The name Lexus is supposedly derived from a combination of the Latin word “Luxus” meaning excess or luxury, and the French word for luxury “luxe”. While this holds true – Lexus is synonymous with many of the brand’s defining factors, luxury, reliability and sensibility – some claim that Lexus is an acronym that Toyota created for “Luxury exports to the US” after Toyota decided to brand their luxury vehicles as Lexus in 1989.
Image source: Lexus Newsroom
The 90s saw hip hop giants Snoop Dogg and the Notorious B.I.G. spitting bars about their Lexuses, which gave the luxury Japanese brand unprecedented street cred. By 1999 Lexus had sold 1,000,000 units in the US, solidifying Lexus’s place in the luxury car market and on the driveways across America.
Image source: Lexus Newsroom
Fast forward twenty-five years and Lexus is not only famed for its luxurious cabins and bulletproof reliability but also performance. The introduction of Lexus’ F division birthed one of the most iconic supercars to date, the Lexus LFA. The LFA is a car I hold dear to my heart – indeed, it’s my dream car, if money were no object. The LFA is not only a halo car for Lexus, it’s a perfectionist’s dream with its carbon fibre body panels and Yamaha Music-tuned exhaust. Elements of the LFA’s design still echo through Lexus’s product lineup today, thanks to the L-finesse design language.
Lexus’s current roll call consists of a wide range of vehicles to suit different customers, as the demands for luxury sedans have shifted over time in favour of SUVs and crossovers. North America being the dominant market for Lexus means they get the full product line up, offering some models that are not even available in Europe. One of those models, the LX, is a car I’ve admired for some time; it is a full-size luxury SUV based on the Toyota Land Cruiser 300, a variant of the Land Cruiser not available in North America. This is due to several factors, namely the poor sales of previous ’full size’ Land Cruisers, and the cost of a Land Cruiser 300 being just a few thousand dollars off the much more luxurious LX.
Having spent time in the Middle East, I know that the LX/Land Cruiser is regarded as one of the most capable off-roading vehicles you can own. As a result, there’s an age-old saying in the region that goes “You’ll enter the desert in a Land Rover… but you’ll exit in a Land Cruiser”. This is echoed by the countless number of Land Cruisers and LXs you can see in the GCC region both on and off-road.
I took a road trip to California to discover how the Land Cruiser’s more luxurious relative performs in the real world. For this particular trip, I would be driving a 2023 Lexus LX 600 Ultra Luxury, a name which, once again, rings true. The Ultra Luxury replaces the LX’s rear bench seat in favour of two reclining, heated, cooled and massaging captain chairs, one of which can move the front passenger seat to reveal more legroom and a footrest that all 6ft 4 of me can use.
Upon first glance, the LX makes a statement. The spindle grille is the prominent feature on the face of the LX and creates “a three-dimensional shape comprising seven sets of floating bars that create a seamless and frame-free structure”, according to Lexus. The design of the LX 600 is an evolution of its predecessor, it refines the sharper edges found on the old LX 570 whilst creating a well-rounded and more reserved look overall. With that being said, the LX towers above most other things on the road and seeing that grille in the mirror is nothing short of intimidating.
The LX employs Toyota’s GA-F platform shared with the Land Cruiser 300. The GA-F platform found on the LX utilises a body-on-chassis construction favoured to provide unparalleled off-roading capabilities. I do not doubt that the LX is incredibly capable off-road but the ride-on-road is incredibly compromised due to this structure. From the driver’s seat, there’s no escaping that the LX weighs 2,680kg – although not severe, there is noticeable body roll when steering, a factor which is even less reassuring when in the back. In addition to this, the suspension, which is geared towards off-roading, provides constant feedback for every bump in the road. It’s something which should not be an issue in a luxury SUV, and I know for a fact that this problem is non-existent in the LX’s European rivals.
The 3.4L twin-turbo V6 found in the LX is also shared with the Land Cruiser, producing 409 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. This means the LX 600 will see 62mph in around six seconds, impressive for a car that weighs 2.6 tons. Do you want to drive this car fast? No. In the week I drove the LX, I took it out of comfort into Sport S+ perhaps twice. Other than a change in gearing, I saw no change in throttle response, steering or suspension stiffness – disappointing considering there are five different driving modes, all of which seem to provide the same experience. At least you get an LFA-inspired dial to appear when you do decide to put it in Sport or Sport S+. When you do decide to put your foot down, the LX does pick up when you get to the top end of third gear, but the journey to get there highlights the weight significantly.
