2022 Lexus LX 600 Review _ Ultra Luxury with an Ultra Price Tag

This is the LX 600, the biggest, burliest, and if you spec it right, most expensive vehicle Lexus makes. It's all-new for 2022, and we've got one to test. What's up, folks? I'm Dave Undercoffler, Editor-in-Chief of Autolist.com, a sister company to CarGurus. The LX is a full-size 2- or 3-row SUV that competes against a really tough crowd. That includes the Cadillac Escalade, the Range Rover, the Mercedes-Benz GLS, the Lincoln Navigator, and the BMW X7. The previous generation of LX debuted way back in 2007, so this new generation has a lot of catching up to do. Is it up to the task, or are the rivals still outpacing it? Let's go find out. But before we do, be sure to like and subscribe to this channel so you can get alerts on all of our future updates. All right, so let's do a walk around of the exterior and show you some of the highlights. It has a grille you may not have noticed, but it's here. This is Lexus's spindle grille. It's on all their vehicles. It seems to get bigger and bigger every year. They actually did a decent job of integrating it into this new design, so it's a love-it-or-hate-it. I'm right in the middle. I don't hate it, but I certainly don't love it. But anyway, a lot of grille up there. Down below, you've got active shutters here, and then some fog lamps tucked underneath. This color is called Nori Green Pearl. I like it. It's better than sort of the traditional black or white. This looks good on this car. The model we're testing has the Ultra Luxury Package. It's $128,000. But the exterior really looks the same as all the other trim levels. The way you can tell is that these have 22-inch alloy wheels. There are some other trims that get 22-inch wheels, but they don't look like this. Base models will get 20-inch wheels. As we move down the side of the car, this A-pillar right here has been pushed back relative to the hood, which gives the car a little more of a sporty profile relative to the previous version of the LX. In terms of exterior dimensions, this new LX is pretty much the same size as the previous generation, give or take half an inch here or there. It is, however, shorter than most of its competition, and that will show up in the cargo space and the third-row seat. We'll show you more on that later. Moving to the back, you can see that Lexus integrated the horizontal tail lamp. This is sort of a design feature that you're seeing in other Lexus vehicles these days. You'll also notice that there are no exposed tailpipes down here. That's a specific design decision by Lexus to give the vehicle a cleaner look back here. Finally, one thing to note, if you have a previous generation LX, is that this tailgate is now one piece and opens all the way up like traditional SUVs do these days. The previous version used to have the bottom third that would fold down and then the top two-thirds open up. So, just something to consider. Now, under the hood, this new generation of LX has ditched the previous 5.7-liter V8 in favor of a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6. It makes 409 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. That's up 26 horsepower and 76 pound-feet of torque from the previous V8. All the while, it gets better fuel economy. It's 4 miles per gallon better in city, highway and combined. Some of those fuel economy gains are thanks to an all-new platform that the LX rides on, which means it's over 400 pounds lighter than before. All LX models now have a 10-speed automatic transmission that replaces the previous 8-speed and full-time 4WD. It can tow up to 8,000 pounds, and it will do 0-to-60 in 6.9 seconds. So, what do you guys think? Can a twin-turbo V6 replace a V8 and be just as powerful and smooth to drive? Let us know in the comments below. Now, inside the LX, it has been completely redesigned, and there are some hits and there are some misses. Some of the things I like, this screen here, this is a 12.3-inch touchscreen navigation infotainment system, and I really like it. It's a new system that Lexus has been rolling out on each of its new vehicles, and I really like the setup. The screen is really bright, the graphics are crisp, it's very responsive to your touch, and everything's laid out in a really nice, intuitive way. So, I do like that screen. But then, down below, you have a secondary screen that controls some of the climate control and then some of the other vehicle settings. And the disconnect is a little weird, right? You have this really crisp screen here, and then a smaller, very different-looking screen down below. That's a bit odd, considering this is a vehicle that starts at $86,000, and the one we're testing goes all the way up to $128,000. Some of this vehicle's competitors, like the Cadillac Escalade, the Mercedes-Benz GLS, or the Range Rover, have a more cleanly integrated setup here. So, that's a little bit of a miss for the LX. Other things I like, there's wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto here. Let me show you that. There you have it. Another thing that I like is you do have physical buttons for many of the climate control features. See, for the temperature and for