GX 550 vs Lx 600 (2 Viewers)

[Jetboy]

It is a matter of taste and likes, as a 2016 to 2021 LX570 with say less than 60k miles is $$$ quite competitive with a GX550. My assumption is that you would be able to self install front and rear bumpers and skids and get 34s or 35s without lifting/replacing the factory suspension. Then it is bigger inside and a class up from the Prado/GX series.

I can see we just have to agree to disagree on this one. Nice we have choices.

I guess I haven't looked recently. I didn't know prices had come down so much. I see some MY 16+ in the low-mid 40's with around 60k miles. At that price I have to admit that it does starts to look more interesting to me. For a weekender I'd probably go a bit older/cheaper, but I can see the value there.

There must be a bunch of 21's coming off leases - I see a bunch of 21s that are all priced at the same $59-61k. Seems like they're pretty competitively priced right now.

 

[2021 LC200]

I guess I haven't looked recently. I didn't know prices had come down so much. I see some MY 16+ in the low-mid 40's with around 60k miles. At that price I have to admit that it does starts to look more interesting to me. For a weekender I'd probably go a bit older/cheaper, but I can see the value there.

There must be a bunch of 21's coming off leases - I see a bunch of 21s that are all priced at the same $59-61k. Seems like they're pretty competitively priced right now.

Perhaps try to drive both and then take it from there. Also second or third model year GX550’s are probably a better choice than 2024’s. Overall a luxury problem. Both great choices. Best of luck!

 

[Jetboy]

Perhaps try to drive both and then take it from there. Also second or third model year GX550’s are probably a better choice than 2024’s. Overall a luxury problem. Both great choices. Best of luck!

I've driven the 200 and LX a fair amount and been on lots of trail miles with them. AHC is a big selling point for me on the LX as a multi-purpose vehicle. Works really well as long as you live within it's range of function. Wish they would expand that system offering to more models. Now that I have kids I need room for 4 people and gear so the midsize SUVs are a bit too small and I've ended up in a Tundra.

I've yet to drive a GX550 though and haven't seen any offroad or at all in the wild. Since most are leases, a few years down the road when those come back off lease might be a good time to pick one up. Bonus is that we'll have more information on the reliability by that point.

 

[2021 LC200]

I've driven the 200 and LX a fair amount and been on lots of trail miles with them. AHC is a big selling point for me on the LX as a multi-purpose vehicle. Works really well as long as you live within it's range of function. Wish they would expand that system offering to more models. Now that I have kids I need room for 4 people and gear so the midsize SUVs are a bit too small and I've ended up in a Tundra.

I've yet to drive a GX550 though and haven't seen any offroad or at all in the wild. Since most are leases, a few years down the road when those come back off lease might be a good time to pick one up. Bonus is that we'll have more information on the reliability by that point.

In Doug Demuros review of the 250 he looks more cramped sitting in there front and rear seats compared to the 200. Not sure why given they are not dissimilar in length and width. Have a good look at his videos and you can see a clear difference.

 

[Jetboy]

In Doug Demuros review of the 250 he looks more cramped sitting in there front and rear seats compared to the 200. Not sure why given they are not dissimilar in length and width. Have a good look at his videos and you can see a clear difference.

It looks like Toyota moved the firewall back about 3 inches in the GA-F models vs prior generation of each model and it really screws with passenger space. Not sure why they did that, but the rear seat room also appears worse on the LC250 than the J150/4Runner models. I haven't sat in one though to see. New Tacoma front seat fit is improved over prior gen, but the rear seat is essentially unusable for me. I'm above average in the USA at 6'3", but not super tall and with a new taco front seat where I would have it - the rear seat could only be used by a child without a booster seat.

 

[onemanarmy]

The LX really is a cut above in all area's as it should be. The LX feels priced accordingly, all cars honestly feel a bit high for what you get.

Ftfy

 

[2021 LC200]

It looks like Toyota moved the firewall back about 3 inches in the GA-F models vs prior generation of each model and it really screws with passenger space. Not sure why they did that, but the rear seat room also appears worse on the LC250 than the J150/4Runner models. I haven't sat in one though to see. New Tacoma front seat fit is improved over prior gen, but the rear seat is essentially unusable for me. I'm above average in the USA at 6'3", but not super tall and with a new taco front seat where I would have it - the rear seat could only be used by a child without a booster seat.

When I hear more engine room I start dreaming about an in-line six…

Perhaps frontal crash ratings and or longitudinal hybrids require more space?

 

[Phillyd2]

For me - I kinda struggle with the question of why? Builds like are hard for me to make sense of outside of marketing exercises. For a lexus display at SEMA - sure, gets attention. Big hit at overland expo. For real world use - I'm just not sure what it does well. I'm not sure I'm understanding what the use case is that couldn't be done better with a different vehicle. I like the 200 platform in general. But in this case it seems like a GX550 with 35s would end up being better on the street and the trails with almost no effort and probably a lot less $.

In that case the 250 makes even less sense.

