Media GX460 / Prado150 pic thread (33 Viewers)

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In it's natural habitat
 
My GX is already chopped up, trimmed the rear bumper myself and have had an Ironman bumper on it since 01/2022. Apparently you still need to hack up the fenders to fit 35"s...

The only P/U that I owned was a 2005 Avalanche from 2008-2014. I used the bed all the time. The SUV aspect of the GX is nice a lot of the time but frankly it's just not that much space back there. Yes, it's a "midsize" SUV and not a "fullsize," but it's still super easy to pack to the brim. With home ownership and the likes now I'm thinking having a bed wouldn't suck.
If you have the space those folding trailers from Harbor Freight/ northern tool are cheap and worth it. I have had one for 10 years, and I will admit that I rarely used it when I owned my GMT400 Suburban (which has a flat 4x8 bed with the seats folded) but I used to tow it with a Ford Fiesta St and a BMW 318ti before that effectively converting them into pickups for trips to the home center. I considered a Sequoia instead of the GX, but will admit the Lexus build quality is nice, and not driving around all that extra vehicle for the 1% of time that I use it is also nice.

There are few vehicles that can haul sheet goods without leaving the door/tailgate open, 2x4s attach to a roof easily enough, and a trailer is better for mulch and dirt because of the low load height. I think those factors limit the appeal of a pickup to me, but those ZR2s look pretty cool, and I won't judge someone for buying something that makes them happy. Plus, when you need to deliver a dishwasher to a remote location that requires fording a river and some rock crawling, I think a well-equipped mid-size pickup is the ONLY tool for the job.
 
I bought the gx 3 months after we bought our house, and there are many times where I wished I had a pick up instead. it's been my Home Depot and Lowes runner moving all sorts of stuff. most recently some soil. I could have fit 2 more bags on top, totaling 21 cuft on platform, and 2 bags on bottom (6 cu ft). total about a yard of capacity without spilling over to the windows and sides.

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I bought the gx 3 months after we bought our house, and there are many times where I wished I had a pick up instead. it's been my Home Depot and Lowes runner moving all sorts of stuff. most recently some soil. I could have fit 2 more bags on top, totaling 21 cuft on platform, and 2 bags on bottom (6 cu ft). total about a yard of capacity without spilling over to the windows and sides.

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With all the seats down and the passenger front all the way forward, there's actually quite a bit of room.
 
The only P/U that I owned was a 2005 Avalanche from 2008-2014. I used the bed all the time. The SUV aspect of the GX is nice a lot of the time but frankly it's just not that much space back there. Yes, it's a "midsize" SUV and not a "fullsize," but it's still super easy to pack to the brim. With home ownership and the likes now I'm thinking having a bed wouldn't suck.
Kind of along the lines of what @NorthwoodsGX said, I had an old F150 farm truck for this purpose for a long time but finally let it go last year. Maintenance was getting to be a PITA and that thing was pretty rough but it was nice to have a bed. I got a 16ft trailer that I can use if the load won't fit in the GX. I probably use it 10 times per year so I get to keep driving a GX.
 
I can really only justify / afford one vehicle.

I've gone back and forth between SUV and pickup about a million times. Every other vehicle I've bought has been a truck and every other other vehicle has been an SUV. The problem is they are both super handy when you need what they are best at.

Ultimately I committed fully to the SUV. It's just more betterer for my needs, mainly DD with a camping trip every few months or so. I can always throw a trailer on if I need a bed, but I can't just turn a truck into an SUV if I want to camp out of the back of it (I won't do a topper).
 
I can really only justify / afford one vehicle.

I've gone back and forth between SUV and pickup about a million times. Every other vehicle I've bought has been a truck and every other other vehicle has been an SUV. The problem is they are both super handy when you need what they are best at.

Ultimately I committed fully to the SUV. It's just more betterer for my needs, mainly DD with a camping trip every few months or so. I can always throw a trailer on if I need a bed, but I can't just turn a truck into an SUV if I want to camp out of the back of it (I won't do a topper).
Two decades ago GM/GMC tried to come up with a solution for that, the Envoy XUV
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You do know that Home Depot does free delivery for most things? Although I do a fair amount of woodworking and I don't get lumber or sheet goods there and traditional Baltic Birch comes in 5x5 sheets, it isn't fitting in the back of a PU anyhow. Trailer, I've always had a trailer for decades.

