Listen up, 2024 Lexus GX garage queens: Your time is coming. Survive a few years’ worth of Whole Foods treks, and one day, someone might take you to the trails. The 2024 GX isn’t just a crossover with trucky energy; it’s special. Before another Lexus changed how we think of modern luxury SUVs, the GX’s body-on-frame construction used to define the space.

Now, after 15 years, the GX is back. Finally redesigned, the 2024 Lexus GX grows in every dimension. It’s more powerful and has tons more torque from a downsized V-6 engine. This thing’s heavier than before, too, but oh my, have you swiped through these photos? Those chiseled features project an adventuresome spirit even if some GXs never escape suburbia.

The contrast between the GX’s reputation as an off-road-ready machine and as a large Lexus SUV leads us to this moment: How well does the new one serve both worlds?

Finally, Lexus has a real three-row luxury crossover in its lineup. We’re not talking about the enormous LX or the GX, but the TX. That soft-roader is designed for on-road, family duty and allows the GX to get a little wilder in its niche as a luxury off-roader with an available third row.

To build confidence, the 2024 GX has standard full-time four-wheel drive and a Torsen locking limited-slip center differential. Ground clearance has improved to 8.7-8.9 inches, and you can now tow up to just over 9,000 pounds, depending on trim. Maybe don’t try that with a TX.

Where the 2024 GX really impresses is how civilized it makes the entire experience. Both on- and off-road and across most trims, the new GX is a very everyday-livable ride. With 349 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque from a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6, the GX never feels sluggish. Smooth and quiet is more like it. The throttle and brake pedal are easy to modulate, making for easy stops and starts.

Lexus estimates a 0-60-mph time of 6.5 seconds, which is a full second quicker than a 2022 GX460 we’ve tested. Yet on the road, the new 2024 GX550 is clearly not tuned for quick starts, and it’s better for it.

Body-on-frame SUVs aren’t known for great ride quality, but on the roads in and around Tucson, the GX exceeded our admittedly low expectations. Among the 2024 Lexus GX’s six trim levels—Premium, Premium+, Luxury, Luxury+, Overtrail, and Overtrail+—the Overtrail trims ride the best, followed by the Premium trims, which roll on 20-inch wheels. We like the flashy 22s on the Luxury trims, but the ride suffers a bit, especially over sudden road imperfections.

The 2024 GX Overtrail trims fortify the GX’s foundations with tech and killer 33-inch all-terrain tires matched with 18-inch wheels. We hate to see such capability wasted on any SUV, but we must admit the GX Overtrail looks awesome cruising around town.

Once the GX Overtrail leaves the city, it should make out just fine thanks to its electronic locking rear differential, adaptive variable suspension (also standard on Luxury+), and Multi-Terrain Select with six drive modes including Auto, Dirt, Sand, Mud, Deep Snow, and Rock. As with the similarly large competition, you’ll want to watch your corners to avoid scratching the paint when your off-roader can cost more than $80,000.

Compared to the old GX, articulation has also improved because of the Overtrail’s Electronic-Kinetic Dynamic Suspension system. On a challenging trail, the new GX will keep its tires in contact with the ground (before hanging a wheel in the air) for longer than would the previous model. With that and Crawl Control Assist together, this off-roader makes it simple to alter how much effort you want to expend before letting the SUV’s tech do most of the work.

Off- and on-road, there’s just enough steering feel to be helpful but not distracting, and we always felt confident. When Liberty Magazine previously off-roaded a 2024 GX prototype on more extreme trails, we came away impressed. The same is true for the production model, though an old Jeep CJ with beefy tires mocked us followed us on some of the less extreme trails.

Inside, the 2024 Lexus GX’s design is understated, but there’s no mistaking the quality of almost everything in the first and second rows. Best of all, this applies to the entire 2024 GX range down to the base Premium. The picture changes the farther back you go, though.

The third-row armrests feel more Toyota Land Cruiser than Lexus GX, although the sightlines are great through those blocky side windows. Too bad the floor is so high and access is compromised, but remember the TX now complements the GX in the three-row SUV space. The GX’s Premium and Luxury trims get a third row while the Overtrail doesn’t.

One literally huge highlight is the Dynamic Sky Panorama Glass Roof, which may be one of the very best glass roofs on the market at any price and on any car. Stretching 43.5 inches back from the first row, the glass roof doesn’t open but does pretty much everything else. It’s exclusive to the GX550 Luxury+ and has no central pillar interrupting the glass, but there is a cover. If you want some rays but not all of them, try the dimming function.

All of this is solid stuff, but we wonder if there’s enough interior design flair. We had a 2021 Land Rover Defender for a year and, although the materials weren’t all soft, the interior felt special starting with the exposed magnesium crossbeam across the dash.

The Defender, our 2021 SUV of the Year, is the Lexus GX’s number one target. We can see why: The Land Rover also offers a third row, luxury, and the promise of no-limits off-road exploration. Another thing these two charming SUVs share? Sub-20-mpg city fuel economy, a detail that increasingly feels at odds with off-roading specifically for new luxury SUV buyers. When you’ve got the cash to drive something better for the very land you’re exploring, why not consider it?

Here, we’re talking about the electric and better-for-humans Rivian R1S. For not much more money, the Rivian works for both sides of the Lexus GX’s dual-purpose mission. It’s a premium three-row SUV with a 352-mile range at the GX’s fully loaded price point in the low $80,000 range. The GX manages a range of 359 miles and can’t refuel at home like the Rivian can, although road trips will be easier thanks to quick gas fill-ups.

The R1S is much quicker, and if you’re curious whether electric cars can survive on the trails, trust us on that: We took a Rivian 7,686 miles off-road.

Maybe that’s not for you—after all, Lexus has stood for reliability longer than Rivian has existed. And it’s not just the Lexus letters spread across the GX550’s tailgate, but the very fact that it’s a GX. First with the original GX470 and then the GX460, this model has developed a reputation as a great foundation for those who want to go overlanding—or look like they do.

In the face of compelling competition, the new GX550 is a huge improvement. While we still wonder whether the mpg hit is worth it for drivers who’ll rarely put a tire off-road, there’s no doubt this special 4WD SUV is a good complement to the TX in the Lexus lineup.