I’m here in Vail, Colorado, driving four SUVs to help eBay Motors promote its online auto parts business. I’ll tell you more about that later, but today I have to admit one thing: I’m getting old. I know this because I just fell in love with the Lexus GX, the ultimate overlander for dads. And here’s why I’m such a fan now.

A few months before I left Jalopnik, I went on an off-road trip to Michigan’s mud island, also known as Drummond Island. I was accompanied by my then-boss and still-boyfriend Rory Carroll, who is a little older than me and also a father of two girls. He drove his Lexus GX and I drove my Jeep Cherokee XJ.

At that time I didn’t really know receive the Lexus GX. It’s huge, its independent front suspension isn’t very flexible, it has a huge rear end that needs to be lifted up a lot to get even an acceptable approach angle, and its otherwise extremely reliable engine has a timing belt that needs servicing every 7-8 years. Not to mention that the vehicle looks a little soft and is expensive to repair when it breaks.

I liked my boxy Jeep Cherokee XJ much better. It’s smaller, more maneuverable, has a solid front axle that offers much more maneuverability, it has much better approach angles, and its four-liter engine is just as solid as the Lexus’. Why would anyone want the less powerful GX? I didn’t get it at all.

But then two things happened: I got a little older and last week I spent quite a while off-roading with a GX. Now fully got it. And that worries me.

The GX was one of four machines that eBay Motors made available to journalists (Full disclosure: eBay flew me there, fed me, housed me, and gave me the keys to those four planes. – DT)and one of two vehicles they actually bought on eBay and then fitted with parts from eBay (this one had a small lift kit from Icon and slightly larger tires on new rims, plus a snorkel, roof tent and aftermarket front bumper). As you can see, my beloved XJ is among the four, and yet it was the GX that captured my heart and the hearts of so many other journalists.

The trail began with a rolling gravel road that led to the eternal Crap out of me in the Jeep Cherokee XJ, and although the Lexus had some steering dynamics that you could feel in the steering wheel, the ride was surprisingly good.

As the trail got worse and large rocks appeared on our Rocky Mountain Trail, the GX shook them off in a way that seemed almost impossible. See that dirt road below? The Lexus made it seem like asphalt!:

When it comes to off-roading, I’ve always only cared about absolute capability. Can this vehicle handle this difficult obstacle? If so, it’s a great off-road vehicle, if not, it’s a total no-no.

But my opinion on this has changed in recent years. If a vehicle can tackle a route difficult enough for 99% of off-road drivers, and do so in a way that is far, far more comfortable than a more capable off-road vehicle, why bother buying the bone-crushing CJ, XJ or Defender models?

I still love solid axle Jeeps, and in certain conditions – hardcore rock crawling, which I love to do – they actually offer a better, smoother ride than the GX. But unless you’re actively maneuvering through a huge boulder field, the Lexus GX seems like the better choice. And that’s proof I’m no longer a young greenhorn.

The suspension of the GX consists of a rigid axle at the rear and an independent suspension at the front. Nothing special, but still. I’m still impressed by the bumpy roads it handles.

But it’s not just about ride quality, it’s also about quietness. The interior of the Lexus GX is like a sensory deprivation chamber, with double-pane windows and better soundproofing than a recording studio. A key to the recipe for success here is the 4.7-liter V8 under the hood, the same engine as the one I had in my similarly quiet Lexus LX470. It’s a remarkable piece of machinery (despite its timing belt).

The interior is a little dated, but the overall quality is so good that it makes a Jeep XJ look like a Lada Samara. Things are well bolted together, the materials feel high quality, and overall the SUV just feels solid and safe and quiet and spacious and, well, all those other qualities that have only become important to me in the last few years.

For the past 15 years, I’ve loved my $1,400 Jeep Cherokee XJ, but something is changing inside me. I’m not quite sure I like it.

I need to fix my 1954 Willys to shake it all off The (see previous 800 words) I have not gone soft. I have not gone soft. I have not gone soft.