2019 Lexus LX570 S review and buyer's guide
Premium large SUV buyers need performance, customer service and reliability because time is money. Yet some still buy Range Rovers…
I’d rather have this than a Range Rover. Don’t get me wrong; I love the sophisticated elegance of the Rangie, but I’d detest its penchant for breaking down once a fortnight, and the ‘we’ll think about it’ attitude from the service department.
Lexus is the opposite. They seem to like their customers.
I don’t think we’ll accuse the LX570 of being elegant. But I’m pretty sure it’s bulletproof, and the support is right up there. I never get complaints from Lexus owners.
The standard LX 570 is about $155,000 in the traffic. That’s roughly $30 grand more than a LandCruiser 200 Series Sahara (upon which it’s based, in case it wasn’t stabbing you in the retina).
Obviously the bigger, fatter V8 is a substantial part of that equation, but there’s a massive spike in comfort as well.
There’s four-zone climate control (which most people don’t even realise existed), the centre console is virtually a cryo-lab refrigerator, DVD screens in the back offer excellent ‘shut up’ factor, and the 19 speaker premium sound system will easily shatter crockery in the palatial country house, should you wish to do so. (I understand this is how the other half lives).
It would take literally a week to lay out all the standard features in the not-poverty pack LX 570 entry-level model. This vehicle really does redefine the term ‘fully loaded’. It’s packed.
It’s probably quicker to list the things it lacks, like dynamic guidelines on the rear-view camera. On a $180k vehicle, that’s a bit limp. But the list of inadequacies, on a features basis, is pretty short.
Fortunately, there’s no way you could complain about the straight-line performance. It just eats hills and makes overtaking a breeze.
Reality bites
Stepping up to the LX 570 S is going to cost you roughly $25 grand on top of the $155k for the 570. And it’s hardly like you’re upgrading from ‘poverty’.
In fact, I have real difficulty justifying the step-up on an objective, economically rational basis. You get a better class of dead cow, heated wheel, alloy pedals, the big, fat 21-inch wheels and the Kardashian-inspired body kit and grille. Seems expensive.
But then I am a middle class working stiff. So what would I know about that?
If you’re the kind of dude or dudette who demands the works burger, and you’ve got the cash, okay, fair enough.
Business class
There’s really no getting around the fact that this is a fully pimped hardcore off-roader with heavy tow capacity.
And that impacts the on-road dynamics. In the context of luxury it’s a bit harsh on small bumps - almost over-damped - and a bit wallowy over the bigger bumps. Despite that, it remains quite sure-footed with permanent all-wheel drive and a lockable Torsen centre differential for low-traction situations: Brilliant. More on low-traction 4WD utes here >>
Interestingly, LX 570 has the same tow capacity and GVM as a LandCruiser Sahara. 3500kg for towing and 3350 on the GVM. And this thing weighs 2740 (kerb weight) so there’s notionally 610 kilos of payload capacity.
Divide that 610kg by eight seats, is 76kg per seat, less than that if you carry luggage. It’s really easy to overload a vehicle such as this with people and gear if you’re not really careful.
It’s not an unbounded universe back here if you’re in the cargo-carrying stakes.
Fortunately, there’s no way you could complain about the straight-line performance. It just eats hills and makes overtaking a breeze.
Putting luxury to one side of course, it is kinda convenient in the cargo-carrying game. Try doing this in your conventional Corolla or your planet-saving Prius.
I’ve always wanted to try a $180,000 landscaping supplies delivery van: 12 bales of mulch and I don’t believe we’ve even compromised the rear vision yet.
Power corrupts, absolutely
But here’s where things get interesting: a 5.7-litre quad-cam 90-degree V8 with variable valve timing, drinking 95 RON petrol and pumping out 270 kilowatts at 5600rpm and 530Nm at 3200rpm.
It just goes really well, in case it wasn’t immediately obvious. Just over 100 watts per kilo - so yeah, it’s a big, heavy, hulking thing, but it’ll out-accelerate a Mazda CX-5 Akera with the new 2.5 turbo petrol engine. And it’s kinda line ball on power-to-weight with a Hyundai i30 N-Line or Kia Certato GT - both pretty sporty performers, and hardly slouches in a straight line.
