If you want a new Land Cruiser, you can buy a new Land Cruiser, but if you really want a new Land Cruiser in the vein of the old Land Cruiser, you’ll probably want a Lexus LX. Confused? Let me explain. See, the Land Cruiser you can buy brand new from a Toyota showroom is actually what’s called internationally the “Land Cruiser Prado,” which is more similar to a Lexus GX than a full-sized Land Cruiser (like the last-gen Land Cruiser). However, if you need it all, you aren’t out of options. North America does receive a variant of the full-sized “J300” Land Cruiser that other markets get — the Lexus LX — and although previous LX models haven’t offered quite the same capability as the last-gen Land Cruiser platform-mate, the 2025 Lexus LX 700h aims to level the playing field for Americans who know exactly what they want and are willing to spend six figures to get it.
For three decades, the LX has been around as a luxury version of the full-sized Land Cruiser, a Japanese competitor to the Range Rover that melds stoutness with upscale appointments. Since the 2022 model year, America’s received the current LX in LX 600 form, effectively as a replacement for the full-sized Land Cruiser that Toyota withdrew from America at the end of 2021. However, the U.S.-spec LX hasn’t featured quite the same level of off-road equipment as the dearly-departed full-sized Land Cruiser, so when Americans learned that the 2024 Land Cruiser would actually be the light-duty Prado-based 250-series, some felt shortchanged. From overlanders to Doug Demuro, people wanted more than just a Prado (which is essentially like the Lexus GX), but rather the full-sized 300 series Land Cruiser that other markets get with more off-road equipment than its Lexus LX sibling.
Well, for 2025, the LX 700h arrives, and while it does offer a modest economy boost of two mpg city and one mpg combined over the LX 600, it seems largely to be an exercise in more, partially to appease full-sized Land Cruiser fans. More power, more torque, more power onboard to run overlanding equipment, and more available off-road goodies including more locking differentials. So, is more really better than the LX 600, and does it have what it takes to win the adoration of the Land Cruiser faithful? Let’s find out.
[Full disclosure: Lexus took me on a whirlwind tour of Napa to drive the new LX 700h, and set journalists up in a hotel that has LC 500 courtesy cars to just rip around in. Opulence has levels, but being able to sit down with the chief engineer of the LX 700h for additional insight was the finest of all. Maybe I’m just not cut out for the lifestyle of the one percent. -TH]
Hybrid Theory
Underneath the current Lexus LX sits the same TNGA-F body-on-frame architecture you’ll find used in vehicles like the Toyota Tacoma, the Tundra, the Lexus GX, and yes, the U.S.-market Land Cruiser (called the “Prado” in international markets). Featuring a solid rear axle and independent front suspension, it’s properly rugged stuff. For a few years now, America’s received the LX 600, powered by the same twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 you’ll find in the GX 550. Hitched to a 10-speed automatic transmission, it’s a cromulent powertrain, but anyone fond of speculating had a feeling it wasn’t the end of the line. After all, the Tundra offers a hybridized twin-turbocharged V6, and there’s always an opportunity for more power, right?
Right off the rip, it’s clear Lexus spared no expense in ensuring the fewest compromises were made when modifying the LX to accept a nickel metal hydride hybrid battery pack and a motor inside its 10-speed automatic transmission. The spare tire crossmember is new, along with the floor from the rear axle back to ensure proper spare tire and battery pack packaging without an odd hump like you get in, say, the current U.S.-market Toyota Land Cruiser. Since the electrified transmission is longer than the standard 10-speed in the LX 600, the entire transmission crossmember has been revised and shifted rearwards on the frame to accommodate the new gearbox without affecting cabin floor packaging.
Speaking of the hybrid system, there’s a beautiful complexity and redundancy to it that almost harkens back to the days when you needed two ECUs to run a fuel-injected V12. To kick things off, the battery pack is actively thermally managed by the rear air conditioning compressor (yes, there are two compressors), and it sits inside a gasketed two-piece weather-sealed enclosure with its own internal moisture sensor to let you know if the stream you just forded breached the seal.
