By Mabuyane Mabuza
There’s something audaciously theatrical about the Lexus GX550 the moment it fills your mirrors. A hulking silhouette carved with Lexus’s modern design cues, its once-ornate spindle grille now dialled into something more purposeful, flanked by LED lights that hold their gaze like sentries. It carries its presence with ease: imposing, never vulgar, making its intentions clear before you’ve even pressed the start button. And that’s the thing about Lexus. The brand may be niche in South Africa, but it consistently delivers some of the most boldly executed vehicles on the road. Think of the LX 570, or even the wild LFA. The GX550 follows in that lineage with absolute confidence.
Toyota South Africa, the parent company of Lexus SA, has long accepted that Lexus isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But those who buy into the brand rarely look back —thanks to Toyota’s backing. Throughout my time with the GX550, I didn’t think twice about potholes, even the ones large enough to pass as “fire pools”. The standard 18-inch all-terrain tyres on the test model simply rolled over everything in their path, making everyday driving feel almost indulgently effortless.
Interior
Slip into the cabin and the contradiction becomes part of the GX550’s charm. Plush leather, neat stitching and well-thought-out ergonomics wrap around you, while the mix of wood, metal and modern screens strikes a balance between craftsmanship and contemporary tech. It feels both purposefully old-school and reassuringly high- tech — a rare blend of genuine capability and lounge-level comfort.
The GX550 blends thoughtful design with everyday usability. The seats are supportive, second-row space is generous, and the optional third row adds welcome family flexibility. On a recent, sombre trip to Mpumalanga, the cabin offered a quiet sense of comfort — the kind of drive where you let the road and talk radio steady you.
The cabin feels like a well-lit theatre of screens and controls; focused on the driver when needed, and quietly indulgent for everyone else. The central display is large, clear and ready for the usual modern essentials: Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless charging and enough USB-C ports to keep every device alive. Navigation is intuitive and genuinely helpful, with trip planning and range estimates that feel considered rather than cosmetic. Lexus’ connected-services app ties remote functions, vehicle health updates and concierge-style support into one place — a handy companion on long South African road trips when you need a quick route change or a service booking on the move.
Long highway stretches turn into a calm, luxurious glide, and even winding back roads are handled with surprising composure. There’s satisfying weight to the steering and a suspension setup that absorbs the chatter without muting the drive. Push it a little and the GX550 shows its true colours: confident, steady and unapologetically planted — exactly what a well-engineered SUV should be.
Safety
Where the GX550 truly earns its keep is in its driver assistance and safety systems. Lexus equips it with a comprehensive suite: adaptive cruise control that eases long highway stretches, lane keeping with gentle corrections, pre-collision mitigation, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring that take the edge off busy urban traffic and narrow trails. The displays are clear, configurable and easy to read, with a crisp digital instrument cluster that keeps key information front and centre.
Exterior
Visually, the GX550 arrives like a statement long before the engine turns. Its hulking silhouette, all brushed steel and shadow, holds the road with purpose. The grille is bold and declarative — angular, confident and unapologetic. While other SUVs quietly ask for attention, the GX550 simply commands it. It’s big, bold and impossible to ignore, carrying itself with the assurance of something built to take up space and own it.
The Drive
But it’s not all grace notes. Under the bonnet there’s real appetite — a strong, eager engine that delivers confident performance but drinks like a vehicle with serious presence. If most of your driving is in tight urban spaces, expect regular fuel stops. That thirst is simply part of the GX’s personality: it prioritises torque and effortless overtaking over frugality. Press the accelerator and its hunger becomes clear. It drinks deeply and without apology, built for those who enjoy a bit of indulgence rather than those watching every running cost.
The GX550 proves it’s far more than ornament. With Crawl Mode, adaptive off-road features and a chassis tuned for tricky terrain, it finds grip where many rivals hesitate. Boulder fields and riverbeds become small interruptions in its stride. It’s one of the few SUVs that can feel equally at home arriving at a five-star lodge and, a few hours later, fording a stream to camp under southern stars along the Zambezi. Other than its thirst, this is the kind of machine you wouldn’t mind having in your life.
Its pricing places it in rarefied territory — an investment that favours capability and presence over compromise. The Lexus GX550 is both intimidation and invitation: formidable at first glance, indulgent in everyday use and impressively capable beneath its polished surface. It drinks deeply, rules the road with authority and finds its rhythm on both tar and gravel.
Pricing:
The Overtrail model starts at R1 766 000, while the Overtrail SE comes in close to the R2-million mark at R1 829 000.
