The story
The third-generation GX looks like what people wanted the GX 460 to look like: square, upright and visibly built for a trail. Underneath is the GA-F ladder-frame platform it shares with the new Prado, sold in the US as the 250 Series Land Cruiser, and with the LX 600. It also has a 349-hp twin-turbo V6, a 10-speed automatic, full-time four-wheel drive through a locking Torsen center differential and, on the Overtrail grades, the first factory rear locker ever fitted to a GX.
REVEALED BEFORE ITS OWN TWIN
Lexus showed the GX on June 8, 2023, ahead of the Land Cruiser Prado it's based on, which tells you how important the GX had become in America. The GX 460 was outselling itself in old age, with US sales above 30,000 in both 2021 and 2023. Production of the new truck started in November 2023 at Toyota's Tahara plant in Japan, the only place the GX is built.
The Overtrail grades grew out of Lexus's 'Overtrail Project,' first shown at the Tokyo Outdoor Show. They get 33-inch all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels, a body 4.52 in wider than the old GX, E-KDSS and an electronically locking rear differential. Expedition Portal's first look called it the best overland Lexus yet 'by a wide margin.' It also noted the front fascia was designed with aftermarket bumpers and hidden winch mounts in mind.
WHAT CHANGED UNDERNEATH
The 4.6-liter V8 is gone. In its place is the V35A-FTS 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 from the LX 600 and Tundra, tuned here to 349 hp and 479 lb-ft. That's 48 more hp and 150 more lb-ft than the 460. The wheelbase grows to 112 in, which Expedition Portal points out is the same as the 80, 100 and 200 Series Land Cruiser wagons. KDSS goes electronic: E-KDSS can decouple the front and rear anti-roll bars at the push of a button instead of relying on purely hydraulic balancing.
Lexus also fitted a redesigned transfer case with faster high-low shifts and a center diff that splits torque 50:50. Multi-Terrain Select gets Auto, Sand, Mud and Rock modes in low range, plus Auto, Dirt, Sand, Mud and Deep Snow in high. Five-speed Crawl Control returns. The official angles are 26° approach, 24° breakover and 21° departure. The EPA rates it at 15 mpg city, 21 highway and 17 combined, which is only a modest improvement over the V8.
THE ASTERISK
The V35A arrived with baggage. In November 2025, Toyota filed recall 25V-767 covering about 127,000 Tundras and Lexus LXs and GXs whose engines may contain machining debris that can damage the main bearings. Possible symptoms include knocking, rough running, a no-start or a loss of power while driving. The GX population is 3,717 US-market 2024 trucks built between May 31, 2023 and April 10, 2024. At filing, Lexus said the remedy was still being developed. It has since been set: dealers inspect the No. 1 main bearing using inspection software and drive data and replace the engine if needed, and owner letters went out on August 28, 2026.
Toyota's report says some later engines were made with improved manufacturing processes and some with an improved main bearing. For a used buyer, that makes the VIN check the most important step in any GX 550 inspection. Buyers clearly didn't flinch. US sales reached 30,914 in 2024 and 37,180 in 2025, the best year the GX has ever had in the US. The square GX turned out to be the one Lexus should have built years ago, and the platform it shares with the 6th-gen 4Runner and the 250 means the aftermarket arrived early.
SIDEBAR · OVERTRAIL VS. EVERYTHING ELSE
What the Overtrail actually adds
Every GX 550 has full-time 4WD, low range and a Torsen center diff that locks. The Overtrail and Overtrail+ add the hardware enthusiasts actually care about: an electronically locking rear differential (engaged from a console switch), E-KDSS that disconnects the front and rear anti-roll bars for articulation, and standard 33-inch all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels. The body is 4.52 in wider than the GX 460's, compared with 3.74 in for other grades.
The trade-offs are space and towing. Lexus lists seven seats only for the Premium, Premium+, Luxury and Luxury+ grades. On 2027 specs, towing runs from 7,601 lb (Luxury+) to 9,096 lb (Overtrail), so the off-road trim also happens to tow the most.