Unlike every other Lexus hybrid, the LX 700h features a separate starter motor and alternator that function as both mechanical backups and load-sharing devices for duties normally performed by the high-voltage hybrid system. This way, if you ever encounter a high-voltage system failure in the wilderness, you can still get home. The starter motor cycles periodically to prevent the bendix from seizing, and it’s also used in seriously cold conditions. Likewise, the physical alternator has a use aside from emergency 12-volt system charging. With everything you can get on this flagship, from massaging rear thrones to a 25-speaker sound system, the physical alternator quenches excess thirst for amps, taking some load off the high-voltage pack.
Pairing that hybrid system with the V35A-FTS 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 results in 457 horsepower at 5,200 rpm, a useful 48-horsepower boost over the standard LX 600. However, the more eyebrow-raising figure is 583 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,400 rpm, 104 more lb.-ft. than the LX 600 at a peak some 400 rpm higher in the rev range.
Drop the electronic shifter into drive, roll onto the throttle from a stop, and well, a full beat passes before anything actually happens. It’s a rather alarming delay when you need to, say, turn left onto an arterial road, and you’ll soon realize that the same delay happens when getting back onto the skinny pedal after coasting below 40 mph or so. Input lag like this is not a great first impression for Lexus’ flagship SUV, and while the powertrain certainly has its pros, this odd torque delivery quirk certainly sticks in the front of your mind.
Once this monstrous torque curve decides to ash its cigar and saunter back into the party, it makes its presence known loud and clear. Sure, the LX700h may only officially be rated at 6.4 seconds from zero-to-60 mph, but it’s also more than 6,200 pounds of Lexus. Think of the difference between the torque in the LX 600 and the torque in the LX 700h a bit like loading an apple into a trebuchet versus loading a pumpkin and pulling the pin. They’ll both fly, and the apple might fly farther, but there’s a perverse joy in accelerating huge mass. The grunt down low, where you actually feel it, is herculean, with theater and occasion befitting the price tag.
Locked In
Speaking of powertrain bits, the Lexus LX 700h in Overtrail trim is the first flagship Lexus since 1997 to get triple lockers — a locking differential in the center, another one out back, and one more up front. Lock the center and rear differentials with the transfer case in low range, and you can slowly glide over a mound of basketball-sized boulders like you’re pulling into the Starbucks drive-thru.
With the extra forward visibility afforded by the camera suite and the massive ground clearance courtesy of the hydraulic height-adjustable suspension, tackling the rock-crawling section of the off road course felt less challenging than slowly trundling down a gravel driveway in a sports car. Lock the front diff too, and you’re pretty much ready for a supporting role in the next “Mission: Impossible” film, or stage a coup, or drive up the side of the Empire State Building. While the differentials play a huge role in not getting stuck, it’s worth complimenting the surprisingly quiet Toyo all-terrain tires, a high-sidewall choice with the benefits of huge deflection off-road and the downsides of, well, huge deflection on-road.
Attempting something close to the speed limit in an Overtrail on a serpentine mountain road feels about what you’d imagine salsa dancing on ketamine would feel like. It’s pretty wallowy and the extraordinarily modest engine braking really stretches out downhill corner entries, which can get a bit spooky when the grab handle on the A-pillar can obscure entire corners. Fortunately, there is a fix for this, but not if you live in Canada. The LX700h “F Sport Handling” includes such newfangled accoutrements as a rear anti-roll bar, a Torsen helical limited-slip rear differential, and lower-profile highway tires pictured above, all of which help add up to a substantially more buttoned-down handling experience that makes even the unibody Land Rover Defender feel a tad cumbersome. It’s not a surprising finding, but if you’re in the market for a hybrid LX, you’ll want to drive both tire packages back to back and figure out if you’re willing to live with the mushier handling of the Overtrail in exchange for increased off road capability.
Regardless of which trim you take for a spin, you’d be hard pressed to tell that the LX 700h is body-on-frame, as although it exhibits a little cross-axle load sharing inherent in a vehicle with a live rear axle, any squirm over crack-laden roads comes through the rear suspension rather than the structure. It all comes down to calibration and material testing, as Lexus still uses conventional rubber body mounts, but there’s a settled nature here you won’t quite find in a Cadillac Escalade. The other big thing you’ll notice is that the brake pedal calibration is absolutely perfect for an electrified vehicle. It’s incredibly difficult to discern any change in pedal effort from regenerative braking to friction braking, and effort seems positively natural. If ease is the ultimate measure of luxury, the way the LX 700h shrinks around you and holds surprisingly tight to the road in most trims speaks volumes.