I will not have a PU without a topper. All it would do is collect snow for 6 months of the year. Not running the snow blower in the bed of a truck or digging it out either. For sleeping in the back of a PU or SUV I will take a PU under a topper any day of the week. And the platform (half platform) goes above you for more head room. And that is coming from someone that spent 20 years sleeping in coffin racks with men stacked 3 deep.

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But once I turned 60 enough of that nonsense I'm not trying to be the richest man in the graveyard so I get a cabin for ~ a month a year in Canada and Mn. Arrowhead. It has been almost 10 years since I slept in the back of any vehicle and no plans to do it anytime soon LOL.

A couple of months ago a feed came across my phone from UTV Driver. About a modified GX and a trailer pulling a Can-Am UTV. It sure looked a lot like @Roody was that you?! The trailer was a car hauler and weighed at least twice if not 3 times as much as the Can-Am. Not the best for hauling much of anything outside of vehicles.

I use a Flo Cargo Max 13' made in Mn. that weighs 600 pounds. Hauls anything I need it to and even has a tilt bed if needed.

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Yeah even 11 years with a Taco before the GX had a trailer.

Dog box on the Polaris Ranger XP Northstar Trail Boss switched out for Sporting Clays setup and the GX, I can fit a full squad on and in it.

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Went shooting Sporting Clays today with some friends over in Wi. where the World FITASC Finale World Cup was held last year. Couple hour drive and I avoid going through the chit show called the Cities so crossed over at Red Wing (yes where the boots are made) and up the East Coast of the Mississippi. Great drive in a great rig, 2 hours each way.

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One of the few courses they let you drive your vehicles instead of making you use a golf cart or UTV. They even let a GX on the course

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On the way back went a couple of miles out of the way to Ellsworth Creamery and picked up $75 worth of cheese and cheese curds. I love Wisconsin, home of deer, beer and cheese. What is not to like?!
 
WOW! Mini made it that far up the quality ladder, 3rd place????? A BMW product!!
I’ve been doing some research on the Mini for my wife, she really wants one, and what I’ve learned about them is totally different from that charts representation lol. I’ve pretty much decided that they aren’t worth the headache, but we’ll see.
 
I’ve been doing some research on the Mini for my wife, she really wants one, and what I’ve learned about them is totally different from that charts representation lol. I’ve pretty much decided that they aren’t worth the headache, but we’ll see.
Which model?
 
I’ve been doing some research on the Mini for my wife, she really wants one, and what I’ve learned about them is totally different from that charts representation lol. I’ve pretty much decided that they aren’t worth the headache, but we’ll see.
Personally, love Mini's. Love all the color options and patterns available too! But can't get past the reliability issues and I just don't like front wheel drive. Maybe the the all-wheel-drive version?
 
Personally, love Mini's. Love all the color options and patterns available too! But can't get past the reliability issues and I just don't like front wheel drive. Maybe the the all-wheel-drive version?
Ditto. Big fan of their cars, especially the JCW.

Countryman, Clubman (RIP), and Cooper 4-door all can be had with AWD. Some of the early ones with a stick, too. Love 'em.
 
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Personally, love Mini's. Love all the color options and patterns available too! But can't get past the reliability issues and I just don't like front wheel drive. Maybe the the all-wheel-drive version?
From what I understand, the AWD version is not worth it. I wouldn’t mind the fwd John Cooper Works. There is also a Dinan tune that produces huge HP gains that’s CARB legal. But then again, the reliability isn’t worth it IMO. So now I’m looking at MX-5, but she’s not about it.
 
Mini cooper JCW preferably. 2015 - 2022+
Super fun cars. Suspension can be rough though, FYI.
From what I understand, the AWD version is not worth it. I wouldn’t mind the fwd John Cooper Works. There is also a Dinan tune that produces huge HP gains that’s CARB legal. But then again, the reliability isn’t worth it IMO. So now I’m looking at MX-5, but she’s not about it.
Miatas are the best. I miss mine every day, it's only a matter of time until I get another. Take her for a drive in one with the roof down on a nice day and she'll get it.
 
Super fun cars. Suspension can be rough though, FYI.

Miatas are the best. I miss mine every day, it's only a matter of time until I get another. Take her for a drive in one with the roof down on a nice day and she'll get it.
I don't know... I think my go to would have to be a Porsche Boxster. They're cheap, fun and pretty reliable.
 

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