The Lexus GX 550 is the luxury cousin to the Toyota Land Cruiser. I've now driven the two back-to-back over the course of a few weeks. The Land Cruiser now has a soft spot in my heart for saving me from quite a bad accident. And my colleague has argued that serious off-roaders can save a bundle going with the Toyota vs. the Lexus. That's a point I'm not here to argue either way. The Land Cruiser is swell. But if you want Lexus business class, I'm not going to talk you out of it. But I am here to advocate for Lexus's brand of luxury, because we're seeing so much of the opposite. Mercedes' new GLC continues to get a hyperscreen, now wider than ever, and BMW is set to add something similar to their Neue Klasse vehicles, too. The fact that Lexus isn't going mega-digital, but is instead sticking with buttons, at least on its off-road-worthy vehicles, speaks to something Lexus and Toyota harp on relentlessly—quality.I think about quality from a used-SUV perspective, and in terms of equity. Older GXs are collectible now. Search on Bring a Trailer to see exactly what I mean. Serious off-roaders seek these out, in part because the engineering of the old rigs was shared with the unkillable 4Runner. Toyota and Lexus both know that their customers are more conservative (we're talking about wallets here, not politics) than people seeking flash. And that means they're "buy-and-hold" types. Here's how that translates on the new GX—and why I think Lexus is balancing a very delicate formula just about perfectly. The Now And Forever: Lexus Aims To Make Life Less Complicated TopSpeed | Michael FrankClamber aboard the GX 550 and you'll notice the lack of something. Screens. There's a modest, 14-inch screen above the center stack of vents, and the instrument cluster is digital, not analog, but there's no cabin-spanning panel of glass. Instead, drivers and passengers are greeted with an almost O.G.-level of analog.LexusThere's a geometric chunkiness to the switchgear, especially for the items you're going to tap a lot, like the climate controls, and the steering wheel buttons are just that—they're BUTTONS, not haptic switches lacking tactility. While you might ding Lexus for their conservatism, Lexus did reinvent their interfaces once—and it sucked. Lexus used to use a small touchpad that was meant to emulate a mouse, but that basically didn't work. Reverting to tangible, physical switches and dials means you're not relying on an "over-the-air" update to operate your car radio. Because why would we need that? Sane Organization Throughout The Entire Cabin TopSpeed | Michael Frank In the center stack, large dials allow quick adjustments of climate controls to warmer or colder. A persistent climate bar resides just above these, so it's easy to switch between auto and manual functions, or turn on a seat heater. Below that, logically, Lexus gives the driver a choice of powertrain modes (choosing from a custom setting, Sport, Eco, etc.), and this is also where you can deactivate stability control.Naturally, Lexus has placed these where a driver would think to find them—right beside the shifter. There's no menu hunting. All of these are buttons or dials. You can adjust what you need to instantly and keep your eyes on the road. It's so brilliant you'd think someone would have thought of this before. Oh...right. The Overtrail+ Brings All The Goodies TopSpeed | Michael FrankThe GX 550 is a blocky beast. I was testing the Overtrail+, which gets several off-road extras. It's lifted an extra inch vs. the non-Overtrail models. My tester had a giant rooftop rack, too, the better for overlanders who want to throw a rooftop tent up there. And the Overtrail+ GX also gets 18-inch wheels shod with meaty, 33-inch rubber. Plus, there are multiple camera angles to dial up, which makes spotting obstacles far easier when you're off-roading.TopSpeed | Michael FrankThe included Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System disconnects stabilizer bars when you're off-roading, which enables far greater suspension articulation during rock crawling. Terrain modes include: Auto Dirt Deep snow Deep mud Sand Hard Switches In GX Character Just Feel Right TopSpeed | Michael FrankAll of the above is, let's face it, all possible via improved technology. I'm not a Luddite. I don't think Lexus should forsake the capability they're offering just because disconnecting suspension components wasn't possible 50 years ago. Nor would you have had an onboard air compressor back then. But this one perfectly illustrates Lexus "getting it" when it comes to adding capability.This system has hard buttons, rather than a touchscreen. They're anticipating someone airing down tires before a delicate, off-camber hill climb. Then needing to air up again when they hit pavement. That buyer does not want to tap and swipe; they just want to hit hard buttons and get air flowing to their tires. Why make it complicated? Basic Driver Controls Keep Distractions To A Minimum TopSpeed | Michael Frank Lexus carries its keep-it-simple-stupid approach to steering wheel controls. You get cruise control on the right of the steering wheel and other functions on the left. And while I do wish Lexus would keep a separate hard dial for easily tabbing between audio sources on the center stack, the mode button enables that from the steering wheel. If that's not good enough, the voice button was my go-to for tuning to a specific radio station, and it was accurate! Button Overkill? It Depends On What You Find Useful TopSpeed | Michael FrankYou might argue that Lexus has gone too far. Perhaps they should embed more functions in menus? Again, think about the why, and what can and will go wrong. For instance, I used the convenient two-inch receiver on the GX to add a mountain bike rack. But guess what? The back-up monitor thought that was a person, and prevented me from getting the GX 550 to reverse. That's bad. What's good is that killing the monitor was an easy button stab away from my left knee. It wasn't 18 layers deep in a menu. I didn't need the owner's manual to drive the car. TopSpeed's Take: Less Is Actually More TopSpeed | Michael FrankI get that an $80,000 luxury barge isn't going to be in everyone's budget. I get, further, that Lexus is in very good company with Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover, et al., in selling a high-end and highly capable off-roader—that lots of buyers will never get dirty. And Lexus is hardly in rare air, pricing the Overtrail+ GX 550 where it does. A Ford Expedition Tremor will run you $80,000, too.TopSpeed | Michael FrankLexus is, arguably, taking chances where they should, in updating the body styles of their wares. They've done that very well in their SUVs. But they're not being daring where they shouldn't. They get that a brand cannot stand for quality if, five years from now, their interiors look horribly dated. Call it boring, but buttons and dials will age more gracefully than LED disco lighting and screens on every surface. And in an age when even cassette tapes are finding popularity, less digital is the new-new.
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