We take our first in-depth look at Lexus newest off-road capable luxury barge and ponder its latest recall woes...
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00:00 Recently, after a leading consumer magazine identified a handling problem with the new
00:12 2010 GX460, Lexus quickly pulled back all models to address the issue.
00:17 The problem in question involves the GX's tendency to hang its tail out during emergency
00:22 cornering maneuvers and what was perceived to be an unacceptable lag in response from
00:26 the electronic stability control system.
00:29 Since pulling the car from dealer lots, Lexus claims to have identified the GX's problem
00:34 and solution, though perhaps not quick enough for some critics.
00:38 How has our opinion changed since the hubbub and recall?
00:41 Surprisingly, not very much.
00:43 While Lexus's swift response is understandable in light of Toyota's recent recall woes, the
00:48 GX460's performance and handling have not caused our opinion to slide much at all.
00:55 At the test track, we found the new 2010 GX460 accelerates briskly, hitting 60 mph in an
01:01 impressive 6.9 seconds.
01:06 That is just over a full second faster than the GX470 we last tested in 2003.
01:12 The quarter mile marker also arrives much sooner.
01:15 The new model needs only 15.4 seconds at 89.7 mph.
01:20 Braking is much improved as well.
01:22 Our GX460 needed only 114 feet to stop from 60 mph, which is astonishing for a vehicle
01:28 weighing 5,112 pounds.
01:31 Around our figure 8 course, the GX logged a respectable 0.74 g and a time of 28.3 seconds
01:38 at 0.58 g.
01:40 Those are competitive numbers for a luxury SUV in this class.
01:44 We should note that our test team did manage to induce tail-out behavior during our figure
01:48 8 test, but only with the stability control switched off.
01:51 That is because we do not perform any of our handling or braking or acceleration tests
01:56 with ESC turned on, as the systems typically intervene well before the limits are reached.
02:01 As an enthusiast outlet, we're interested in finding those limits.
02:06 However, we were not able to replicate the same behavior while on an extended road trip
02:10 with a GX460 involving hundreds of miles of city, highway, and off-road driving.
02:16 Never once did the GX put a tire wrong, despite some fast blasts on dusty dirt roads and even
02:22 a bit of rock climbing.
02:24 Comments from the logbooks do call out the ESC system for some notably un-Lexus-like
02:28 behavior.
02:29 The GX's stability control system does indeed feel looser than many we've tried, noted
02:34 editor-at-large Arthur St. Antoine, while senior editor Ron Kino dubbed it "surprisingly
02:39 sporty."
02:41 So there you have it.
02:42 Our test and extended road trip of a pre-recall Lexus GX460 finds this controversial luxury
02:48 SUV to be capable and comfortable whether on or off-road.
02:51 [music]
02:55 [music]
03:01 (whooshing)