LX 570 or GX 460

[scoobysnks]

Those are all great points. I am going to use a mod shop and I've been in close contact with them during this process and feel confident in their work. I will keep the pre-purchase inspection and hope for the best. The GX has been in the Northwest the entire time, so not real tough winters, but a lot of rain.

 

[LC neophyte]

I'm looking for some advice. I've been searching for a vehicle that my wife and I can build out into travel/overlanding rig. I am near retirement and so it would be a project car to keep me busy. This would not be a daily driver and it is just my wife, two large dogs, and myself. I am not mechanical so the work on the build out would be done by a shop that specializes in overlanding build outs. A lot of western states travel (we are in the Pacific Northwest), definitely want to go offroad, but nothing youtube worthy.

I've kind of settled on Tundras, Lexus LX 570's or GX 460's. There are two that we test drove yesterday:
1. A 2015 GX 460 Luxury with 68,000 miles - pretty good carfax report
2. A 2010 LX 570 with 142,000 miles - Carfax is not as good (no maintenance for the first 57, 000 miles reported?).

I would expect to keep the rig for at least 10 years.

The LX has upgraded wheels and new somewhat agrressive tires and looks awesome.

The GX is very clean and drives tight.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Like you, I am near retirement, and while I appreciate builds on rigs, I am not mechanical. I am older though, and I appreciate comfort, reliability, and the off-road street cred of either vehicle. I do not have experience with GX 460, but I have had 100 series, and now have an '18 200 LC and '13 LX 570. In my opinion, this platform is unsurpassed in comfort, reliability, and utility in off road excursions AND expressway driving. The LX 570 is quiet, smooth, and can have a nice sound system. You are going to spend a lot of time on hard road surfaces driving from point A to point B, so you might as well be comfortable.

The LX 570 should have at least another 150K left on the clock. You would be hard pressed to drive 15K a year if it were not your daily driver so I would expect that you would have plenty of life left in this vehicle.
I don't find it credible that the original owner would have ignored maintenance. People who can afford this vehicle when new may be negligent, but not likely.
You may be fine in your part of the country; however, check for rust in the rear A/C lines. To replace the A/C lines is an annoying expensive proposition.

Most importantly, get the LX 570 because of the "large dogs". They take up a lot of room. You'll want them comfortable, and you will toting a lot of, well, you know, stuff.

Enjoy your retirement!

 

[bentonrover]

Did you run the vin# on lexus.com? After you register you can look up all of the dealer maintenance that was performed. I'm sure the LX was dealer serviced for those 1st 50k or so miles. Good luck

 

[Docboy]

Congratz on the retirement! How many prior owners on the LX, and where did they live?

I checked out the GX before deciding on the LX. The GX is a great SUV, but I just couldn't stand the rear barn yard door.

 

[TaishoCruiser]

Both are great platforms - and you are in the right place for great opinions!

If you were going with a mild build (not going with larger tires or full set of bumpers, sliders, and skids), I think the GX, with lower mileage, makes a lot of sense.

That said, if you are going with a larger tire that will not fit in the factory spare location of the GX460, the next step is a hop down a rabbit hole of more weight, more compromises, and more $, and you wind up with a vehicle that might have a little more ground clearance than a mild LX, but you have less power, equally terrible (or potentially worse depending on the build) mileage, and less space. Please don't ask me how I know about this rabbit hole, the mpg, or the lack of power in the mountains .

Yes, the LX is heavier to start, but it has more space inside, more power on the highway, and you can fit a larger tire in both the wheel wells and the factory spare location. You also have larger differentials, beefier CV's, a larger steering rack, thicker tie-rods, etc. While the payloads are within ~ 100 pounds for a given year, based on both the size of key components, as well as time spent driving factory *ish spec 150 and 200 series vehicles as well as those on 33 and 35 inch tires, I think the LX will handle the weight and larger/heavier tires better.

Side-note for posterity - lest anyone think I am not a fan of the 150 series platform, I really like them and think that the GX is a great package and size for a daily driver you can wheel on the weekend. In fact I like them so much that I actually looked at the parts and options to swap in a Tundra/LC200 front clip to a GX460 to get the larger differential, steering rack, etc (similar to what Arctic truck did with a few of their truck builds). But by the time I tallied up the cost of the front clip swap and a larger rear axle it made more sense to go with an LX or LC. For better and worse, with sliders and an oil pan skid I think that both vehicles almost always run out of clearance on tight trails before they run out of capability.

 

[Itsky]

Lx 570 all day

 

[TeCKis300]

I surely don't need one but find myself flipping through cool builds of GXs

Media - GX460 / Prado150 pic thread

I think its about time we have a pic thread of our vehicles on here. Here is mine, 2010 gx 460 with the running boards off and then shortly after OME 3" Lift. Im waiting on these tires to run their time and then i will be adding some BFG KO2s

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[1world1love]

I surely don't need one but find myself flipping through cool builds of GXs

Media - GX460 / Prado150 pic thread

I think its about time we have a pic thread of our vehicles on here. Here is mine, 2010 gx 460 with the running boards off and then shortly after OME 3" Lift. Im waiting on these tires to run their time and then i will be adding some BFG KO2s

forum.ih8mud.com

I lIke the GX builds too. There are so many aftermarket options. If I had the time, I’d get one to play with.

