GX550 - Mall crawler review

[voxel]

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[Compta38]

This got the same engines as Tundras that's blowing up?

 

[Newbie]

This got the same engines as Tundras that's blowing up?

Apparently not.

 

[voxel]

Apparently not.

Same factory.

This video came out before the 100K engine recall and discusses the LX 600 and LS 500 exact same main bearings failures with a Lexus master tech.



My concern is the GX550 is a lipstick on a pig. It's worse off-roader than a Rivian R1S or Defender. It's not a Wrangler nor Bronco competitor.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

My concern is the GX550 is a lipstick on a pig. It's worse off-roader than a Rivian R1S or Defender. It's not a Wrangler nor Bronco competitor.

Time will tell. If the pig in this case is a landcruiser, personally I think that platform is offering a lot of value. I like the way they made the off-roading components standard on the LandCruiser, and made them options on the GX since many people will buy them as street only rides.

I don't think you can pronounce it better or worse then either of those other platforms yet until its put through its paces. A lot of thoughtful design went into this. Tinkerer's adventure just put out another interesting video showing how the stock GX has more articulation than its modified predecessors. I found that interesting.

My own preferences have seriously shifted since I got my Bronco in October '21. I'd love to have something that got better fuel economy, has a significantly quieter cabin, and much better quality control. I guess we'll see how it plays out. Given the recent engine issues and all the new tech in these engines I'm not sure I'd be eager to go into the first year of a vehicle again. Around year 2028 I will evaluate a LandCuiser.

 

[voxel]

Time will tell. If the pig in this case is a landcruiser, personally I think that platform is offering a lot of value. I like the way they made the off-roading components standard on the LandCruiser, and made them options on the GX since many people will buy them as street only rides.

I don't think you can pronounce it better or worse then either of those other platforms yet until its put through its paces. A lot of thoughtful design went into this. Tinkerer's adventure just put out another interesting video showing how the stock GX has more articulation than its modified predecessors. I found that interesting.

My own preferences have seriously shifted since I got my Bronco in October '21. I'd love to have something that got better fuel economy, has a significantly quieter cabin, and much better quality control. I guess we'll see how it plays out. Given the recent engine issues and all the new tech in these engines I'm not sure I'd be eager to go into the first year of a vehicle again. Around year 2028 I will evaluate a LandCuiser.

Yeah it depends what you are looking for in a vehicle. I watched the Bronco + GX550 trail review by the same YTuber above and the GX550 was scraping the undersides in areas that the Bronco had zero issues in. It's not meant for rock crawling whatsoever and neither is the LC which has the same poor ground clearance and the stock tires are a joke for anything but gravel. As a daily, the LC and GX are vastly better but my Bronco is purely a weekend toy and never gets driven during the week. Yes the Bronco is loud, has QC issues, and poor mpg. The LC would better in those categories except mpg apparently is pretty poor also.

I saw a nicely lifted new LC but I'm not ready to spend $15K+ on an already vastly overpriced vehicle.

I would go back to another Rivian R1S in an instant if there was a proper underbody shield (third party or by Rivian) and a winch. At the moment, it's more for overlanding and I have zero interest in that.

 

[RallyRaptors]

Different horses for different courses, but the GX550 is a pretty cool base to do different things.

Its never going to rock crawl like a LJ, JK, JL, or a Bronco, and its never going to be on the same level as a Braptor when it comes to pre-running in the desert (unless you're throwing another vehicles worth of $ into parts that don't exist yet). But stock for stock or with a few mild updgrades, its probably a pretty solid base (good power, great rear axle, one of the better IFS steering racks from stock, solid payload, and crazy towing capacity).

It isn't a Bronco or Raptor killer or competitor to me, but, it is a cool offroad vehicle.

 

[voxel]

It isn't a Bronco or Raptor killer or competitor to me, but, it is a cool offroad vehicle.

As much as you can call a Cybertruck an off-road vehicle.

Anyhow, I stand by my statements. It's funny how Tinkerer's went old school with an cast-iron 2UZ Tundra but he explains why and shows how all new Toyotas are basically cost-cut vehicles made for improved on-road abilities.

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