2026 Lexus GX550

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 mid-sized, 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.

4WD is also standard in the Lexus; it’s optional (again) in the Toyota.

The Lexus also touts much higher standard towing capacity (9,096 lbs.).

Prices – for the Lexus – start ay $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 one 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 ot charge phones. It stickers for $81,395.

These iterations revert to two-row-only.

If you’re wanting even more luxury – including massaging from 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 ultra-premium 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 lb. tow rating is considerably higher than sibling Toyota 4Runner’s maximum 6,000 lb, tow rating.

What’s Not So Good

Stickers for about $20k 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 mid-sized, 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 C02 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 C02 “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 city, 21 highway while the previously standard 4.6 liter V8 delivered pretty much the same: 15 city, 19 highway.

So, what’s the upside?

Well, the 3.4 V6 makes more power – 349 horsepower (vs. 301 for the old V8) and much more torque – 479 ft. lbs. vs. 329 ft.-lbs. for the old V8. No doubt this explains the GX550’s standard 9,096 lb. tow rating, which is considerably higher than the ’23 GX460’s 6,000 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 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 lbs. 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 ft.-lbs. 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 lbs.

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). Finally, the GX500 is a Lexus.

You get what you pay for – and the reverse.

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 lbs. – 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 4×4. There are many SUVs but few 4x4s. 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, which is 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 in his right mind expects a Corvette to be a fine rock-crawler, either.

As touched on earlier, the 3.4 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.

The only detraction from what is otherwise a wonderful driving experience is the experience of having to fish through the big LCD touchscreen to activate certain desirable functions, such as the seat massagers that come standard in the Luxury and Luxury + trims. It’s a multi-step process of having to first tap the button to get to the screen that displays the seat massager controls and then tap the seats you want to activate. In some other high-end vehicles that offer massaging seats, there are buttons on the lower seat cushions that can be easily turned on and off without needing to deal with the screen, which is much easier. Also, some other-brand massagers stay on until turned off; the GX550’s cycle off automatically after awhile and then you have to go through the whole process again, if you want them back on.

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 vs. 194.9 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 vs. 34.8 for the 4Runner. On the flip side, the Toyota has more advertised total cargo space – 90.2 cubic feet vs. 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.

The assumption seems to be that people who buy the Lexus are chiefly concerned about passenger comfort whereas 4Runner buyers are likely the type that will be using the cargo area more often than the passenger area.

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 4×4 with a heavy duty rear axle that takes up under-floor room that might otherwise be devoted to legroom.

The GX550 shares a rugged exterior silhouette with its Toyota sibling but inside, the tone is softer. Controls that are tap/swipe (as for example for the seat heaters and steering wheel heater) in the Lexus are controlled by big meaty rotary knobs in the 4Runner. Finishes are rougher-hewn in the Toyota, which makes sense because it is the one of the two more likely to get actually muddy – though the Lexus is just as capable of getting muddy.

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 n a Lexus with a starting price not far from $70k.

The Bottom Line

The GX550 no longer comes with that wonderful V8, but the 3.4 V6 has its own charms – which include the fact that it’s not available in the 4Runner.

It’s arguably worth the tariff tax.

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