washers standard, and so once again they show up on the options list. The only other option is a rear-seat entertainment system ($1,970), which includes dual LCD screens mounted behind the front seats, a remote control, AV jacks, wireless headphones, HDMI input, and an AC power outlet.
CarsDirect Tip
The unfortunate truth is that the 2018 Lexus GX 460 is an outdated machine. In style and technology, it's a step behind the rest of the market, a hoary and dated rig compared to the competition. While it can still go far beyond where many other cars would get stuck, nearly all other facets of the GX 460 experience play second fiddle to the SUVs that it competes with. Unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool Lexus fan who's also an avid off roader, we'd recommend shopping elsewhere.
Our Take: 2018 Lexus GX 460
Tucked behind the spindle grille of the 2018 Lexus GX 460 is a genuine off-road sport utility with a smooth V8, comfortable ride, pleasant cabin, and scads of off-road tech. But holding it back is a mish-mash of styling cues, poor fuel economy, numb steering, and mediocre cargo capacity from this aging brute.
Best Value
The 2018 Lexus GX 460 starts at $53,150 for one in base trim and can climb to over $70,000 for a fully-equipped Luxury model. Picking an engine and transmission is easy as only one of each is offered. Likewise, the drivetrain is limited to a single – but very capable – four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case and a locking center differential.
Three trim levels (base, Premium, Luxury) add increasing levels of extravagance to the interior's aging bones, with even the entry-level trim offering the typical power features plus eighteen-inch alloy wheels, LED low beam headlights, illuminated running boards, rear view camera, moonroof, synthetic leather seats, wood trim, memory driver's seat, third row seating, automatic climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, eight-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, and satellite radio.
We'd skip the base model for the Premium trim and a bigger slice of luxury with perforated leather seats (heated in front and the outboard middle row, cooled in front) mahogany wood trim, navigation, Lexus Enform Remote services, rain-sensing wipers, Sport Design exterior trim, and three-zone automatic climate control.
Here's how we'd build it:
- Model: 2018 Lexus GX460 Premium
- Engine: 4.0-liter V6
- Output: 301 hp / 329 lb-ft
- Transmission: Six-speed automatic
- Drivetrain: Four-wheel-drive
- MPG: 15 City / 18 Hwy
- Options: Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert ($800)
- Base Price:$57,595 (including a $995 destination charge)
- Best Value Price:$58,395
Performance
A serious off-roader at heart, the GX 460 is sold overseas as a member of Toyota's legendary Land Cruiser family. It offers 8.1 inches of ground clearance with 21 degree approach and 23 degree departure angles. It's also capable of taking over low-speed crawling by automatically applying the brakes at each corner, leaving steering as the driver's only responsibility. The V8 provides decent acceleration, and matches up nicely with the smooth-shifting six-speed automatic, while the electrohydraulic suspension is capable of adjusting the front and rear sway bars - loosening them for extended wheel travel in off-road conditions and tightening them for better control on-road.
But the suspension system also conceals on-road body lean – masking the amount of tire grip. And advanced safety systems - standard on the lowly Toyota Corolla - aren't offered. That's a symptom of the GX's advanced age. At the same time, the brakes are spongy, and steering is numb with light on-center feel and little feedback to the driver. And the V8 – which requires premium fuel - only manages a paltry EPA-estimated 15 miles per gallon in the city, 18 on the highway, and 16 combined.
Style
A boxy exterior dominated by the brand's signature spindle grille holds an interior with nicely-padded first and second row seats that allow driver and passengers to sit well above the beltline. Outward visibility is very good, with plenty of head and legroom up front as well as the middle row that slides to adjust legroom. Controls and knobs are well organized, and the gauge layout is legible, well laid out, and intuitive.
That said, the infotainment system is ancient, a product of 2010, when the GX's second generation debuted.
The bulky grille doesn't play well with the slimmer, plainer, boxy body that follows and it's wrapped around an interior with a veneer of luxury but own personality disorders that include a tall ride height that makes ingress and egress more difficult, and an archaic side-hinged tailgate. It also sports a fixed third row that is incapable of carrying adults in comfort and, when folded, sits high above the cargo floor, making the 46.7 cu ft of cargo space less useful. Once again, these are products of the GX's age, and are problems that newer competitors have solved.
The Best and Worst Things
We appreciate the GX 460's solid feel and off-road capability; but those features are available on the Toyota 4Runner for thousands less, while most buyers would be better served with a traditional crossover.
Right For? Wrong For?
The GX 460 should be on the shopping lists of luxury-focused weekend warriors that have an aversion to the newer, more comfortable, more luxurious, and better looking Land Rover Discovery or Range Rover Sport.
Families will likely take a pass due to the GX 460's limited third row seating, dearth of safety features, and poor fuel economy.
The Bottom Line
It can boast of a polished V8, relaxed ride, and loads of off-road technology, but the GX 460 also disappoints with a confusing design, poor fuel economy, mediocre handling, and poor cargo capacity, placing it below mid-pack in its class. We hope a replacement is in the cards, because this is a likable vehicle that's main hindrance is its age.
