SUVs, as most people know, are far from a universal pleasure, yet they endure. Some adore their bulk, their interior comfort and feeling of protection, and others loathe the cloddish behavior exhibited by some of their owners, the vehicles’ abysmal mileage and carbon footprint and so on.
Lexus’ 2020 LX 570 won’t dispel anyone’s preconceptions either way, but it does what it was born to do at the highest level.
Let’s take a look at its merits and demerits.
You expect the sound of a trumpeting elephant when this smart, sleek big guy comes rolling down your street, yet it’s elegant, relatively nimble and stylish rather than grotesque, like some SUVs. For 2020 it’s got a 3-row sport package available (our tester had one) as well as an exclusive, signature sport grille, body color side mirrors with chrome accents and more. Sticker, with delivery? $101,000.
Inside, it’s swankety-swank, of course, with leather-trimmed seats available in Black, Cabernet or exclusive Moonlight White, with a black headliner. Your center console houses a mini-fridge, or “Cool Box” big enough to chill your Boba.
Sit yourself behind the controls, adjust your seat and there doesn’t seem to be any road you can’t travel, no hill you can’t climb.
That’s not far from the truth, actually. Powering the LX 570 is a 5.7-liter V8 engine with 383 horsepower and 90-percent of its 403 lb.-ft. of torque available at 3,600 rpm. Equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission, the LX 570 is capable of towing up to 7,000-lbs.
What all that power can do, if you so desire, is assist you in fording over most off-road surfaces with a multi-terrain system capable of adapting to five different types of terrain — Rock, Rock and Dirt, Mogul, Loose Rock and Mud and Sand.
Low-range gearing provides slow-speed crawling capability for handling steep off-road hills and uneven terrain. Drivers also get support from the LX’s Crawl Control system, fortified with Turn Assist, Hill-start Assist Control and Variable Gear Ratio Steering. Unlike many luxury SUVs which technically have off-roading ability but which you don’t feel particularly moved to go mudding, the LX lends a particular feeling of “this will go fine,” and that goes for snow, too.
The ride is the star of this show. Whether cornering, cruising or dealing with post-Corona traffic, you roll on standard 20-inch split 10-spoke wheels, with 21-inch 10-spoke wheels offered as an option, and you’ll barely feel a thing as you encounter potholes and other road imperfections.
The two-row LX is spacious enough to transport a family of five to their favorite restaurant for dinner, while the three-row LX can haul a youth team of eight to their next game. Emphasis on “youth,” as in “youth who are under 4 feet tall.” It’s tight back, there, folks.
What’s not to like? Just a couple of things, like the lack of Apple Car play or Android Audio hookup unless you subscribe to the apps listed when you activate the center screen. In 2020, that’s a total head-scratcher. It also gulps 14 miles to the gallon even with a light foot, but that’s the price one pays for this type vehicle.
Safety is paramount, thankfully, with Lexus’ standard Lexus Safety System+ which includes Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert (LDA), Intelligent High-Beam headlamps and All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. Visibility all around, too, is excellent. Wood trim selections include Open-Pore Walnut, Linear Dark Mocha Wood, Linear Espresso Wood and Dark Brown Walnut.
A three-spoke wood-rimmed steering wheel is another quality touch, as is the above-average sound system, featuring a nine-speaker Lexus Premium Sound System as standard or an available 19-speaker, 450-watt Mark Levinson Reference Surround Sound audio system. Backseat riders get their own screens and their own headphones.
Conclusion: The weeklong test was an exercise in living and driving comfortably, in no particular hurry, and just enjoying the vehicle for what it is – a very large, very comfortable, very expensive SUV that does what it does well.
Coming next: Test drive and review of Lexus’ 2020 GX 460.