Solace
While the hybrid system is the big news about the LX 700h, there are a few changes that have happened for 2025. For instance, the air bladders in the massaging seats used to be shaped like Cheez-Its, but are now star-shaped for pointier, um, the industry term is “finger action” but let just leave that one where it lies. At the same time, equipment like a head-up display and adaptive dampers have become standard across the range.
That being said, with this level of available equipment, were many updates necessary? I mean, the Ultra Luxury trim features a four-seat configuration with a full-length console, ideal for those who are likely to be driven, rather than drive themselves. With up to 48 degrees of rear seat recline, an ottoman for the right rear passenger, three screens for rear passengers, and the most gorgeous copper tan semi-aniline leather this side of a Bentley, it truly feels special.
Adding to the specialness across all trim levels is both the sheer fit-and-finish and the noise isolation present on the LX 700h. Not only does everything feel properly bolted down, every stitch is perfectly even in length and spacing, every button is set into close-fitting shrouds, everything that looks like leather or wood is leather or wood, and things like the power windows and windscreen wipers seem almost impossibly quiet. It’s a subtle, old-school type of luxury that focuses on materials and build quality over technology, one that the Magic City interior of a G-Class or the exposed hardware posturing of a Land Rover Defender can’t quite match.
However, there is one thing in the cabin that doesn’t feel quite as special as it needs to for the money: the 25-speaker Mark Levinson sound system. There’s an unnatural attack to the treble, pushing sibilant syllables, hi-hats, and trumpets through the rest of the soundstage and making all sorts of music sound harsh at higher volumes. It’s an acoustic issue that would be easy to work around if a seven-band or nine-band parametric equalizer was on offer, but Lexus only makes you let rough tweaks to bass, treble, and midrange.
Wait Just A Second
Is the 2025 Lexus LX 700h worth its price tag of $115,350 to $131,350 ($138,264 to $173,330 in Canada), especially over the standard LX 600? In its current form, maybe only in rare instances. If you’re okay with some serious pedal lag in exchange for improved fuel economy, if you want the most off-roady LX, or if you have an actual chauffeur to drive you around your vineyard, it’s the LX to have. However, outside of those few use cases, you might want to wait to see if Lexus updates the transmission calibration before going all the way up to the 700h. In the real world, the standard LX 600 has smoother power delivery, rides better, and offers all of the hybrid model’s impeccable build quality, outstanding materials, and surprisingly deft handling for a full-size SUV.
As for rivals, they probably aren’t worth much mention, chiefly because someone looking at an LX might not even consider the European competition. They’re buying and holding, not leasing. The new Range Rover is lovely, but it’s not quite as capable as an LX 700h Overtrail, and a dedicated four-seat version is more expensive than an LX 700h Ultra Luxury. A Mercedes-Benz G 550 matches the LX 700h Overtrail on locking diffs, but it’s $34,550 more expensive than the Lexus. A wildcard is the GMC Hummer EV SUV 3X, and although its $106,945 price tag undercuts the LX 700h, it shouts while the Lexus whispers. The LX 700h has the makings of a masterpiece, but it needs a little fine tuning, a little more drying time to perform to its full potential, especially when compared to the non-electrified model.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal, Lexus, Toyota)
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The engine issues still exist in the Tundra in MY24 and 25. Even engines post recall are having problems.
I also have heard horror stories in Qatar of LC300s blowing their engines as well. It would have been wiser for Lexus to have put a 5.0 V8 from the LC500 and added the hybrid motor for more power plus the 10 speed….but with the emissions, they come up WITH THIS.
I fear owning this out of warranty more than a GMT900 Escalade…
GMT900 Escalades are great, you just have to get one without the AFM cylinder deactivation system.
Mid-2007 model run up to (and including) 2009 are the years to go for.
AFM isn’t necessarily a death sentence.
It does happen that they can on rare occasions cause issues (they made millions of AFM/DFM/DoD engines, of course 35k or so can break the system).