On the highway, the driving experience is relatively sedate. Thanks to the All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with lane tracing and steering assist, the six-hour journey from LA to Monterey was a breeze. I did find the lane tracking inconsistent at times, constantly beeping like being in an Uber that hasn’t had their Prius serviced in eight years. Whether that is a comment on the sensitivity of the LX’s technology or the state of the roads in California is debatable, but it was significantly less dramatic with the driver’s aids turned off.
My biggest gripe with the LX is its inability to do over 285 miles in a full tank. The LX has an 80-litre fuel tank, the same found in some of its competitors but 10-20 litres less than others. An inability to go over 300 miles on a single tank of fuel is almost EV driving cross country in winter bad. If I were buying a $130,000 luxury SUV to be chauffeured around in, I wouldn’t want to have to stop every two hours for fuel. I cannot fathom that the same company that birthed the Prius has created what I believe to be one of the most inefficient cars I’ve ever driven.
The interior of the LX 600 Ultra Luxury is as the name suggests. The seats, in general, are very comfortable and give you little to no fatigue when driving long distances. The rear captain’s chairs sit higher than the rest of the cabin, so everyone knows who’s in charge. They transport you to a lounge state of mind, you instantly feel relaxed as you slump into them. The prime captain’s chair with footrest is the best seat in the house and throughout the week both my co-driver and I took turns sleeping in the back. The massage function was acceptable, although oddly more thorough in the base of the seats as opposed to the back. The Mark Levinson speaker system was adequate but didn’t provide the wow factor I was expecting. The touch points in the cabin feel elevated, but the cabin isn’t without faults.
The rear screens don’t provide much of an experience and can’t be controlled by the centre console in the rear, forcing the passenger to lean forward to use the screen when reclined. The user interface of the entire infotainment system just feels archaic, lazy and straight out of 2011; why does the radar cruise control show a nondescript vehicle as opposed to an LX? It’s the small details that make the difference. The lower touchscreen in the front of the car doesn’t provide any more to the cabin experience that physical buttons offer. The rear sunshades are manual, not something I’d expect on a car marketed as ‘luxury’, and also not a problem on competitors. The lack of rear tables is confusing given how much space the rear centre console takes up. The rear cup holders and speakers found behind the captain’s chairs give the Ultra Luxury more of a parts-bin feel as opposed to the flagship top-of-the-line SUV. The trunk is no longer a split tailgate, unlike the previous LX, and the trunk opens too low – highlighted by the fact my 5 ft 11 co-driver hit his head multiple times on the tailgate. The rear tailgate also has no buttons to raise or lower the air suspension for better access to the trunk, despite this being widely found on most SUVs with air suspension.
After spending a week in the LX 600 Ultra Luxury, I concluded that the rear captain’s chairs are what makes this car special. Money talks but wealth whispers, and with this LX being just shy of $130,000 it’s not exactly a bargain… but that’s if you’re seeing it just as another soccer-mom-school-run luxury SUV. The LX 600 Ultra Luxury offers a cabin experience not found at its price point. To have reclining, heated, ventilated and massaging captains chairs in an SUV, you’re aiming at a much higher price point – I’m talking extended wheelbase, two-tone leather kind of money.
Will you see one bouncing up and down on Rodeo Drive? Absolutely not. A LX owner doesn’t care about Alo leggings, Telfar bags and $20 smoothies. The mentality of those who desire an LX isn’t someone who is chasing trends. No, if you own a LX, you value luxury and reliability above all else. This will be a car you’ll have for years to come, not worrying about anything else other than maintenance while running it until you want something new. You don’t care about the nouveau-riche crowd that flexes their Little Beach House Malibu membership, nor do you care about how many followers you have on TikTok.
The Lexus LX elevates a tried and tested platform through the use of leather, wood and cosseting reclining captain chairs, prioritising the comfort of the passenger. There is no escaping that the biggest pitfalls of the LX are as a result of the foundations it’s built on. It’s functional luxury, combining a cabin which is focused on comfort with a platform built for off-road – a combination that a few may consider useful.
The LX 600 Ultra Luxury showcases what Lexus does best, providing a premium luxury product that combines form and function at a price that its rivals cannot compete at.
