What you get most of with the GX 470 is the luxury that we've all grown used to with Lexus-brand vehicles. This is a big, brawny vehicle that offers the last word in leather and birdseye maple wood glamour, very large and commodious seats, lots of elbow room, and lots of help to make your ride more fun and more comfortable. All of the gauges and instruments are large and easy to read, with simple graphics shared by other Lexus products.

The GX 470 in its eight-seat configuration offers plenty of room and easy in/out at the 60/40 split second row, with a 50/50 split third seat accessible via the folding second seat. The third-row seats can either be folded up out of the way or removed and stored. What starts as a 13 cubic-foot cargo bay can be expanded in steps by folding or removing seats up to more than 77 cubic feet with the lightweight rear seats removed and the second row folded.
We were impressed by two things inside the GX 470: the quiet, and the use of space. At highway cruising speeds, the V8 is barely audible. A normal family of four with one large pet will feel right at home inside the GX, cosseted and comfortable with tall side windows affording a good view out. The quality of materials, fit, and finish, is excellent, and the cabin really works.

For the time being, the only options for the GX 470 are the navigation system, bundled with the Mark Levinson 240-watt sound system ($2700), the DVD entertainment system ($1560), and the third-seat package with rear air conditioning ($2030), a tow hitch receiver ($430), and the Lexus Link concierge service.

One of the beauties of driving any Lexus product is that everything is where it's supposed to be, and everything is clearly labeled. Even something as complex as a navigation system has been reduced to everyday equipment in the GX 470 because it was designed so well.
Our only functional criticism is aimed at the rear cargo compartment, which is accessed by opening the door from the side. We've grown so accustomed to a horizontally split tailgate or a top-hinged liftgate in this market segment that the door design just didn't feel natural to us anymore.

The Lexus GS 470 is a no-compromise SUV, and during our on-road/off-road adventures with it in and around Park City, Utah, we fell in love with it for the way it drives and handles, seemingly ready for anything this side of a Rockies ava-lanche. Its array of onboard electronics is unrivalled in this segment at this price, and all systems work in concert to make this machine come alive, whatever the driving conditions. The GX 470 comes ready to play.
The 4.7-liter V8 delivers world-class power, torque, smoothness, and quiet-ness. The V8 is shared with the Lexus LX470 and is optional with the Toyota 4Runner. It comes coupled with a new five-speed automatic transmission, which offers quicker response and better gearing than a traditional four-speed automatic.

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Should you venture off road in this luxurious vehicle you'll have at your command the latest in off-road management systems. It has a full-time four-wheel-drive system with an expensive locking Torsen torque-sensing differential that can shift the power from the front axle to the rear axle continuously. It automatically directs power according to the traction available at each of the four corners. In normal highway conditions, power is split 40/60 percent front/rear. If the rear wheels spin, the differential can change the front/rear ratio to 53/47 percent to control the slippage. Conversely, sending more power to the rear wheels (29/71 front/rear) during steering maneuvers improves tracking through curves.