Consumer Reports tests vehicles for emergency handling by running them through some high speed dynamic maneuvers, such as a lane change. When CR did this test to the Lexus GX 460 SUV (the luxury cousin of the 4Runner) the vehicle exhibited a very yaw angle. This is good for sports cars, where the driver is assumed to have enough control to manage oversteer. But on a high center of gravity SUV, a loose stability control tuning is dangerous. Says CR:
Because of this behavior, CR has given Toyota another black eye, with a rare and embarrassing "Do Not Buy" rating. This puts the Lexus GX460 in the same company as the Suzuki Samurai.We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death. We are not aware, however, of any such reports.
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In real-world driving, 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.
1 comment:
Shouldn't the message to everybody especially in the United States be Lexus and Toyota "Do Not Buy" period.
Of course I'm still surprised that people are still buying Toyota's and now some Lexus's despite all of the warnings.
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