 

[Jetboy]

When I hear more engine room I start dreaming about an in-line six…

Perhaps frontal crash ratings and or longitudinal hybrids require more space?

I think it just boiled down to styling. There was some discussion in the marketing materials about engine sitting aft of the front axle centerline to improve handling, but that sounds a bit suspect to me. It's an aluminum v6 that probably weighs about 500lbs wet. Moving it a few inches forward or back isn't going to make or break the handling of a 6,000lb suv. And even if that was a design necessity - the solution of moving the front axle forward makes more sense. It would improve the offroad geometry and ride by extending the wheelbase a little. I think they really wanted the styling of an extra long hood.

 

[Jetboy]

In that case the 250 makes even less sense.

It's more powerful at low to mid rpms and should turn 35s or 37s a good bit easier both on and off-road. And you can just bolt on 35s and 37s take little effort to fit. Comparable trail capability on the LX is going to cost a lot. And the lc250 comes with a rear locker. To get an lc250 to a state ready for trails like the Rubicon is probably just a set of tires and maybe a dozen fasteners. Maybe add a winch. The LX is going take a heep of work.

For touring, the LX is a pretty good option. Probably more comfy on long highway trips with a mild lift and 33" tires. With 1,000 lbs of crap bolted on - it's going to struggle on the trails though.

 

[Leelanau]

It's more powerful at low to mid rpms and should turn 35s or 37s a good bit easier both on and off-road. And you can just bolt on 35s and 37s take little effort to fit. Comparable trail capability on the LX is going to cost a lot. And the lc250 comes with a rear locker. To get an lc250 to a state ready for trails like the Rubicon is probably just a set of tires and maybe a dozen fasteners. Maybe add a winch. The LX is going take a heep of work.

For touring, the LX is a pretty good option. Probably more comfy on long highway trips with a mild lift and 33" tires. With 1,000 lbs of crap bolted on - it's going to struggle on the trails though.

The 250 is Rubicon ready with tires and a dozen fasteners? What do you mean by fasteners? This seems like a stretch.

 

[Lou Gill]

I guess I haven't looked recently. I didn't know prices had come down so much. I see some MY 16+ in the low-mid 40's with around 60k miles. At that price I have to admit that it does starts to look more interesting to me. For a weekender I'd probably go a bit older/cheaper, but I can see the value there.

There must be a bunch of 21's coming off leases - I see a bunch of 21s that are all priced at the same $59-61k. Seems like they're pretty competitively priced right now.

Please let me know where you are seeing ‘21 LX 570’ in the $59-60 price range…..

 

[2021 LC200]

It's more powerful at low to mid rpms and should turn 35s or 37s a good bit easier both on and off-road. And you can just bolt on 35s and 37s take little effort to fit. Comparable trail capability on the LX is going to cost a lot. And the lc250 comes with a rear locker. To get an lc250 to a state ready for trails like the Rubicon is probably just a set of tires and maybe a dozen fasteners. Maybe add a winch. The LX is going take a heep of work.

For touring, the LX is a pretty good option. Probably more comfy on long highway trips with a mild lift and 33" tires. With 1,000 lbs of crap bolted on - it's going to struggle on the trails though.

I would go for light weight cut back front (CBI) and rear (E&E), aluminum roof rack, rear ladder and put spare in the boot standing up driver side, for a LX570 off-road build.

GX550 bumpers are good as they are?

 

[MRego]

The 250 is Rubicon ready with tires and a dozen fasteners? What do you mean by fasteners? This seems like a stretch.

I had the exact same thought. The concept of "fasteners" must have expanded considerably.

 

[hoser]

Some of the frame differences between the 250 and 300.

 

[Docyota]

I can vouch for the Lx600's being the best long haul cruiser. Just finished a 3500 mile road trip. Nothing I've owned or driven compares with the way it eats up the miles in comfort and capability.

The Gx550 is great, but it just doesn't have that special sauce of soft touch but long wearing materials everywhere, cascades of acceleration at speed, and lead-vault interior quiet that is the LX.

 

[Jetboy]

The 250 is Rubicon ready with tires and a dozen fasteners? What do you mean by fasteners? This seems like a stretch.

These are the parts and fasteners you'll need. I would call it fastener removal. I personally would re-install the fasteners with some thread sealer as well so they fill back in the empty holes. Maybe 30 minutes of work?

To fit 37s it's my understanding that you'll need to remove the frame support braces on the front body mounts and the front bumper inner fender liner trim pieces and depending on tire and wheel offset some plastic trimming. That's what it takes on the 2024 Tacoma. I think the LC250 is similar. I don't think you would need anything else to run the Rubicon. I did it twice in my 5th gen 4Runner with around 2" lift and 34" tires with rear bumper protection, but stock front bumper. Stock front bumper on the 5th gen 4R was not an issue at all. Plenty of clearance, no "viper cut" or anything like that - full bumper skin. I don't really understand the viper cut to be honest. It doesn't do anything meaningful for bumper clearance I can tell, but it exposes a bunch of stuff inside to rock strikes. In my estimate that's a mod that actively makes it worse - a lot like bolting on 1,000lbs of unnecessary farkle. The LC250 bumpers are relatively high and tight. I think it's about a dozen total fasteners you'll need to remove. That plus the tires and maybe wheels if they won't mount the 37's on an 8" wheel (not sure what width the OEM wheels are). I think you'd probably cruise through on something like a 285/75/18 as well and that would probably only require the bracket removal and none of the fender trim parts or aftermarket wheels. Edit: There are some 37x11.5 tires available that would probably not require plastic trimming and would fit on OEM wheels.

