QUALITY | 7 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
impeccably trimmed interior, with leather, wood and metal accents
Kelley Blue Book
can tackle terrain that would make most crossovers run to the safety of the mall's parking lot, yet it still manages to provide a smooth, refined ride on blacktop
Edmunds
The front seats couldn't possibly be better shaped or more comfortable.
Popular Mechanics
this truck-based platform doesn't match the more carlike ride of other car-based SUVs
MSN Autos
liberal use of sound deadening material makes the cabin pleasantly quiet
Truck Trend
The 2012 Lexus GX 460 is a truck, under it all, and anyone who's owned an old-style, truck-based SUV will feel right at home here.
The seating position is high relative to the beltline, at least compared to other new vehicles, so there's great outward visibility. Front seats are nicely padded, with excellent support as well as good headroom and legroom. The second row is very roomy, too, and it's not only split but it slides fore and aft to adjust legroom and aid entry to the third row.
That back row itself doesn't make a lot of sense and will leave adults--or even teenagers--with their knees mashed into the seatback, with tight headroom to boot. Unfortunately, the seat can't be removed, and the power-folding mechanism that's mandatory occupies some of the space behind, keeping the cargo floor from being flat and low. What's more, the side-opening hatch opens on the wrong side for easy curb loading.
On the plus side, the GX 460 is supremely refined, with nearly no road and wind noise, although you do hear the engine whenever accelerating, more than some might expect. Ride quality is quite good, whether or not you get the Adaptive Variable Suspension that comes with Premium-grade models, but there's a bit more 'head-toss' on choppy roads.
The look and feel of the interior appointments in the GX 460 is also top-notch. The GX has more unique interior pieces (compared to the related 4Runner) than ever before, and the controls felt better designed and less cluttered than those in Lexus cars, and we loved the redesigned steering-wheel controls and nice, legible gauge layout and cleanly laid-out center-stack for audio, climate, and nav functions.Conclusion
The 2012 Lexus GX 460 has comfortable seating in the first two rows, as well as top-notch interior appointments, but its lack of cargo versatility is frustrating.
