A Lexus Land Cruiser with a really big grille…

Lexus has revealed an upgrade of its GX SUV, which is in fact, a twin of Toyota’s Land Cruiser Prado.

Differentiated from the Prado byits enormous spindle grille – a styling feature of Lexus SUVs and crossovers – the new GX also mounts L-shaped LED pods in its redesigned headlamps.

Inside the cabin, it'ssimilar to what awaits a Prado owner when they set out on an adventure – or their daily commute. The only difference is that Lexus has made the GX cabin trim a touch smarter, with aluminium and wood detailing.

With a ladder-frame Land Cruiser platform, this is a Lexus with prodigious off-road ability. The all-wheel drive system links with a Torsen limited-slip centre differential and there is a proper low-range transfer case for challenging terrain.

Semi-autonomous off-road driving capability is provided by a low-speed crawl function, with the engine, transmission and braking system doing all the work whilst you simply steer up, over or around obstacles.

Lexus has added some additional off-road grade features. These include a panoramic view camera system for manoeuvring in tight terrain, transmission cooler for peak torque applications in desert conditions and terrain impact protection for the petrol tank

Powering the Lexus GX is a 4.6-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine, producing 224kW and 446Nm. It drives through a six-speed automatic transmission.

Global distribution for theLexus GX remainsconcentrated on the North American market so don't expect to see this beast in South Africa.

Buy a new or used Lexus on Cars.co.za