After receiving a facelift last year, the Lexus GX enters 2021 largely unchanged, which means that it’s still the same comfortable luxury SUV with a serious off-roader’s heart. Our test vehicle, the GX 460 Luxury, came with all the goodies, including the Navigation Package, third row power seats and a Mark Levinson 17-speaker, 330-watt Premium Surround Sound Audio System.

In traditional Lexus fashion, the GX 460 was quiet almost everywhere we took it, with the 4.6-liter V-8 delivering a hearty 301 hp and 329 lb.-ft. of peak torque in effortless fashion. This smooth-revving powertrain allowed us to pull away from red lights briskly while keeping up with smaller cars in the fast lane. Lexus claims that the 5200-lb. SUV can run to 60 mph in a respectable 7.8 seconds, while turning in a fuel economy rating of 15/27 mpg city/highway. For those with boats or race trailers, it’ll comfortably haul your rig virtually anywhere, thanks to its 6,500-lb. towing capacity. Towing is aided with Trailer Sway Control, a function of the Vehicle Stability Control that enhances straight-line tracking.

Take a look around the cabin, and you'll find yourself swathed in opulence. There's high-grade leather upholstery all over, accented with Gray Sapele trim that blends the natural expression of the wood with brushed aluminum, a result of Lexus’ laser technology that engraves the wood surface to reveal the delicate metallic lines underneath. One shortcoming we found was the navigation system, which operated quite slowly and, at times, inaccurately. Despite featuring real-time traffic conditions, it failed to point out closed roads in several instances, resulting in a scenic drive we never asked for, and adding a chunk of time to the commute. After a few miscues, we just decided to go with our Waze smartphone app.

If you do find yourself in the middle of nowhere, you can be comforted by the fact that the GX is one of the most capable off-road vehicles around. Its full-time automatic four-wheel drive system can distribute power 40:60 front to rear under most driving conditions and changes the ratio as needed based on wheel slip. There's a two-speed transfer case with low range that features a variety of cutting-edge driving technology, including Downhill Assist Control (DAC), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), Active Traction Control (A-TRAC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). Our test vehicle came with the Off-Road Package, which includes Lexus’ Multi-Terrain Monitor and Panoramic View Monitors with driver and passenger cameras; transmission cooler; fuel tank protector; Crawl Control; and Multi-Terrain Select.

Lexus' Multi-Terrain Select optimizes drivability on an array of surfaces, including loose rocks, mud, sand and even moguls, by regulating wheelspin to help improve traction of the 265/60R18 tires. The Multi-Terrain Monitor and Panoramic View Monitors allow front passengers to view front, rear, side, and under the vehicle via strategically placed cameras that display the images on the navigation screen.

To help drivers maintain control on steep slippery hills, the GX features Crawl Control that automatically optimizes vehicle speed over demanding landscapes by modulating the throttle and brakes, allowing the driver to concentrate on the steering.

With such commendable off-road ability, one would think that the GX would be out of its element in the urban jungle, but we found it to be a supremely comfortable and capable crosstown commuter, not to mention an exceptional choice for multi-hour road trips. In fact, we drove it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with the expansive cargo space filled to capacity. With both the second- and third-row seats folded down, our Lexus SUV easily engulfed several large boxes and metal frames (see photo), thanks to its maximum cargo capacity of 64.7 cu. ft. This would never have fit in a normal mid-size SUV.

The GX 460 Luxury is priced at $64,385, which we consider to be quite reasonable when you look at similar offerings in the luxury SUV segment. Our test vehicle included the Sport Design and Off-Road packages that helped bring the total to $71,890. After our brief encounter with the new GX, we found it to be a highly versatile vehicle that delivers a high degree of performance on all kinds of terrain in a comfortable and luxurious way.

Lexus GX 460 Luxury