Fuel efficiency is not your prime concern when you’re seriously looking at the Lexus LX flagship SUV. It’s currently exclusively offered with a 5.7-liter V8 that, as you can imagine, is hell-bent on sucking every oil well in the world dry – manufacturer claims it averages 12 mpg US in the city, but we all know what these things are actually like…
Now, Australia’s Drive suggests that its sole availability as a V8 may be challenged by a new, much more economical alternative – a diesel. This is welcome news, especially since even the American buyer is now seeing diesels in a different light than say 10 years ago; the Germans are already (slowly) cashing in on this opportunity, so maybe this is the time for Lexus to go crazy and ditch their hybrid-only philosophy to fuel saving.
Besides, they’ve already bucked with tradition by having released placed an all-new 2.0-liter turbo engine under the bonnet of its NX crossover – a first in the company’s history. Compared to it, even a diesel would be less of a departure, since they have used diesels in the past, although not necessarily with the greatest of success; the IS220d/200d comes to mind, but quickly fade, as they were never real rivals to the established German diesels.
The Aussie source quotes Lexus Australia chief executive, Sean Hanley, who explains that since the LX is Toyota Land Cruiser-based, it wouldn’t be all that hard fit it with a diesel. He goes on to say that, “We’re certainly trying hard to bring that to our market. In that large SUV there’s a certain market demand for an LX diesel and, whilst we haven’t confirmed it, we are certainly in deep discussions trying to source it.”
By Andrei Nedelea
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