some of the defrost, that's nice. You do have to use the touchscreen for the fan speed, but overall, this is a pretty good setup, despite the screen being a little out of place. Two small things about the interior that I don't love. The first is that there seem to be buttons just sort of scattered everywhere. I feel like they could be better organized. You've got some buttons down here to raise or lower the air suspension. You've got buttons tucked under here for the heated steering wheel and the heated and cooled seats. I've got more buttons on this side, both up here and then down below. So, that gets sort of frustrating, because I feel like I'm always sort of hunting and pecking around for different buttons. There are also some ergonomic issues with this LX that have been a little frustrating in the week that we've been testing it. For one, and I know this seems small, is the volume knob is all the way up here. This feels like a bit of a reach, right? A lot of cars today are putting a lot of the controls down here, so everything's where you would want it, sort of in one reach. This seems like a little bit of a stretch, literally. That's weird. Also, what's bothering me is that these window switches are sort of hidden behind this door handle, and they're very awkward to get to. So, setting aside some of the miscues, the buttons everywhere, a few of the ergonomics, and this sort of weird screen here, the interior is generally very quiet and comfortable. I do like these seats. You can spend a lot of time in them and really enjoy the road trip. They have really nice soft leather. It's quilted stitching on it. They're ventilated and heated up here and in the rear seats, and it's those rear seats where this car really earns its stripes. Let's go take a look. So, let me start by making it clear that most LX models will not look like this in the back seats. Most will have a bench seat here, and then two more seats in the rear that flip up when you need them. This is the ultra-luxury trim on the LX, and this is why it's $128,000. You can see it's four passengers only, and most of what's so great about the rear seats back here centers around this screen. It's this touchscreen where you can control everything from the audio. You have two different screens to watch movies on. I've got my own climate control back here. These seats back here are heated and cooled, and they have massaging functions for each of them, whereas the front seats don't even get massaging. That's a little weird, but it's really nice back here. I've also got different settings here for the lights. I've got wireless charging for my phone and more storage space in here. But obviously, the highlight of the rear seats is where I'm sitting right now. You can see the front seat moves all the way out of the way. There's an ottoman sort of footrest feature here. This seat then reclines quite a ways back, more so than this seat does, although this seat also reclines a ways back. And this is really where you see the $128,000 of the ultra-luxury trim. Other goodies that come with the ultra-luxury package are a digital rearview camera, a Mark Levinson sound system with 25 speakers and 2,400 watts of power, and power soft-close doors. Now, in terms of rear cargo space, the LX has 11 cubic feet, and that's up from the previous generation of LX, but it still lags significantly behind most of its competitors, and that's where I was talking about the shorter wheelbase really eats into the cargo space here. You'll also notice that because this is the ultra-luxury version, it doesn't have a third row of seats, but I have sat in the new generation of LX in that third row, and I got to tell you, it's pretty tight. I'm 6'1", and I wouldn't want to spend much time back there at all. All right, now to on-road driving impressions. We'll get to off-road in a minute because this car does have really good off-road chops, but the reality is no one's really going to take it off-road. This is a $100,000 vehicle. You're going to keep it on the pavement. And it's a bit of a mixed bag when you do drive it on-road. What we like is that this new twin-turbo V6 does a great job of mimicking a V8. If you got in this car and didn't know what was under the hood, you would probably think it was still a V8. There's lots of low-end torque, it's got great power, it sounds really good, so definitely a win on that part. We also really like the new 10-speed automatic transmission. It's seamless, it sort of blends into the background, which is what you want, and the shifts are really nicely timed. I've never really found it unprepared to make a shift, and that's been great. One of the things we don't like, though, is the body roll. This has an optional air suspension on our test vehicle, and while generally it's okay for most driving, when you get it in any sort of tighter road, like the one we're on right now, it really seems kind of tedious. This feels like a heavy car. And I know it just lost a bunch of weight relative to the previous version, but still, it feels sort of ponderous. If you were to get in a Cadillac's Escalade and use the MagneRide suspension that that vehicle has, you would be blown away by how much better