Fluidity in austerity seems ironic but is true when talking about the all-new Lexus LX 600. Known for its durability, reliability and off-road performance, Lexus has sold more than 500,000 units of the LX model since it first came out in 1989. An ever popular model in the GCC, the new LX finally arrives in our shores looking to continue its success story.
Toyota and Lexus do their best to differentiate their products, but cross-pollination is inevitable when the luxury Lexus brand’s flagship LX 570 model is a rebodied Toyota Land Cruiser. Now the Toyota Racing Development tuning arm, better known as TRD, is offering a body kit for the Lexus LX 570 in Japan.
The Lexus LX 570 is nearing the end of its lifecycle. If previous generations are anything to go by, there should be an all-new LX every 10 years, so the next-generation model is theoretically due by 2018. So it was a surprise that Toyota gave both the Land Cruiser and the LX 570 a major makeover for 2016, after a couple of minor facelifts since the current generation’s 2008 debut.
The Lexus LX has somehow created a huge niche for itself around here, as the luxury truck of choice to stand out among a sea of Land Cruisers. Around since 2008 in its current form, this is the third facelift it’s received, and the first one that goes beyond just reshaped bumpers. We briefly drove the 2016 model at its UAE launch in Dubai.
About a month ago, a conceptual drawing of the facelifted 2016 Lexus LX 570 was leaked from unknown sources. Now, it seems those drawings were accurate, as the real deal was apparently snapped at Jebel Ali port in Dubai.
The facelifted Lexus LX 570 debuted in the United States recently as the 2013 model, but the luxury full-size 4×4 has just been officially launched in the UAE, as a 2012 model.
Hot on the heels of a facelift for the 2012 Toyota Land Cruiser, its stablemate, the Lexus LX 570, receives a substantial frontal facelift.
So we were offered a brand new 2011 Lexus LX 570 for a weekend, or what we like to call the “Lexus Land Cruiser.” Since we didn’t get invited to the actual Toyota Land Cruiser 5.7 launch event, we figured we’d take the LX anyway, since it is essentially the same thing, and we’d indirectly reacquint ourselves with the Land Cruiser. But since we had already reviewed the 2008 LX before, we used this truck for a fuel economy test instead.
We first tested the current iteration of the Lexus LX 570 when it debuted in 2008, alongside the Toyota Land Cruiser on which it is based. So when we were offered the 2011 Lexus LX 570 for a test-drive, we almost rejected it. But then we figured “why not.” Maybe something has changed. It turns out nothing has changed, although our tester was a more interesting vehicle than the one we drove before.
Anyone who visited the 2010 Sharjah Auto Show last week would’ve got a look at the gaudy bodykitted Lexus LX570 at the “Invader” stand. The so-called Invader is a tuning and customisation programme for the Lexus 4×4 by Japanese tuners ASI. Who else besides the Japanese can come up with something this cheesy.