Take the center armrest bin for instance. I recently tested a Mercedes-Benz with a stunningly attractive interior, until I poked around beneath the surface. Under the armrest was a poorly finished cubby made of cheap, shiny plastic and exposed screws. It immediately turned me off. The GX, on the other hand, finishes the same bin off in velvety material, soft to the touch but appearing easy to clean. Now that's luxury.
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| Lexus continues to rank highest in J. D. Powers' Initial Quality Study and Vehicle Dependability Study. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
While coddling its occupants doesn't have a great deal to do with reliability or initial quality stats, it reflects greater dedication to quality, one of the reasons Lexus continues to rank highest in J. D. Powers' Initial Quality Study (IQS) and Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), as well as other market research surveys. The attention to detail Lexus shows by going the extra mile below the surface also goes a long way to winning over customers on a long-term basis. After all, once the honeymoon is over we become intimate with our new vehicle for better or worse. Customers that sign on the bottom line with Lexus seem to have more uplifting relationships than with any other brand.
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| The GX's Adaptive Variable Suspension provides a remarkably smooth ride for a 4x4 capable truck. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Once acclimatized I found a comfortable position by toggling the multi-adjustable seat buttons up, down, back and forth, set my mirrors and headed for the open road. What a smooth ride for a 4x4 capable truck! To put this in perspective, the GX started life as a Land Cruiser in Japan, Europe and other markets. Land Cruisers are among the most capable off-road vehicles without tracks, making the GX 470's pavement prowess impressive to say the least.
Its standard Adaptive Variable Suspension damping (AVS) delivers excellent smoothness by continuously adjusting all four shock absorber damping rates in response to road surface conditions, vehicle speed, driver steering and braking inputs, plus vertical vehicle movement.