How much difference does two years make? About $3,385 is how much. That is how much more Lexus is asking for the 2026 GX550 — which is otherwise identical to the 2024 GX550.
This isn't Toyota's fault, by the way. It is a consequence of the tariffs (that is to say, the taxes) Toyota is having to pay — which means you'll be paying for them, if you want to buy a new GX550.
It probably won't prevent you from buying a 2026 example of this superlatively luxurious and superlatively capable off-roader because if you could afford to pay $62,900 in 2024 for one, you can probably afford $66,285 today.
There are some other sound reasons to consider the GX550 too — especially relative to its Toyota-badged siblings.
What It Is
The GX550 is a midsize, three-row SUV that's related to the Toyota 4Runner and the LandCruiser. All are considered among the most capable SUVs you can buy, in terms of what they are capable of off-road — but the Lexus (being a Lexus) is the more luxurious — and naturally, more expensive — of the three.
There are also some other differences, as you'd expect.
The Lexus comes standard with the turbocharged V6 that's not available in the LandCruiser or the 4Runner — which comes standard with a much less powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
Four-wheel drive is also standard in the Lexus; it's optional (again) in the Toyota.
The Lexus also touts much higher standard towing capacity (9,096 pounds).
Prices — for the Lexus — start at $66,285 for the GX550 Premium, which comes standard with 20-inch wheels, a power rear liftgate, heated and cooled front seats and synthetic leather seat covers.
The $70,750 Premium + adds a heated steering wheel, second-row seat heaters, a power-folding third row and automated self-parking.
If you want more than the already standard high level of off-road capability, the $73,930 Overtrail adds a locking rear differential, 18-inch wheels with 33-inch all-terrain tires, a 1-inch lift, an upgraded off-road suspension that allows for greater wheel articulation and Off Road driving modes, including Crawl mode. There is also an Overtrail + that adds massaging front seats and heated rear seats, plus a wireless pad to charge phones. It stickers for $81,395.
These iterations revert to two-row only.
If you're wanting even more luxury — including massaging front seats (and 22-inch wheels) — the $78,750 Luxury gets all that.
A top-of-the-line Luxury + adds adjustable shocks, an adjustable tint sunroof, plus an ultra-premium 21-speaker Mark Levinson audio system, a chiller built into the center console and power deploying running boards.
It stickers for $82,750.
What's New for 2026
The GX550 carries over unchanged since its 2024 reboot/debut.
What's Good
— Formidable off-road capability.
— Standard V6 isn't a turbocharged four.
— Standard 9,096-pound tow rating is considerably higher than sibling Toyota 4Runner's maximum 6,000-pound tow rating.
What's Not So Good
— Stickers for about $20,000 more to start than its similarly off-road-capable 4Runner sibling.
— Standard V6 is turbo'd (twice). Previous iterations of this Lexus used to come standard with a V8 that didn't need a turbo — much less two.
— Third row is tight and greatly reduces cargo space behind it.
Under the Hood
Back when the GX was the GX460 — back in 2023 — it came standard with a 4.6-liter V8 engine, because that's generally what you used to get as standard in a midsize, luxury SUV. Now you get a 3.4-liter V6 with a pair of turbos and Lexus — weirdly — demotes this as the "550," which in the past would have denoted a 5.5-liter V8. Of course, "GX340" sounds like a downgrade — hence GX550 instead.
The old V8 was considered one of the finest engines of its type ever sold because it was both smooth and powerful and — most of all — remarkably durable. These V8s commonly were as tight at 150,000 miles as brand-new engines and, if not deliberately abused, would go 250,000 miles before they began to need any significant work. Part of this was because they were just fuel injected (not direct injected) and weren't turbocharged and so not literally pressurized. Put another way, they did not have to work hard to produce the power/performance expected by the buyer.
But V8s "emit" more CO2 than smaller V6s — because they have fewer cylinders and less cylinder volume — and Toyota (like just about every other vehicle manufacturer) nixed the V8 for just that reason, i.e., to help better comply with federal regs that required ever-lower CO2 "emissions." The change had nothing to do with gas mileage, as can be seen by noting that the new V6 — though much smaller and having two fewer cylinders — rates 15 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, while the previously standard 4.6-liter V8 delivered pretty much the same: 15 mpg city, 19 mpg highway.
So, what's the upside?