That said, I would choose replacing lifters versus pulling an ENTIRE CAB off the frame for accessing the Turbos….
Thats even saying with an MY22 Tundra which has hit 200k miles recently. The question is not about the mileage, it is about how much the engine replacement will cost OUT OF WARRANTY, if it happens….
The same lag is present on the Tundra hybrid and its horrible. If they haven’t addressed it by now, I don’t think they’re going to. FWIW, its more than just pedal cal. It seems to be a response issue to get the engine turned on to provide the torque to supplement the rather modest electric torque output when you first tip in.
Absolutely hideous. I could not care less it’s “more reliable” than a Range Rover, I would be embarrassed to be seen in it. And *6200lbs*? And a solid rear axle? In *2025*? Did I miss mention of a low range in the transfer case?
No, just no. Real Land Cruisers had inline-sixes, manual transmissions, rubber mats on the floor, and a lot less frippary to break.
That grill is going to continue to grow until it looks like your car is being dragged along by a solar sail.
Will Lexus make it an LX 1000 at some point?
Not the first time a car named via numbers would have 4 digits, but there aren’t a lot.
The only ones I can think of:
Saab 9000
Pontiac 6000
Are there more?
BMW 1600 and 2002
Various trucks – 1500/2500/3500, etc.
That’s what came to mind with about 10 seconds of thought
Peugeot when they ran out of 3-digits…
I thought Peugeot used it primarily for denoting the crossover version of a vehicle, like the 5008.
Also the Audi 5000.
For the most part, but 1001 & 1007.
Also, we’re forgetting the 6000 SUX!
Honda S2000
Mitsubishi 3000GT
Mazda B2300/B3000/B4000
I’d buy that for a dollar!
Trucks! DUH!
And of course the BMWs.
So we know 1500/2500/3500 means the load capabilities or “duty” level of the truck, BMW 1600, I presume is the displacement? Is the 2002 relative to the displacement? In my head, not expressed in my comment, was the arbitrary nature of the 6000 and 9000 at least I think they were arbitrary…
Lexus’s three digits used to be related to displacement, now they seem rather arbitrary.
Why am I overanalyzing this? Why do I care? 🙂
We care because we’re all a little silly about cars and trivia like this is fun.
The Google machine says engine displacement of the BMW 1600/1602 was 1573cc and that of the 2002 was 1991cc, so apparently not quite an exact displacement but close-ish.
You forgot the best, the SUX 6000.
S2000?
Of course! And it’s one of my favorites. Apparently I didn’t think very hard!
That is just unacceptable, especially out of a hybrid. My old truck did this when it wasn’t warmed up yet and it was borderline dangerous if you were trying to shoot gaps in traffic. One of the things I generally like about electrified drivetrains is the instant response you get from the throttle, so there’s just no excuse for getting this wrong.
I’m not sure anything that has a square meter of chrome on the front, and Subaru-ish levels of ground clearance can be called a “real” land cruiser, regardless of lockers and such. Bring back the kickable foot vents instead
I feel like the Nissan Armada/patrol in Platinum Pro-4X guise would be the smarter choice now, even with just a Twin Turbo six.
Can you get the 600 with the Overtrail package?
no.
lame
100k for a pop up dash. OOF.
Also, lets go back to the rear entertainment IN the seat, not some huge thing waiting to be ripped off by someone new getting in your backseat.
Sure the off roading seems good, but the interior is a let down. That front grill is disgusting and not worth wasting more time on. 6/10 and would not buy.
I CANNOT with their grills. They have been hideous for over 10 years. I would love an NX PHEV but I just cannot give Lexus my money until they fully refresh the grills.
Honestly I’m waiting on this as well. I’m getting to the age where I’m going to want to buy a cushy Lexus cruiser at some point in the next 5 or so years, but not if they’re still insisting on that front end “styling”.
I mean, if you look at the angle and positioning of the back of the front seats, I don’t see how you could fully integrate a large-ish screen into the seat at the correct angle and distance.
Still looks like it’s plenty roomy to get in and out.
Separately, I don’t know why the grilles bother people, but aesthetics aren’t necessarily my thing so I can’t comment further.
If you can’t do it right, don’t do it!
