2017 Lexus LX 570: An Easy-to-Drive Luxury Beast SUV [Review]

2017 Lexus LX 570
Big, powerful, and sumptuous: the Lexus LX 570. [photo: Lexus]

WHAT’S NEW

The 2017 Lexus LX 570 has most, if not all, the comfort and convenient features you’d find in a big luxury car, including a premium 9-speaker audio system. There thus aren’t lots of options.

However, extras can be had. These include heated and ventilated front and second row outboard seats, a Mark Levinson sound system with 19 speakers, heated wood steering wheel, rear-seat entertainment system with dual screens and wireless headphones, heads-up display and 21-inch, not the standard 20-inch, alloy wheels.

When added up, my test vehicle penciled out at $89,380

2017 Lexus LX 570
The LX sits high, but the rear hatch affords easy use. [photo: Lexus]

PERFORMANCE

The 16.7-foot-long LX 570 four-door SUV weighs fully 6,000 pounds, but its smooth 5.7-liter dual-overhead-camshaft, 32-valve, V8 generates 383 hp and a whopping 403 lb-ft. of torque. It thus does 0-60 mph in a brisk 7.3 seconds and allows fast 65-80 mph highway passing. It shines as a long-distance cruiser but is easy to handle in town.

Lexus says the eight-passenger, four-wheel-drive LX 570 tops out at 137 mph, which is when aerodynamic drag on this high, wide and handsome SUV’s body must fight it from going much faster. (Although Toyota did recently push a heavily modified Land Cruiser, on which the LX 570 is based, to a 230-mph speed record.) I don’t know what the wind noise would be at that speed, but found the LX 570 to be very quiet at 75 mph Cabin quietness, after all, is expected of a luxury vehicle.

I found the hydraulic power steering to be precise, but it was heavy and I couldn’t find anything in the owner’s manual that told me how to lighten it. However, the LX 570 is easy to maneuver, with a 38.7-foot turning circle.The ride is smooth, but occasionally—and surprisingly—gets a little floaty in comfort/eco suspension mode. The brakes are powerful and have a brake-assist feature for surer stops.

Handling is good, thanks partly to vehicle stability and traction control systems, and a driver can use a console control to switch from “comfort/eco” to “sport” mode for more aggressive street driving or to handle such things as mountain roads. The comfort/eco mode is the most suitable during city/suburban driving.

2017 Lexus LX 570 dash
Everything in the LX 570 is vast, including the dash. [photo: Lexus]

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

This is no gas/electric hybrid Prius, so one pays the price for such bulk and performance in gasoline bills. The EPA figures are 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on highways. Lexus says 91-octane fuel is needed for the best performance.

On the other hand, this Lexus has a 24.6-gallon fuel tank, so if you accelerate sensibly, the smooth eight-speed automatic transmission, which has handy paddle shifters, will do its best to keep you close to the EPA estimates.

Thank goodness there’s at least moderately sized illuminated running boards because even a long-legged driver, such as myself, requires extra effort to get aboard. And the two power side-folding third-row seats are hard to reach, although the second-row seat powers forward to allow easier entry.  Occupants sit high in the classy interior, with its genuine wood trim and nifty leather seat stitching. Front seats feel as if they provide good support during long journeys.

A large dashboard screen contains all sorts of information to which you can scroll—the sound system and such. There are plenty of storage areas, including a “mile-deep” covered console bin. But the second-row headrests block rear vision when raised.

2018 Lexus LX 570 cargo
The 3rd row in the LX 570 folds up to the sides of the SUV to make a cavernous cargo area. [photo: Lexus]

UTILITY

The LX 570 has an active height-control system and an off-road crawl mode for for rough terrain. I don’t know how many LX 570 owners will want to subject this posh SUV to such terrain—they might be best off getting the Toyota Land Cruiser.

Safety items include side air bags, all-speed dynamic radar control, blind-spot monitor, lane departure alert and a pre-collision system with automatic braking and pedestrian detection.

TFLCAR’s TAKE: The sheer size of the 2017 Lexus LX 570 may intimidate some, but it drives much like a somewhat older-style big luxury car, probably even better.

TFLcar VIDEO

While Dan put the LX 570 through its pedestrian paces, TFLcar’s Roman Mica decided to subject a 2015 LX 570 to a winter, high-altitude towing test of its 7,000-pound tow rating. And why not, the LX shares its V8 with Toyota’s burly full-size Tundra pick-up. Watch the video to see how the Lexus did.