 

[highfructose]

I'm looking for some advice. I've been searching for a vehicle that my wife and I can build out into travel/overlanding rig. I am near retirement and so it would be a project car to keep me busy. This would not be a daily driver and it is just my wife, two large dogs, and myself. I am not mechanical so the work on the build out would be done by a shop that specializes in overlanding build outs. A lot of western states travel (we are in the Pacific Northwest), definitely want to go offroad, but nothing youtube worthy.

I've kind of settled on Tundras, Lexus LX 570's or GX 460's. There are two that we test drove yesterday:
1. A 2015 GX 460 Luxury with 68,000 miles - pretty good carfax report
2. A 2010 LX 570 with 142,000 miles - Carfax is not as good (no maintenance for the first 57, 000 miles reported?).

I would expect to keep the rig for at least 10 years.

The LX has upgraded wheels and new somewhat agrressive tires and looks awesome.

The GX is very clean and drives tight.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I decided against a tundra because no awd…I like awd for rain and snow.

I test drove a gx460 and a 2011 lx570 back to back to back to help me decide. The choice was clear for me and here’s why:
More manspreading room in the lx. It’s noticeably larger in the cockpit.
very noticeably softer and more comfortable ride (thanks to the hydraulic suspension on the lx)

those are the two main reasons I can remember.

it was also nice that the lx fit 33’s with no modifications…and 33’s is what is generally considered a good middle ground for inroad and Offroad performance. once you lift a gx to fit the 33’s, you’ve raised the center of gravity outside the “safety envelope” it was designed for. You’re also outside the “gearing envelope” it was designed for. The 200 was designed with 32.8” tires in mind (285 70 r17) so this is not an issue for the lx.

price wise the two vehicles were within spittin distance. The lx I bought was 32 and I think the gx’s were in the 22-25 range at the time.

i also ended up very much appreciating the ability to lower the lx for entry and egress. I’m 6’ and athletic, but, even so, it is quite nice, especially when you have a roof top tent. It gets the tent that much closer to the ground…making climbing in and out or getting a dog in or out easier. However, my wife’s Tacoma on stock tires is “lower” than my lx on 33’s when when I’m in low. So if you’re not tall or want an easier car to get in and out of…and you don’t mind running 31-32” tires, the gx may be preferable.

if you do get a gx, I’d recommend getting one with crawl control. It really is an impressive feature. It comes standard on the lx.

 

[Jerzywerzy5]

Many dealerships and shops not report to Carfax. The reports are more of a headache later for them.

 

[scoobysnks]

Wow. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my dilemma. You've all give me a lot to think about. I just registered for the Lexus.com website and put the vin in for the LX 570 and it has great service records up through 57,000 miles. Two owners, both in California. The first one serviced it every 5,000 miles at the Lexus dealership. The second one mostly had the maintenance done at something called Sparkles Car Wash and Lube and that was also routine service every 5-7K miles).

 

[MTKID]

You may be getting a little more helpful responses because you chose two vehicles we respect to begin with. If you had asked about an LX vs a Gladiator, the responses would have been fewer and much shorter. Like two letter responses

 

[scoobysnks]

it was also nice that the lx fit 33’s with no modifications…and 33’s is what is generally considered a good middle ground for inroad and Offroad performance. once you lift a gx to fit the 33’s, you’ve raised the center of gravity outside the “safety envelope” it was designed for. You’re also outside the “gearing envelope” it was designed for. The 200 was designed with 32.8” tires in mind (285 70 r17) so this is not an issue for the lx.

I was not aware of that. That is something to defintely consider.

Yes, the LX is heavier to start, but it has more space inside, more power on the highway, and you can fit a larger tire in both the wheel wells and the factory spare location. You also have larger differentials, beefier CV's, a larger steering rack, thicker tie-rods, etc. While the payloads are within ~ 100 pounds for a given year, based on both the size of key components, as well as time spent driving factory *ish spec 150 and 200 series vehicles as well as those on 33 and 35 inch tires, I think the LX will handle the weight and larger/heavier tires better.

The space inside the rig is also something that is important for us to consider. I am 6'4 and my wife is 5'10.

 

[tincan45]

+1 for LX 570. Especially if you plan on being it for 10 years. I would try to get in a 2013+ model though. For basically the same money you can probably find one. It might take some patience in this market. GX is comfortable, but the LX is far less fatiguing off-road. As you get older, you will appreciate the LX. Even my wife will admit the LX is more comfortable than the GX (Lux), and she loves her GX.

Also, GX prices are more inflated than the LX right now. There seems to be some sort of overland awakening towards the GX and the prices are reflecting it. I've never had a car go UP in value before, especially after owning it for almost 3 years.

 

[LCtoLX]

.......

More manspreading room in the lx. It’s noticeably larger in the cockpit.
very noticeably softer and more comfortable ride (thanks to the hydraulic suspension on the lx)

.....

My two cents about the difference in ride comfort between my 2018 LX and my wife’s 2017 GX. And that’s before I switched from 21’s to 18’s recently. And I couldn’t agree with you more about the ride difference, highfructose. I like comfortable rides and drove a 100 series LC for 14 years as a daily driver. For my soft rear end, I wouldn’t be happy with GX due to its ride. That’s just me and I’m talking about ride comfort only here. Obviously, YMMV.

That said, my wife loves her GX. Yes, it’s not as comfy as the LX470 that she drove for many years, but she’s ok with that.

Whatever you end up choosing, you’ll likely enjoy your vehicle for many years due to Toyota’s reliability. And congratulations on your upcoming retirement.