2005 Lexus GX 470

2005 Lexus GX 470 Test Drive

Big, capable and solid feeling, the GX470 also carries a big sticker price.

Should You Buy This Car?

The GX470 may well be the apotheosis of a certain kind of luxury vehicle, the higher-end, truck-based SUV. You can spend more, for instance for a Range Rover, but if you're not planning on crossing Mongolia in your vehicle we're not sure why you would. And given that the out-the-door price on our tester climbed to $54,230 (after loading on navigation, a Mark Levinson audio system with built-in DVD for rear-seat passengers and a pair of wireless headsets, a rear-seat air-conditioner, plus many other options), this vehicle is hardly inexpensive.

But there are many rivals about to make life uncomfortable for the entire breed of high-end, truck-like SUVs. Cadillac will soon launch a seven-passenger vehicle called the SRX that will sell in the same price range as its own Escalade (as well as that of the Lincoln Navigator and the GX470). The SRX will be car-based just like the Volvo XC90 (which has outsold the GX470 so far this year), the Volkswagen Touareg, Infiniti's FX45 and Nissan's Murano. Everywhere you look, somebody else is launching a crossover that rivals the best truck-based SUVs.

And that seems to be the wave of the future, because on the whole crossovers are more fuel-efficient and safer for their occupants and anybody who might be in another car they collide with. That doesn't make the GX470 evil, or a bad vehicle. But it's part of a last-year's formula. Next year, look for Lexus to get a larger, car-based crossover. This company is way too smart not to know that's where the future is.