I get your points though and I find them all reasonable. Aesthetics are always an opinion, some people must love them as much as we (other commenters here) hate them because they sell well and have been there for years now!
I know everyone is different and there’s no accounting for taste, but man are these things hideous from the front!
Just about the only reason to buy this is for the insane resale-value retention. I mean, 2016 LX 570s–which were the first model year of that major restyling–are still routinely in the $45K-$55K range…with well over 100K miles on them.
However, if money is no object, other flagship SUVs do it better.
It’s that face man. I see one of these in the rearview and all I can think is that the Imperious Leader is coming for me
I am a diehard Toyota guy, but all their new Trucks/SUV’s on the TNGA-F frame do nothing for me. There is not a version of any of them that has everything I want.
The new GX is closest, but doesn’t offer a 3rd row on the Overtrail.
New Land Cruiser looks great, but no 3rd row or TTV6 option.
4runner looks great, but no 3rd row on the offroad trims/no TTV6.
Sequoia looks awful and the 3rd row doesn’t fold flat.
This new Lexus LX is heinously ugly and expensive
Regarding the trucks, the new Tundra is not a looker and the Tacoma lacks any useful backseat space.
C’mon Toyota! Give us the goldilocks special.
I asked about this. They are looking at a 3rd row GX, but thats not a product announcement. Its kinda stupid that out of the 24 flavors of TNGA-F wagons, only 2 can be had with 3rd row and rear locker – and they are the most expensive ones.
I think the perfect one would be the new GX, non-Hybrid TTV6, 3rd row, with the triple lockers from the LX.
That, or all the stuff above with the Land Cruiser body.
I’m with you. I have a 5th gen 4Runner, I was eagerly awaiting the TNGA’s, but after each reveal I was left underwhelmed. I find them all very “meh”.
I think the smart move for a Yota fan is to buy older, not newer.
“the extraordinarily modest engine braking” I noticed this too, I was in 2nd gear a lot coming down from the mountain just trying to keep the speed in check. Bigly weight I would guess.
“Hey honey! Honey! I’m going out to the Lexus for some ‘finger action’!’
An exercise in excess. Huge, ostentatious, heavy, overcomplicated pos. Will be bought by people who use 10% of its capabilities, the pedestrian grater grille is very much appropriate there. Such a product has no place in today’s world, sadly the auto industry aren’t getting the memo and they’ll pay for it eventually. Sad for us car enthusiasts though. Sad also that car journalists don’t call out the madness when it’s right in front of them.
The money now is in selling products to the 1 percent. This will do fine.
10%? That’s generous.
Front end is just too much MAW
I mean, if I was buying a six figure luxury yacht (which I never will be) this would probably be near the top of my list because of the interior appointments and (potential, given the teething problems this V6 has had) longevity. You know the interior in this is still going to look and feel great after 10 years, which you can’t say about the competition…and even with the issues this powertrain has had I still think a less reliable Toyota is still a better bet than anything German once the warranty is up.
With that out of the way I’m genuinely struggling to see the point of some of these iForce MAX powertrains. I assume it must be an emissions thing, because the fuel economy benefits are negligible at best and once the added weight of the battery pack is factored in they don’t really offer any performance benefits. Due to the plans to add another member to the franchise and already needing more space than my Kona N offers, I’m warming up to the idea of looking at a 4Runner or Land Cruiser as my next vehicle, so I’ve been doing a fair amount of research.
It turns out that the hybrid 4Runner and Taco are actually slower than the plain 4 poppers…and observed real world fuel economy benefits are maybe 1 or 2 MPG combined on a good day. Hell most of the places that have done fuel economy tests on the mandatory hybrid Land Cruiser have struggled to break 20 MPG.
So….what’s the point? You’re adding more weight and more complexity to get a slower vehicle that isn’t really any more efficient and has less cargo space. I guess if you plan on towing there’s a benefit to the added torque and capacity but it’s not like the plain ICE engines are slouches on that front either. At the end of the day I love hybrids but I’m just kind of perplexed by these powertrains.
