New information suggests the Lexus GX – the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado’s luxury twin, but with twin-turbo V6 grunt – is set to launch in South Africa in 2025…
The new Lexus GX has been locked in for South Africa. Yes, Cars.co.za‘s latest information suggests that the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado’s luxury twin is scheduled to launch locally in early 2025, introducing a nameplate never before offered in Mzansi.
While Lexus South Africa has yet to make an official announcement on the GX – having told us in mid-April 2024 that it “can’t comment on future product plans” – our information suggests this luxury off-roader will indeed roll onto local dealership floors in the opening quarter of next year.
For the record, Toyota Motor Corporation applied to trademark the “GX550” badge in South Africa in June 2023, about 2 weeks after the 3rd-generation GX was revealed on the global stage. While the trademark has yet to be officially registered in Mzansi, it’s surely only a matter of time.
As a reminder, the Lexus GX is a body-on-frame SUV that traces its roots all the way back to 2002. While the opening 2 generations were produced exclusively in left-hand-drive guise (catering primarily to North America), this 3rd iteration is also manufactured in right-hand drive, opening the door to introductions in its domestic market of Japan as well as in Australia and indeed SA.
Set to be positioned between the Lexus RX and flagship LX, the GX shares various elements with the latest (and already popular) Land Cruiser Prado, right down to its “J250” model code (for the record, it’s 25 mm longer than the Prado at 4 950 mm, though the 2 850 mm wheelbase is common to both). The new GX will be a welcome addition considering the local line-up lost the RC coupé and LS sedan at the end of 2023.
Riding on the same GA-F platform as the latest-generation Prado (which is currently available locally only in turbodiesel guise and globally only with 4-cylinder motors), the new Lexus GX is offered in other markets in GX550 form, powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine. Familiar from the Land Cruiser 300 and LX600 but here detuned to 260 kW and 650 Nm, this V35A-FTS engine is mated to all 4 wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission.
However, in select countries, there’s also a hybrid model that wears the GX550h badge and employs an 8-speed automatic cog-swapper. This dual-powered derivative uses a turbocharged 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder petrol motor (T24A-FTS) as a base, while also incorporating an electric motor with a battery pack. It’s a powertrain that is likely very closely related to that of the RX500h.
Like the SA-spec Prado, we expect the Lexus GX to come with a 7-seater configuration as standard, though if the Overtrail specification is included in the South African range, this derivative is likely to feature only 2 rows of seats.
This Overtrail grade adds what Lexus describes as an “exclusive exterior design that elevates off-road performance” (including model-specific bumpers and black wheel-arch cladding), along with all-terrain tyres, e-KDSS (Toyota’s clever off-road suspension system), the Multi-Terrain Select system, crawl control, a rear differential lock, chunkier roof rails and special seats.
Check back later in the year or early in 2025 for more local information as it becomes available…
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