Next-gen Lexus GX (Hybrid) to arrive in 2024: Report [Update]

Update: ‘Design’ section updated and ‘i-Force Max V6 powertrain’ added to ‘Specifications.’

The current, second-gen Lexus GX arrived back in 2009, and although it enjoys a monopoly in its segment, the SUV is clearly showing its age. A next-gen Lexus GX is on the brand’s product roadmap, and it will arrive in 2024, as per a report from autonews.com. It will be the luxury-class sibling of the next-gen Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which is due in 2023.

Design

In terms of design, the Lexus GX, like its big brother Lexus LX, has always stood out from the rest of the Lexus SUVs. It’s traditional and simplistic, and that shouldn’t change anytime soon.

Our rendering of the next-generation Lexus GX emphasizes confidence and capability from every angle, with a big, boxy body. We’ve rendered the next-gen Lexus GX with a boxy body, with a tall and flattish hood, a giant spindle grille, widened and straighter headlamps, and extended side air inlets. Expect a simple beltline, large windows, and reshaped rear quarter glass. Lexus may also offer 20-inch wheels on the redesigned GX.

Specifications

The Lexus GX would retain its much-favored feature when it moves to its third generation: ladder frame construction. However, the only body-on-frame luxury SUV in its class will adopt a new platform – the TNGA-F.

TNGA-F

In the case of the new Land Cruiser, Toyota said that the TNGA-F platform allowed it to lower the vehicle’s center of gravity and improve axle weight distribution. Building the LC 300 on the TNGA architecture has improved comfort, handling, safety, and noise insulation as well. The frame is 20% more rigid than that of the LC 200, and the body is approximately 200 kg (441 lbs) lighter. The Lexus LX received the same benefits as the Toyota LC 300 in these aspects when it switched to the TNGA-F platform in 2021.

The Toyota Tundra and its SUV sibling Toyota Sequoia followed as the next TNGA-F platform-based models. In the case of Sequoia, Toyota says that the main objective of the TNGA-F platform is to give supreme comfort, excellent handling, and impressive capability. Techniques such as new laser welding technology, have allowed increasing rigidity and ride comfort. Expect the new GX to download the same features as it transitions to the next generation.

Hybrid Max powertrain

Earlier reports suggested that the next-gen Prado will come with full-hybrid and mild-hybrid variants. There’s a strong possibility of Toyota using its new Hybrid Max powertrain in the Prado. This performance-oriented hybrid system debuted in the 2023 Crown and later came to the 2024 Grand Highlander. A 2.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a direct-shift 6-speed transmission lie at the front, and there’s an additional electric motor at the rear.

The gas engine and two motors together produce 362 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque in the 2024 Grand Highlander. Toyota has tuned the 2.4L engine to deliver peak torque at low rpm, and SUVs like the GX need such low-rpm performance to tackle tricky off-road situations as well as the extra bulk.

Lexus has used the same combination in an SUV – the 2023 RX 500h. The hybrid system clubs the 2.4L engine turbo hybrid engine, a motor, and a six-speed automatic transmission in the front and a motor in the rear. However, this setup generates 366 hp and 406 lb.-ft. of torque. Lexus could similarly do a different tuning for the next-gen GX.

i-Force Max V6 powertrain

Alternatively, the next-gen Lexus GX could get the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain of the Sequoia. This hybrid system clubs a 3,445 cc twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine and an electric motor located between the engine and a 10-speed automatic transmission. An on-demand part-time 4WD system with an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case is optional. The i-Force Max hybrid system produces 437 hp and 583 lb.-ft. of torque.

Interior

Inside, expect a slimmer dashboard, smaller, more neatly designed buttons made of higher quality material, and the Lexus Interface infotainment system with a floating 14-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia touchscreen infotainment system should bring appeal to the interior. Expect a more contemporary center console, floor console, and steering wheel design. Compared to its monocoque rivals, the Lexus GX will probably still look clunky, but that’s how loyal customers prefer it.