What you do need is skid plates and rock rails - ideally with bump outs. LC250 comes with adequate rock rails although no bump outs. The first corner of cadillac hill on the upward direction will be the challenging spot without em, but it's doable. I've done it. I did it once with bump outs and once without. I also did it once with stock OEM steel skid plates and once with aftermarket. The only place that the OEM skid plates on the 4Runner were inadequate for that trail on a single trip basis was the gas tank skid. I would buy or make some for an LC250, but the OEM ones would do for a trip or two. I've actually been wanting to try FRP composite and steel combo skids so that's what I'd do - OEM skids with about 1/8" thick high e-glass layup on the inside for extra stiffness, lighter weight, OEM fit, steel surface for superior puncture and low friction. But I'd tell my friends to go buy some aftermarket skids.

As a comparison an LC100 on 35s with ARB bumpers took a pretty heavy beating including damaging both front fenders and I think both rear quarter panels from pushing the ARB bumpers back into the body work. In general the steel bumpers like an ARB make it worse, not better in that type of terrain because they stick out quite a bit further than stock. The high clearance steel bumpers probably have some additional benefit, but I didn't have any issues with the OEM front. Rear bumper really does - needs some sort of skid on 34" tires. On 37s though - I just don't think a rear bumper is necessary. I don't think you'd have any contact anywhere on that particular trail if you're a good driver. If you added some lift or even air helper springs for $150 - then you could just jack that rear end up in the few places you need to clear the rocks without too much fuss.

LX with AHC can lift up a good bit too. If you had AHC on a LC250 it would be fantastic. But the LX is just starting with some really low hanging plastics and maxes out with 34" tires unless you want to start cutting and re-shaping firewall and other stuff to fit comparable tires. The difference between 34 and 37" tires makes a lot of difference on what you'll need everywhere else. On the GX - that front bumper is a big liability. 37's plus lift might be enough height to cruise through that type of trail without an aftermarket front bumper, but I don't know. It's a pretty long snout hanging out there.

 

[Phillyd2]

Some of the frame differences between the 250 and 300.

Wow! Somebody discovered editing and the value of having a script.

 

[Jetboy]

Some of the frame differences between the 250 and 300.

I'm pretty sure Tomohiko Iwashita said that the frame rails are the same between the 250 and 300, the difference is the brackets used for suspension and body mounts and differences in crossmembers to fit the different bodies, but they use the same materials and thickness for the primary components. He also said the frames are identical for the GX/4R/LC250 except for the minor tweaks for each model's body and suspension changes. If the frame is the important part - sequoia and tundra are the ones you'd want. Even a Tacoma should be thicker material for its frame rails than the LC300 - the load is much higher on a Tacoma frame rail than an LC300. It's just an inherent property of having a longer free span between the two axles and the midsize siblings all have pretty short spans and low stresses relative to their longer cousins.

I'm a lot more concerned about corrosion protection than material thickness or tensile strength. I'd guess 99.999% of Toyota BOF frame failures over time are from rust vs from plastic deformation.

 

[Jetboy]

Please let me know where you are seeing ‘21 LX 570’ in the $59-60 price range…..

Here's a few. Some have been sitting a while so you might be able to get another few $ off the advertised prices. I think I counted 13 currently advertised MY 2020's also between $58 and $62k, so if 2020 is in consideration there's more available in that range also. The following are 2021's

$59,235 and 76 days on market.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=untrackedExternal_false_0&distance=50000&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&zip=99516&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d3042&sortDir=ASC&sortType=BEST_MATCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true#listing=391689362/NONE/DEFAULT

$61,458 CPO and 40 days on market.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=untrackedExternal_false_0&distance=50000&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&zip=99516&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d3042&sortDir=ASC&sortType=BEST_MATCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true#listing=394817996/NONE/DEFAULT

$61,500 and 42 days.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=untrackedExternal_false_0&distance=50000&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&zip=99516&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d3042&sortDir=ASC&sortType=BEST_MATCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true#listing=394660971/NONE/DEFAULT

$62k 47 days.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=untrackedExternal_false_0&distance=50000&inventorySearchWidgetType=AUTO&zip=99516&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d3042&sortDir=ASC&sortType=BEST_MATCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true#listing=394202910/NONE/DEFAULT

Edit: Interestingly most of these are 2 row configurations. I haven't followed this model closely - I didn't realize the 2 rows were common or even available. I've never driven one without a 3rd row.