Review: Lexus LX 570
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Chatting to some listeners of the show the other day, we were accused of having a bit of a bias for Lexus. We’ll admit we see many of the Japanese luxury brand’s cars in a positive light – except for the indescribably terrible SC430 hard top convertible – but it’s hard to dislike something so plain and honest.
The cars aren’t perfect. The soon-to-be-replaced GS sedan is very old inside, featuring even a Corolla-alike digital clock in the dashboard. Something Lexus chose to address by giving the new GS an analogue ticker. The Lexus entertainment/nav system is frustrating to use. Even now, with its mouse-like controller, it’s still impossible to control music playback, or enter an address, while moving. Most of the company’s cars come standard with USB jacks for iPod playback; a handy feature until you try changing albums or artists as you cruise down the highway. You’ll have to come to a complete stop before you can do anything about it.
And coming to a coming to a complete stop is something you’ll do often in the company’s flagship SUV offering. Either at petrol stations, because it’s very thirsty, or at the top of a mountain, because it’s very, very capable on the less-beaten track.
Based on Toyota’s Land Cruiser 200, the LX 570 is a more luxurious offering than Toyota’s “poor man” off-roader. Where the Toy gets either a 4.7-litre petrol V8 or 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8, the Lexus makes do with a 5.7-litre V8. 270kW and 530 Newtons are ample for both on and of road performance, but that’s not what the car’s about. Start with the interior: It boasts a DVD entertainment system for rear passengers, a centre-armrest refrigerator for front passengers, and a full Mark Levinson audio system for all passengers. This is first-class 4×4-ing. And it’s quite capable of wafting along in silence when you hit the highway. Adaptive air suspension irons out wrinkles and undulations, and it’s pretty much like you’re driving any other luxury sedan.
Except when you aim it at a corner. Try as it might, even in sport mode, the chassis still has to obey the laws of physics. 2.6 tons of metal is a lot, and those big bouncy tyres that make it great off-road don’t really flatter the handling through the bends. Come to think of it, though, it’s a little bit more comfortable in the twisties than a Landy Discovery 4.
What makes the LX great is its proper dual-purpose approach. Unlike a BMW M3, with its Jekyll/Hyde personality where it’s a regular 3-series by day and batshit insane by night, the 570 your daily-driver luxury car that will conquer mountains. It’s less subtle in its two-sided approach: you’re always aware that it’s a big SUV, but it manages to filter out enough of the outside world to cancel out the fact that it’s a ponderous old so-and-so. It retains its composure and refinement when you hit dirt roads, and the air suspension keeps it level when you start hitting the cross-axle obstacles.
And even then, it’s still a technological tour de force. Even off road, you’re still a Lexus driver and you want to do things with ease. Land Rovers and Range Rovers have Terrain Response, a dial you use to select clever off-road programs. Lexus has something even better. You just push three buttons: one to raise the ride height, one to select low-range, and the final to select crawl mode. Now take your foot off the brake and steer. No drama, no mucking about with technical settings. It’s a big hammer approach, but the elegant simplicity disguises that. It goes everywhere.
Except when your runner boards bottom out on a rock – doing this in a R1-million+ test car isn’t advised, or pleasant. Neither is getting stuck because your tyres have too much air in them. Just pray you’re not wearing your board room loafers when you have to get out of the car and manually deflate those 18-inch donuts. We’re some way off from having an all-inclusive off-roading experience, with onboard tyre inflation systems, you see.
That said, the LX goes where nobody dares take their million rand SUVs. And it’s capable of going even more places. In comfort and… questionable style. The fact that most people will see this as a rebadged Toyota – seriously, next to the LC 200 this is only distinguishable by its L badging – is probably not going to do your street cred wonders. Whether you care about that, though, is another matter.
Lexus LX570
Power: 270kW at 5600RPM
Torque: 530Nm at 3200RPM
Safety: All electronic aids, front airbags, front and rear side airbags, front and rear curtain airbags, front knee airbags
Tech and toys: 7-inch colour touch screen with satellite navigation, voice commands, Bluetooth, hard drive and iPod connectivity. 19-speaker Mark Levinson audio system. Reverse parking camera. Lexus A-TRAC. Keyless entry and start. Adaptive air suspension. Cruise control. Climate control. Heated seats. Automatic xenon headlamps. 9-inch rear DVD entertainment system. iPod prep. The kitchen sync.
Website: http://www.lexus.co.za/model/LX570/
Price: R1 138 600
ZA Car rating: Two thumbs up
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