Well, the 3.4-liter V6 makes more power — 349 horsepower (versus 301 for the old V8) and much more torque — 479 foot-pounds versus 329 foot-pounds for the old V8. No doubt this explains the GX550's standard 9,096-pound tow rating, which is considerably higher than the '23 GX460's 6,000-pound max. The torque is also more available because the boosted V6 develops its peak torque at just 2,000 RPM, which is a fast idle, basically. The old 4.6-liter V8 did not make peak torque until it was spinning 3,800 RPM, which means it was not available as immediately. No doubt this also explains why the GX550 gets to 60 mph sooner (6.5 seconds).
It is also standard in the GX550. In the merely Toyota 4Runner, the standard engine is a 2.4-liter turbocharged four that makes 278 horsepower, which explains why the otherwise basically-the-same 4Runner is still only rated to pull a maximum of 6,000 pounds. Also, the current 4Runner is no longer available with a V6. Its optional engine is a turbo-hybrid augmented version of the 2.4-liter four that makes 326 horsepower and 465 foot-pounds of torque. Even though this engine is nearly as powerful as the GX550's V6 — and even though the 4Runner and the GX550 share a common underlying structure — Toyota still only rates the 4Runner to pull a maximum of 6,000 pounds.
Probably because that smaller engine would have to work a lot harder under load, plus the hybrid augmentation porks up the curb weight (which has an effect on what you can pull).
On the Road
There's a different feel to a real SUV, which is what the GX550 is — in addition to being a really luxurious SUV. It is the feel that you get with body-on-frame architecture, which is what the GX550 (and its Toyota 4Runner sibling) have. It's a heavy feel — in a good way. In a solid way. Unibody (body and frame welded into a single piece) vehicles do not feel the same. They feel less ... substantial. Because they literally are. Body on frame does incur a weight penalty — the GX500's curb weight is 5,580 pounds — which is why you do not find it undergirding mass-market vehicles, which have to cater to both the government's fuel economy edicts as well as the fuel economy consciousness most buyers of transportation appliances have.
The GX550 is not a transportation appliance — and not just because it's a Lexus. The body-on-frame architecture can be understood as something like Wolverine's Adamantium endoskeleton. The X-Man was super strong because of his bones as well as muscles — and so are body-on-frame SUVs like the GX550, which is more accurately a four-by-four. There are many SUVs but few four-by-fours. Though among the most opulent — and comfortable — vehicles available, the GX550 is a vehicle that can be rock-crawled, if you feel like doing that, the steel girder frame being much harder to hurt than a welded together unibody. The frame is also harder to bend or stretch; if you need a rig that can seriously tow, body on frame is the only way to go.
Body-on-frame rigs do sit up higher, which tends to make them less adroit as high-speed cornering vehicles — but no one in their right mind expects a Corvette to be a fine rock-crawler either.
As touched on earlier, the 3.4-liter V6 may be physically much smaller than the previously standard 4.6-liter V8, but it feels like a 5.5-liter V8. Only the absence of the V8 burble gives it away. If the hood were sealed — and if you went by the "GX550" badges — it'd be very easy to believe this Lexus did, in fact, have a big V8 under its hood rather than a smallish V6.
At the Curb
There are some differences — beyond just cosmetic (and amenities) — between the GX550 and its Toyota 4Runner sibling. The Lexus is longer, for one. It is 197.1 inches end to end versus 194.9 inches for the 4Runner. There are also more noticeable differences in interior packaging. While both the GX550 and the 4Runner have almost the same front-seat legroom (41.2 and 41.8 inches, respectively), the Lexus — being a Lexus — has much more second-row legroom: 36.7 inches versus 34.8 for the 4Runner. On the flip side, the Toyota has more advertised total cargo space: 90.2 cubic feet versus 76.9 for the Lexus, which is due in part to the GX550 coming standard with a third row.
This is available — optionally — in the 4Runner.
You can skip the third row, by the way. And it might be the thing to do — unless you have small kids and need the extra seats — because the GX550's third row is not exactly luxurious, for adults — not because of the seats of themselves but rather as a consequence of the way the floorpans have to be laid out in a body-on-frame four-by-four with a heavy-duty rear axle that takes up under-floor room that might otherwise be devoted to legroom.
The Rest
A few minor gripes: The cupholders in the console are small — and boxy — and while there is a 120V household power point, it's located way back in the cargo area. You also have to step up to the Premium trim if you want heated second-row seats, which ought to be standard in a Lexus with a starting price not far from $70,000.
The Bottom Line
The GX550 no longer comes with that wonderful V8, but the 3.4-liter V6 has its own charms, which include the fact that it's not available in the 4Runner.
It's arguably worth the tariff tax.
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
View the Lexus GX550 this week.
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