Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.
Sacramento, California -- You desire to reward yourself with a luxury sport-utility vehicle, but you're hopelessly lost in the alphanumeric jungle of the segment -- a tangle of widely varying features and sticker prices.
I feel your pain.
Lexus fans might ask: How does the GX stand out among the Lexus SUV fleet? It's right there in the name -- Luxury -- and lots more.
The look is classic Lexus luxury liner -- big-shouldered sport-ute stance, monster shark mouth grille and a comfortable riding height that gives the driver a good overview of everything going on around the vehicle. Triple-beam headlamps sweeten the front-end appearance.
Inside, luxury is plentiful. Just absorbing all the features in the major novel-length owner's manual is a blast.
All this, for me? Of course, you deserve it. On my tester, the long list included a power moonroof, a 17-speaker Mark Levinson Surround-Sound audio system (it's concert hall quality, I assure you), heated second-row seats, power-folding third row seats, nicely placed wood trim and more leather surfaces than you'll find in a country club lobby.
Safety features are likewise maxed. That includes a sophisticated pre-collision system, dynamic radar cruise control and a lane-departure warning system. I'm sensitive to ultra-sensitive lane-departure warning systems, but they do keep you on your toes in the driver's seat.
For all this, you might expect to pay $80,000 or more, but the bottom line on my generously loaded tester came to $71,690.
Oh, it drives nicely as well. Smooth as butter on the interstates. Surprisingly quick and agile when maneuvering its way through downtown streets. The 4.6-liter V-8 with 301 horsepower is an able power plant, although I did need to plant my foot in it during steep climbs in the Sierra Nevada. Fuel mileage is tepid at only 15 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the open road.
How about taking it off-road? Lexus encourages it.
There's this from the automaker's marketing materials: "As a dual-purpose luxury vehicle, GX 460 can go from a short work commute to a long family vacation deep in the Rocky Mountains." On the Lexus website, these words are accompanied by a photograph of a GX climbing a bare rock surface in a high-mountain setting.
Well, I'm not sure I'd risk scratching my $72K beauty on those high country boulders, but that's up to you.
If all this helps you decide that the GX 460 is the luxury SUV of your dreams ... you're welcome.
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