Standard petrol Landcruiser 200 gets a 4.6-litre V8 with about 15 per cent less straight line performance. And of course this vehicle has a brilliant eight-speed auto, whereas the petrol V8 Sahara gets an adequate, but somewhat less smooth, six-speed.
This is a refined, high-performance powertrain. I love driving it. Although, I do smile wondering how many Piriuses Toyota has to sell to offset the CO2 from one LX570, and certainly if you bury your right foot it has an immediate impact on the price of West Texas Intermediate.
But if you’ve got $180k to spend on a conveyance, you really don’t care about the price of fuel. It’s a complete non-issue, to you. Rightly so, fuel’s cheap, relatively speaking.
Is your fuel station ripping you off? >>
Then there’s the off-road capability and why I would recommend this thing long before you stoke your symmetrical short-boxed beard over a Land Rover or Range Rover shitbox.
‘Adaptive variable suspension’ scans the terrain and adjusts the damper settings to shield your derriere from the impacts of the outside environment. You can also feels the suspension automatically adjust based on any of the two drive modes you select on the rotary dial (comfort or sports).
And some mad engineering voodoo called ‘active height control’ automatically adjusts the ride height on all four wheels to suit the prevailing hostile environment (rocks, ruts, zombie apocalypse, rival gokudō clans blocking your path). This of course requires engaging the low range transmission, which then automatically lowers back down when you’ve made your point and turn off the ignition. So you can get in and out easily without creasing your suit.
Should you ever need to inch your way down the side of Mount Fuji, or something, you can also select a metres-per-second crawl rate for the engine and transmission. If it’s snowy while you’re up there, you can heat both your seats and steering wheel, and hers.
Details, details
The cockpit. It’s very well laid out in the main, and certainly feature right.
But see this kinda-sorta-joystick thing? It’s a travesty. It’s also designed to operate the infotainment screen and if Apple had designed it, it would be a thing of beauty, an ergonomic triumph.
The exact opposite is in place, sadly. Carmakers, they are terrible as this infotainment interface stuff and I’m sad to say in an otherwise nice interior - except for the shiny steering wheel (don’t get me started) - this is a shining example of that track record of awful.
You also have to open the sunroof blind, you have to do that manually. Have fun doing that, anybody with short arms. I’d suggest that’s a little bit limp in the grand context of the LX 570S.
As a good host you’ll stock up on six bottles of Ace of Spades rosè, on the chill in the refrigerated centre console, you’ve taken your tour for just a short trip around the estate, shown them your heard of ancient bison, they’ve admired your innovative whale meat processing plant and admired your immense marijuana plantation. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
Driving
There’s really no getting around the fact this is a fully pimped, hardcore, ruggedised off-roader with extreme tow capacity.
Inevitably enough, that extra capability does impact this vehicle’s on-road refinement slightly. Small bumps come through a little bit harsh and those bigger, lower-frequency bumps come through a touch wollowy.
I would not say this vehicle is unrefined, but it is a bit of a tank, in a velvet glove.
But if you’re the kinda family (or playboy) that goes to the snow all the time, it’s very comforting knowing you have the benefit of full-time all-wheel drive. So you’re in AWD always, and if it gets really slippery underfoot, there’s a lockable Torsen centre differential. So that’s great.
And, of course, if you wanna go proper hardcore blue-singlet off-roading, there is low-range and this vehicle will handle basically anything you can throw at it.
Frankly, I say bring on the zombie apolcalypse.
The last word
Maybe it’s a subjective determination, but I would own 10 of these LX570s before I owned a single Ranger Rover. Here’s why >>
As much as I admire the sophistication and elegance of the Rangie, I know I would detest is penchant for letting me down every few weeks, almost as much as I know it would be enraged by the borderline ‘couldn’t give a crap’ attitude I would cop in the service department every time I lobed to discuss my latest issue.
Sadly, that’s just part of the deal with them. See here >>
The Lexus is of course a completely different cat - in some ways the polar opposite - of a Range Rover.
But it is fully loaded and very capable, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be tough and well-supported across Australia, even when you’re out the back of Whoop-Whoop - thanks to Toyota’s vast dealer network, especially if you’re stuck at the roadhouse in West Arsetrailer.
The Hyundai Palisade is a big, bold and comfortable holiday machine for growing families. Palisade offers excellent value, generous 8-seat SUV space, and practicality on par with LandCruiser, but at a much more affordable price.