Lexus GX 460 unveiled, replaces GX 470 with more power and better gas mileage

is dropping in the new-design Toyota V-8 for the 2010 GX 460 SUV, which it unveiled Monday at Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in China.

The G X 460 replaces the GX 470 and the new 4.6-liter V-8 also used in the Toyota Tundra pickup replaces the -- duh -- 4.7-liter V-8. That inefficient 4.7 actually got worse fuel economy in the Tundra usage than the 5.7-liter V-8.

The change adds adds power: the 4.6 in the '10 GX 460 is rated 301 horsepower and 329 pounds-feet of torque vs. the 4.7's just 263 hp and 323 lbs.-ft. in the '09 GX 470.

It also ups the fuel economy: the 4.6 is rated 15 mpg in town, 20 on the highway, 17 combined (5.88 gallons per 100 miles) . That's up from the 4.7's 14/18/15 (6.67 gal./100 mi.)

The GX, similar to the Toyota 4Runner that no longer offers a V-8, is a mid-size SUV with full-time four-wheel drive. The vehicle continues to be a truck-style, body-on-frame machine in a time when most buyers are shifting to unibody crossover SUVs. A third-row seat now is standard and comes with power-fold.