Consumer Reports: Don't Buy the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV
Consumer Reports rarely comes out with a "don't buy" on a new vehicle, but it is saying that with respect to a Lexus SUV, the 2010 Lexus GX 460. The problem is that when pushed to its limits on CR's track’s handling course, the rear of the GX slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control. This, CR explains, could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death.
In the test, as the vehicle is driven through a turn, the driver quickly lifts his foot off the accelerator pedal to see how the vehicle reacts. CR explains that the lift-off oversteer could occur when a driver enters a highway’s exit ramp or drives through a sweeping turn and encounters an unexpected obstacle or suddenly finds that the turn is too tight for the vehicle’s speed. A natural impulse is to quickly lift off the accelerator pedal. If that were to happen in the GX, the rear could slide around far enough that a wheel could strike a curb or slide off the pavement.
Either of those scenarios can cause a vehicle to roll over. And because the GX is a tall SUV with a high center of gravity, our concern for rollover safety is heightened.
