TOUGH LUXURY: 2015 Lexus GX 460 a perfectly willing performer on, off road - Albuquerque Journal
Despite its plethora of high-tech safety, comfort and entertainment/communications features – not to mention its modern luxury accouterments – the fact that the big SUV uses trucklike body-on-frame underpinnings sets it squarely against modern... Nearly all current SUVs are based on carlike unit-body structures, and many actually share the platform of the car from which they’re derived. The GX shares its basic platform with Toyota’s 4Runner, which is turn is based on a version of the Toyota Tacoma midsize pickup truck. But Lexus has managed to dial out most of the “truckiness” through clever suspension tuning. In fact, given the vehicle’s somewhat-ponderous weight – a hefty 5,128 pounds unladen – the GX is pleasantly amenable to maneuvering through around-town traffic, while on back roads it sails securely through curves with little complaint. 6-liter V-8 producing 301 horsepower and 329 pound-feet of torque handily motivates this hefty hunk of luxury, but, as you might expect, it slurps premium-grade fuel at a rather prodigious rate: 15 mpg in town and 20 on the highway. The GX’s off-road prowess is enhanced by full-time four-wheel drive with a Torsen limited-slip center differential with an electric locking feature. As befits a Lexus, the cabin is meticulously constructed of top-line materials. Source: www.abqjournal.com