The new infotainment system of the next-gen GX should come with a user profile that allows saving the preferred settings in the cloud and applying them in other Lexus models equipped with Lexus Interface. Also expect cloud-based navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay, and wireless Android Auto.

In addition to the large touchscreen infotainment system, expect the next-gen GX’s tech features to include an advanced air filter, a head-up display, a wireless charger, and panoramic cameras. In select markets like Russia, a fingerprint reader on the start switch is likely to be on this list. Like the outgoing model, the next-gen GX may come in six- and seven-seat versions. For markets that won’t get the Lexus TX, probably including RHD countries like Australia and New Zealand, the GX would be the cheapest three-row Lexus model.

Safety

The next-gen Lexus GX could get many of the all-new Lexus LX’s advanced driver assistance systems under the Lexus Safety System 2.5+ package. LSS+ 2.5 includes Intelligent High Beams (auto high-beam), Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Frontal Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection, and Bicyclist Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist (LDA w/ SA), and All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC).

On the 2022 & 2023 Lexus GX models

On August 5, 2021, Lexus rolled out the MY2022 update for the GX in the United States featuring an improved interior, which carried over to the MY2023, launched in August 2022. The company introduced a center console that has smaller buttons and knobs and repositioned central AC vents. The 2023 GX has a 10.3-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system in place of the older 8-inch center console-integrated touchscreen infotainment system. While the old unit offered only Amazon Alexa integration, the new unit supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well. Things can only get better from here, and as stated above, expect the interface to get bigger and more advanced in the 2024 model.

Price

The prices of the next-gen Lexus GX could start at around USD 60,000 (current model USD 57,575 onwards). The competition will include the Land Rover Defender 110 and Land Rover Discovery, which cost USD 53,500 and USD 58,400 onwards. There’s no word on the variant line-up of the 2024 model, but a trademark filing at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) suggests that it will include a new Lexus GX550.

Lexus GX sales

Lexus GX sales in the U.S. went up 14% in 2021, growing from 28,519 units in 2020 to 32,509 units. It was the third highest-selling Lexus SUV in the country in 2021, while the RX and NX took the first and second spots. It contributed approximately 11% to Lexus’ total U.S. sales in 2021 – 304,476 units.

In 2022, as the auto industry hit turbulence with new supply chain problems, GX sales were impacted. Last year, the company finished with 29,945 units of the frame SUV, a YoY decline of 7.9%.

Lexus electrification strategy

Announcing the EV strategy of Toyota (the parent company) on December 14, 2021, President Akio Toyoda said that Lexus aims to launch a full line-up of EVs in all vehicle segments by 2030. The luxury brand targets EVs to account for 100% of its sales in North America, China, and Europe and targets EV sales of 1 million units globally by that year. By 2035, the company wants to convert 100% of its sales globally to EVs.

The Lexus NX 450h+ PHEV, the brand’s first plug-in hybrid model, broke cover in June 2021. The Lexus RX 450h+ PHEV followed in May 2022. In the coming weeks, the Lexus RZ, the production version of the Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept, would go on sale in America, followed by the Lexus TX three-row SUV.

In March 2024, Lexus will open a new business and technical center where teams involved in brand development, design, production technology, and planning can work together to accelerate the planning and development of next-gen Lexus models.

TopElectricSUV says

The next-gen Lexus GX will likely be the company’s final new body-on-frame SUV packing a combustion engine under the hood. The redesigned GX should be developed for the small segment of Lexus clients who want their posh SUVs to go anywhere but don’t need something as big or extreme as the LX, allowing it to tackle even more terrain than its predecessor — thanks to its hybrid-electric powertrain.

We will keep updating this story as and when new information emerges on the GX.

Next-gen Lexus GX FAQs

Featured image: TopElectricSUV’s rendering of the next-gen GX.