Which is why I’m concluding that it must be a compliance thing. Someone who’s more knowledgeable than I am is free to correct me, but even as someone who cares about efficiency and their carbon footprint I’d have a very hard time spending the extra money for the hybrid setups on any of Toyota’s BOF vehicles. There’s so little difference in efficiency that it would take you many years just to recoup the additional up front cost.
Am I missing something here?
I’m sure there’s some economies of scale sticking the turbo motors in more model lines globally but I think a lot of things can be traced back to emissions regs. That isn’t something tangible to the average buyer so it’s billed as a help to fuel economy – because how many buyers care about emissions? The average stop-start system is a good example to me since the gas savings are pretty negligible. But then the i-Force hybrids are a price premium. Like you I’d think towing and such should be benefitted and it may very well be better to use but it doesn’t seem like it translates in the ratings.
I’m willing to give Toyota the benefit of the doubt that they’re nerfing it until the powertrains have more real-world miles to assess their durability and capability, and then they may turn up the wick. Seems like a typically conservative Toyota move and partly what locked in the stodgy hybrid image for so long. But I wouldn’t be spending extra for it until then.
Deleted, accidentally copy and pasted the wrong conversation.
A lot of these economy improvements are negligible to the consumer, however they’re big for Toyota’s fleet average. Even a fraction of 1 mpg is significant when applied to several hundred thousand vehicles a year.
That makes sense. Kinda like, delivery routes usually try to minimize left turns, because statistically that saves hundreds or thousands of lives (and lost revenue, damaged vehicles, etc.) per year.
Exactly. Automakers need to maintain a certain fleet average economy; even incremental improvements can have an impact on that.
The issue is that MY24 Tundras are still having issues.
If I were forced to choose, I would either get a GMT900 Escalade or an LX570, and adding some offroad modifications WILL STILL MAKE either a cheaper choice than this Overtrail…..
If I somehow had $130,000 to spend on a car, I’d say screw fuel economy and I’d want a V8. Forced induction or not. I just don’t care for V6 motors, especially in a luxury vehicle.
I think that’s mainly an enthusiast/Truck Guy gripe though. We might care about V8s having more character than V6s but I really doubt that the average person buying a six figure luxury yacht does. They probably just care that it can scoot when they want it to and a turbo V6 can do that. It also delivers more usable power than an NA V8 and as a result will be quicker off the line and in traffic in addition to being a bit more efficient.
Honestly if I had the budget for one of these I’d be buying two cars, the most special 718 I could find for 80k and the nicest daily I could get with the rest…so I’m not exactly the target demographic for something like this. But I do know plenty of people that buy luxury cars and I really don’t think any of them care about cylinder count.
I agree with this. Yeah, I can broadly tell you one engine sounds more pleasant than another, but they’re all tolerable. My only real criteria is that I aim to stay with NA engines whenever possible, solely for simplicity’s sake.
I think its an indictment of the power density inefficiency of the NiCd packs. That, and there might be better gains in the real world from reducing idle time etc.
My guess is Toyota can sell enough on the hybrid badge to be worth it to bake in the electrical architecture/room for the packs now before they roll out whatever will replace the old NiCd cells that they’ve become so good at building. Hell, they might even do a NiCd pack to new pack swap and change nothing else once solid state is ready.
They’re NiMH, not NiCd. I’m not sure NiCd batteries are even made anymore, given how much better NiMH and Li-based batteries are.
Also worth noting that NiMH batteries generally tolerate cold better than lithium. That’s why Toyota was putting them in AWD Prii even after they switched to lithium for the other trims. I don’t know if that’s why they used them here, but it’s possible.
It’s weird they’re using the old NiMH tech on these when the smaller hybrids—like the ‘23 ES 300h loaner I totaled—are using Li-Ion.
I don’t know if it would have been physically possible but it would have been nice to have this powertrain in the new 4runner. Feels like product segmentation that its not but it would have stifled a lot of bellyaching about going from a large V6 to a small turbo four.
I vote we let them have a tantrum about the turbo 4. It’ll keep ADMs at bay and I want a new 4Runner because the drivability, efficiency, and refinement improvements appeal to me.
All the drama about the turbo 4, meanwhile the people that have actually driven both prefer the 4 over the old V6.
