Luxury Meets Off-Road: A Review of the 2025 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+

Grand Crossover. That’s what the GX in Lexus’s GX 550 stands for. What is being crossed over, and what makes it so grand? At first glance, it’s easy to appreciate the overall uber coolness of the 2025 Lexus GX 550. Spend a little time with it, though, and your appreciation for the idea behind the Grand Crossover moniker will grow.

The Lexus GX sits in between the smaller RX and the larger Lexus LX model, so it’s natural to assume that the “grand crossover” is this middle ground of size and performance. But there might be something deeper to the name that appeals to the everyday driver.

The 2025 Lexus 550 is a luxury SUV that appeals to the dad in all of us – it’s bold, adventurous, but built with enough luxury to make sitting in the carpool lane for school pickup a cushy experience. Pull up in this bad boy and it’ll elevate your entrance to “grand” – even if you’re not a cool dad, you’ll look like one in the GX. And that’s the grand crossover experience the Lexus GX succeeds at creating.

What This Dad Digs About the 2025 Lexus GX 550

SUV meets Truck – Depending how the GX fits into your lifestyle, performance is a highlight here, for both luxury and adventure seekers. Under the hood sits a 3.4 L twin-turbo V6 that delivers robust power and the kind of torque that makes merging, towing, and hauling feel confident—even when towing that giant family camping rig. In fact, the Overtrail+ trim level we tested can tow over 9,000 lbs; that’s enough power to town a mini excavator! You’ll most likely be towing a large boat or extended family camper instead with the GX and it would have no problem with either.

Paired with a 10 speed transmission this engine produces 349 horsepower, which admittedly sounded light on paper especially when you consider the GX’s size. But there is more than enough pep in this step. Paired with a full-time 4 Wheel Drive, you can effortlessly traverse a variety of terrain. Weekend warriors rejoice – the GX will take you just about anywhere you want to go.

Not Afraid to Off Road – Don’t let the pretty face fool you—the Lexus GX Overtrail+ plus is actually down for some off road action. If your Dad-life includes all-terrains, you’ll appreciate the one-inch suspension lift, the electronic locking differential, and the beefy all-terrain tires. Multi-Terrain Select driving modes are also available to adjust for sand, mud, snow, or rocks. The only drawback to the adventurous sides of the GX is that it’s still a built-on-frame SUV and thus passengers will be in for a bumpy ride.

Impressive Safety Features – The usual suspects of safety features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist, and rear cross traffic alert are all present and accounted for. But there are also some cool safety features worth noting, like the pedestrian detection feature baked into the pre-collision system. It uses a camera and millimeter-wave radar that can detect a vehicle, pedestrian, or cyclist and provide an audio/visual forward collision warning under certain circumstances. Not quick enough to hit the brake when this system detects an upcoming obstacle? The automatic emergency braking kicks, anywhere between 7 and 110 mph.

Handsome as all get out – More than just sleek, the 2025 Lexus GX 550 embodies stability and strength with a boxy profile that’s both distinct but approachable. Its wide stance, accentuated by the perfectly sculpted fender flares, give the entire body a unique and bold frame to work off. The maw of a grill up front is a bit too aggressive and “robotic” for my tastes, but nicely compliments and blends into the entire aesthetic. The rear however, is a thing of beauty. I dig the singular brake light that spans the width of the rear, and the blocky design motifs give everything a retro styling. It helped that the vehicle we tested came in a sandy color called Earth with Black Roof; this color combination perfectly screams “off-road capable”.

Interior Emphasis on Road-Trippin’ – While I wasn’t particularly wild about the interior design of the 2025 Lexus GX, I did appreciate a cabin built around road trips and cargo hauling. And don’t forget: this is a Lexus so there is definitely a premium vibe created by soft-touch materials throughout the cabin, NuLuxe® seat accents, and some dope massaging capabilities built into the front seats (perfect for long drives).

Plenty of cargo space fill the cabin, especially in the Overtrail+ trim level where the third row is sacrificed for more space. My family is a quartet so this seat configuration worked well for us, but for a family count larger than four, one of the other trim levels may need to be considered. Losing that third row translates into a lower cargo floor, perfect for loading in luggage or even groceries. Behind the second-row seats, the GX 550 Overtrail+ offers up 45.6 cubic feet of cargo space — perfect for everyday family hauling or quick weekend getaways. Fold that second-row down and 90.5 cubic feet of total cargo volume opens up. Sports equipment, strollers, camping gear – it all fits nicely in the back of the GX Overtail+.

What Gets This Dad’s Downvote

Pain at the Pump – While this luxury vehicle may beg for the open road, you better be ready to spend some gas money on those excursions. The GX 550 Overtrail+ averages around 15 mpg city and 21 mpg on the highway — low compared with other luxury SUVs in this same class. It also “requires” premium fuel, which can contribute to higher costs at the pump

Rugged Ride – There’s some trade off to the off-road capabilities and considering this is a luxury vehicle, those tradeoffs can be glaring. The body-on-frame construction and rugged suspension make for a great off-road experience but on a paved road that same build feels less refined than I would expect from a Lexus. You’ll also notice some road and wind noise at highway speeds as well but I’ve heard worse from rival vehicles.

It’s a Pretty Penny – I was under no illusions that the GX would be classified as “affordably priced” but there was still sticker shock at the additional cost of the Overtrail+ trim. The base GX 550 Premium starts around $65,285 – about what you would expect. The GX 550 Overtrail+, however, starts at about $80,395. That’s a significant jump, even with the additional features that come with it. Thrifty Dads need not apply.

The Grandness of this Crossover

There are a ton of “crossover” moments in a Dad’s life — transitioning from the single life to parenthood, when your child moves out for the first time, or even handing the keys to the car over and heading to the passenger seat instead of the drivers seat — and owning a luxury SUV can be one of those crossover experiences. The GX 550 Overtrail+ is unique in that it’s not only luxurious but it’s fully capable of taking the road less traveled and allowing for some truly awesome family adventures.

But is the GX Overtrail+ worth the price to play? Depends on your budget. If that budget is in the ballpark of a vehicle like this, there are plenty of advantages to this Lexus. For me, it would be the styling – this ride is incredible to look at and even more impressive in person. But to each Dad their own. One thing is for sure: crossing over to the GX 550 Overtrail+ is a grand experience and the stuff of dreams.