it is than something like this. So that's a little bit of a miss. This definitely feels very truck-like and very tedious around curves. When it comes to wind noise or road noise, well, there really isn't any, and that's what you would expect in a $100,000 luxury SUV. This Lexus does a phenomenal job of isolating all that, and I really like that. Finally, when it comes to visibility, it's really great in this LX, and you would expect that, right? This is an upright, full-size, very large SUV, and you benefit from that. You've got a lot of glass, a lot of visibility out the front, but also the sides and the back, so that's a nice feature. In terms of safety, the new LX comes with Lexus's Safety System 2.5 as standard. That includes automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure alerts with steering assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Our test vehicle also has blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alerts, front and rear parking assist with automatic braking, panoramic view camera, and trailer sway control. In terms of trims, the LX starts at about $88,000, including destination. The Premium model is $96,000. There's a new F Sport version for $102,000. The Luxury trim is $104,000. Finally, at the top of the heap is the Ultra Luxury version with its $128,000 sticker that we tested here. One of the highlights of the LX is its off-road capabilities. Now, remember, this vehicle is based on the Toyota Land Cruiser, which, sadly, Toyota is no longer bringing to the U.S., but this new LX has all of the off-road chops that the Land Cruiser also has. That includes a standard system that allows you to select what kind of terrain you're driving on. You have the choice between auto, dirt, sand, mud, deep snow, and rock. This terrain system is now available on both 4x4 Low and High, whereas previously it was only for Low. There's also a Crawl Control, which offers four preset speeds for when you're off-roading and monitors the engine output and brake pressure. There's a Downhill Assist, which uses the brakes to maintain vehicle speed while you're descending. And finally, there's a really cool Multi-Terrain Monitor, which uses the vehicle's exterior cameras to give you a view of what's around the vehicle and, and this is really cool, what is under the vehicle. When it comes to fuel economy, the gains this LX makes are really more on paper than they are in the real world. As I said earlier, it has 4 mpg better in city, highway, and combined driving. That means it's 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the freeway, and 19 mpg combined. But we've been driving this car for 260 miles now, mostly on the freeway, and we're only averaging about 14.2 mpg. That's very much V8 fuel economy, so just something to consider. So, what do you guys think? Is that 14.2 mpg still acceptable in a full-size SUV like this, or should it be better, particularly given the new powertrain? Let us know in the comments below. Now, when it comes to rivals to this LX, there's a lot of really stiff competition, and most of them are going to be larger. So, if you're shopping based on size, the LX really shouldn't be a pick for you. You've got things like the Mercedes-Benz GLS, the BMW X7, and the new Range Rover. All of those are going to be more sophisticated and probably more luxurious overall. You've got Cadillac's Escalade. It, too, is certainly bigger, and it has more tech features going for it. And as I said earlier, the ride quality on that thing is phenomenal. And you've got the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Lincoln Navigator, and again, those are going to have a more sophisticated, more luxurious-feeling interior. So, why would you choose the LX over its rivals? Well, if you need something or want something that has off-road capabilities, this LX is going to beat all of those, probably by a wide margin. So, that's certainly a nice thing to have. And you can't beat Lexus's reliability. It's legendary in the industry. If you were to buy this car, you could probably put 200,000, 300,000 miles on it and really not need any major repairs. And that's very unique in the segment and across the entire industry. All right, folks, there you have it. Our review of the 2022 Lexus LX 600. Pros? Well, it's got great manners on and off-road. The interior is effortlessly comfortable, and the exterior styling is certainly more sophisticated and better integrated than before. Cons? Well, despite having a new twin-turbo V6, it's still just as thirsty in real-world testing as the previous model's V8. And the interior lacks some of the sophistication that we'd like to see on a $100,000 luxury SUV. And finally, that interior is still a little tight on cargo space and third-row space relative to its peers. So for reviews or listings of this LX or anything else you're shopping for, be sure to check out CarGurus.com. And if you have a used car to sell, be sure to check out CarGurus' Sell My Car feature, where you can get top dollar for your trade-in and they come to your door to pick it up. Before you go, like and subscribe to this channel so you can get alerts on all of our future updates. We'll see you out there.