Despite news that the Toyota Land Cruiser would be discontinued in the U.S. this year, we still have it’s luxury equivalent: the Lexus L X570. The beloved fan-favorite Toyota model was upgraded with a ton of luxury features that only Lexus can offer… and we got a chance to drive it.
The team at Lexus dropped off a brand new 2021 Lexus LX 570 recently for a road trip we embarked on, and as with most Lexus vehicles, we were treated with a smooth and comfy ride.
In the cabin of the LX, we’re greeted with black leather seats that feature red accenting to go along with leather-trimmed interior features throughout. There’s also the heated or cooled seats, and steering wheel. When you are driving for so many hours and are in and out of the vehicle on a hot day, the cooling feature is amazing. When you open the door to the LX at night, an LX logo is illuminated on the ground underneath, making for a nice luxury touch. The second row offers more of the same: comfort and leg room, as well as heated and cooled seats. The second row also has separate climate controls and a dual-screen DVD system. Unfortunately — which is rather disappointing in a 2021 vehicle — there is no Wi-Fi hotspot (no streaming your favorite movies) and no support for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Disappointing, right? Did someone drop the ball in development? It’s mind-boggling that these features were not included in such a pricey vehicle when other base-model cars have them standard. It’s something Lexus should think about the next time around.
Lexus’s Climate Concierge feature is pretty cool. It automatically monitors the temperature of the four separate climate zones and adjusts them for you. So, the AC, seats and steering wheel are set for you. It’s really nice. The information screen in the center console is big enough and easy to navigate, but is not a touchscreen. Instead, you have to use the joystick that Lexus has implemented in its vehicles over the last several years… and we’re still are not sold on it. Over the years of using it, we’ve gotten used to it… but it has got to go already. We sure hope a touchscreen is introduced in the future. In a vehicle that carries a price tag of over $100,000, we’d expect it to have a touchscreen.
Aside from those gripes, the interior is quite nice. The seats are plush and super comfy. On the road from Texas to Tennessee, we can say it was beyond comfortable.
The overall drive is super smooth. In fact, when driving the LX, the drive is so smooth and the cabin is so quiet that you don’t realize you are driving so fast, even on the highway. More than once, we had to make sure to slow down because we didn’t realize just how fast we were driving. We did some light off-roading in the Lexus as well, and it is definitely capable, given the impressive features that have carried over from the Land Cruiser. However, we didn’t give it a real test to really write about our experience.
The Lexus LX 570 has 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque, but it is a heavy and big SUV. You’re not going to win any races… or save on gas. We had to fill up quite often while driving from Texas to Tennessee and then to Georgia. During the week we drove, we were getting around just 12-14 mpg. Not the worst, but definitely not that great.
Another cool option in our LX 750 was the optional third row. This is good for that third child and will work for an adult, though it’s very tight for a full-size adult. Also with a third row, you lose that much-needed cargo space in the back. For families with only two kids, you should probably opt for the two-row version of the LX to give you more cargo space.
The exterior of the LX 570 is beautiful. Our vehicle came in a beautiful white pearl with black detailing. The badges, wheels, door handles and accents done in black gave the white LX570 a custom look, which we like… and so did many other people. There were a lot of comments from strangers admiring the LX.
It’s a big price tag, especially if you’re comparing it to other luxury SUVs like the Escalade, Navigator, or the GMC Yukon Denali. If you’re drawn to the off-road capabilities, it may be the vehicle for you. Or, maybe you’re a loyal Lexus driver. We like the look of the Lexus line-up overall, including the LX, but given some of the technology let downs, it might not be our #1 pick.