The old V6 sucks! It doesn’t have any torque down low and was inefficient when the last gen came out in 2009! It gets 17 MPG combined or something like that. The new one has more power, the benefit of ample low end torque, and it gets 5ish more MPG combined.
It’s better in every way. I get that people have turbo longevity concerns but IMHO they’re overblown, and it’s not like it’s making 200 horsepower per liter. It’s a comparatively big 2.4 liter that makes just under 300 horsepower. It’ll be fine.
Yeah, I’ve a 5th gen, the 4.0 is the worst thing about it. You are spot on with the torque, and the 3.5 V6 in the last gen Tacoma was even worse.
233K on my Turbo 07 Volvo and no turbo issues, I think the reliability is a non-issue. All the folks worried about not getting 400k miles are same ones that trade before 100k anyway.
I’m curious to see the real-world MPG numbers though. There are LC250 owners that are struggling to get 20mpg with that powertrain. Driving mostly highway and with a light foot, I consistently get around 20 avg with mine, and before I added All Terrain tires and steel skid plates, I used to regularly see 22-23. My average over the last 50K miles or so is sitting at 19.6.
The fuel tank in the new one is 4 gallons smaller, so range isn’t going to be improved either.
The 4Runners 4.0 V6, coupled to Ye Olde 5-Speed irritated me right into a GX 460.
That car was by no means fast, but it always had an abundance of power when you needed it.
For a while I considered that, but then 460/470 prices jumped and I couldn’t be bothered.
“salsa dancing on ketamine”
No notes; this is perfect.
Came to say the same thing. A+ Metaphor
All those locking diffs with no armor, hideous massive plastic front end (bumper/grill combo?), low ride height, plastic? sidesteps, and thin sidewalls. This is a long way from off-roading. Someday, maybe in the used market 20 years from now, and a lot of fab work.
And the most incongruous touch of all, plastering a bunch of soon-to-be-dated electronic gear all over the thing, ensuring the powertrain will outlast everything else. It’s like building a Brick Sh*thouse with a 13″ TV/VCR combo embedded in the wall.
Unfortunately the powertrain might not even outlast the electronics. This turbo V6 has had a ton of issues and adding a complex, basically proprietary hybrid component to it isn’t going to help.
Wait, turbo V6? This doesn’t have a 7.0-liter V8 with hybrid assist?
The naming conventions are ALL LYING!
Face it, the days of vehicles enthusiasts want to buy for their particular niche are over. Now the days of “let’s wait 20 years and get one and use it for what it was designed for” are also over. All this tech junk and overly complex running gear will be long dead or reliant on single-source crazily expensive replacement parts stashed in a warehouse and out of production forever.
This issue with dead electronics has happened to my 2004 Acura TL. Bluetooth died years ago and was $700 just for parts (passed). Then the navigation touchscreen died. The upside is the flat surface is perfect for a suction cup phone holder. Mechanically, it has been nearly flawless.
Something to look for in a long lasting vehicle… will the dead electronics serve as a good mounting option for a $15 chinesium suction cup that will hold the current electronics?
“Now the days of “let’s wait 20 years and get one and use it for what it was designed for” are also over.” Also, because the take rate on these overpriced behemoths is so small, there will be too few for future enthusiasts to even find.
If we’re lucky, we’ll at least be able to salvage the diffs from the junkyard. I don’t know what the price of these will be 20 years from now, but I doubt it would be a terribly good value proposition compared to almost anything else on the used market.
If this was a toyota my aunt would be driving one. But now shes in the fake LC Toyota makes. Some people won’t touch a lux badge for image’s sake. That alone I think cuts the legs out from this thing. There are a lot of places in the country where “flashing it”, is looked down upon and doesn’t impress anyone.
For the discerning one-percenter who owns all of their own overlanding land, and who is skeptical of both versions of BLM.
Savage comment. 10/10.
This thing is spectacular and ironically only the poor reputation of the Tundra powertrain would stop me from buying one.
There have been engine failures in the LX600. I am scared to know how much the regular motor costs out of warranty….
This would probably at the bottom of the list of full size luxury SUVs if I were buying one new. But would probably be up at the top in 5-10 years compared to everything else.
I mean, the turbo V6 is more complex than the V8 in the LX570, and would you like to know how much one costs out of warranty?