Body-on-frame vehicles usually win a certain part of the automotive audience who are seeking tough cars that are capable off the road and don’t care about ultimate onboard luxury. However, if you do seek these two traits in one single vehicle, then the Lexus LX570 is one of your best bets.
Basically, a much posher version of the familiar Toyota Land Cruiser, the LX has extreme off-road capability, all manner of settings for the driver to play with and keep it rolling even when the terrain gets treacherous.
It’s Lexus’ interpretation of a Range Rover, blending the same qualities as the British SUV, but using a different formula to get there. Actually, it’s not a Range rival, but more of a Discovery-type of vehicle in concept.
CNET’s Brian Cooley got behind the wheel of an LX570, and his impression was a generally positive one of both the vehicle and its tech level. It’s obviously not a new model, and that shows in certain areas, particularly in the gadgets department, but for what it is, it’s actually not a bad proposal, if you can ignore getting (a claimed, but probably not achievable) 12 mpg in town.
By Andrei Nedelea