Lexus LX 570 2014 Review

The 2014 Lexus LX 570 offers a remarkable combination of around-town civility and off-road capability. But unless you need all this capability, you'll find that many rival luxury SUVs and crossovers are easier to drive and live with day-to-day.

Vehicle overview

The 2014 Lexus LX 570 is unabashedly an old-school type of luxury SUV. It's based on the Toyota Land Cruiser but offers all the comfort, convenience and classy presence you'd expect from a Lexus. As a result, the LX 570 can handle just about anything you throw at it, whether it's pulling a heavy trailer, climbing a remote mountainside trail or just looking pretty at the country club's valet stand. But in achieving these disparate attributes, the LX also ends up with a fair number of drawbacks.

Predictably, this full-size SUV's interior is awash in comfort and convenience features, ranging from heated and ventilated front seats to an available 19-speaker Mark Levinson surround-sound system that would put most home audio systems to shame. And that's to say nothing of the liberal use of high-quality materials that create an opulent cabin on par with many of the world's top luxury sedans. In addition, the LX's strong 5.7-liter V8 engine, sophisticated full-time four-wheel-drive system and adaptive air suspension give it plenty of capability on snow-choked streets and rutted, rocky trails alike. The LX 570 also embodies the Lexus brand's well-deserved reputation for outstanding build quality.

If you're just driving around town, though, the Lexus LX 570's appeal fades in a hurry. It starts with its thirst for fuel, as the LX's EPA fuel economy numbers are low even by large luxury SUV standards. And while its ride quality is smooth, the LX is still a big, heavy vehicle, and it feels ponderous in parking lots and around tight turns. Finally, its third-row seats offer precious little legroom and limit total cargo capacity when stowed, as they fold up to the sides of the vehicle instead of into the floor.

In other words, the LX 570 is far from the most rational choice for a luxury SUV. For strictly on-road use, the seven-passenger 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class crossover SUV would be our pick by virtue of its lower price tag and roomier third-row seating and cargo area. But we're also the first to acknowledge that not every buying decision is based on pure, dispassionate analysis. There's an intangible appeal to driving an SUV that's as elegant as it is indestructible. Alongside rivals like the sportier 2014 Infiniti QX80 and the iconic 2014 Range Rover, the 2014 Lexus LX 570 continues to fly the flag as a traditional, do-it-all luxury SUV.

2014 Lexus LX 570 models

The 2014 Lexus LX 570 is a full-size SUV with seating for eight passengers. The third-row seat is a 50/50-split design with sections that fold up against the sides of the cargo compartment when not in use.

The LX 570 is offered in a single trim level with a long list of standard features. On the outside you'll find 20-inch alloy wheels, an adaptive suspension, automatic load leveling, adaptive and automatic xenon headlights, foglights, power-folding heated auto-dimming outside mirrors, a sunroof, running boards, a power liftgate and keyless entry and ignition.

Inside, the LX comes with four-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, heated power front seats (10-way driver, eight-way passenger), driver seat memory functions, a 60/40-split reclining and power-sliding second-row seat, a power-folding third-row seat and a 120-volt household-style power outlet. Electronics are organized around a touchscreen interface and include a rearview camera, a navigation system, voice controls, the Lexus Enform suite of app-based services (including Pandora, Yelp and iHeartRadio), Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity and a nine-speaker audio system with a CD changer, satellite radio, HD radio and an iPod/USB audio interface.

The Luxury option package adds ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a heated steering wheel, a cooled storage bin and upgraded leather upholstery. Also available are front and rear parking sensors, front- and side-view parking cameras, adaptive cruise control (includes a pre-collision warning system), a dual-screen rear-seat entertainment system and a 19-speaker Mark Levinson surround-sound audio system. The ventilated front seats and heated second-row seats are also offered as stand-alone options.

2014 Highlights

Performance & mpg

The 2014 Lexus LX 570 boasts a 5.7-liter V8 engine that produces 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission and a full-time four-wheel-drive system are standard. The latter includes hill-start assist, crawl control and a driver-selectable multi-terrain system. Properly equipped, the LX will tow up to 7,000 pounds.

In MatoCar performance tests, the LX 570 went from zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds. That's an adequate time for a large luxury SUV, but most rivals offer noticeably quicker acceleration with their optional engine upgrades. The LX's EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings are low even for this class at 14 mpg combined (12 mpg city/17 mpg highway).

Safety

Every 2014 Lexus LX 570 comes standard with antilock brakes, traction control, stability control with trailer sway control, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and front knee airbags. Also standard is Lexus Safety Connect emergency communications with automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle locator and an emergency assist button.

The optional frontal collision warning system (included with adaptive cruise control) determines if a crash is imminent and automatically takes up the slack in the front seatbelts and primes the braking system for faster response in panic stops.

In MatoCar brake testing, the LX 570 came to a stop from 60 mph in 119 feet, which is very good for such a large, heavy vehicle.

Driving

The 2014 Lexus LX 570 rides with regal presence on paved roads, obediently soaking up bumps like the luxury liner it is. Cabin noise is minimal, and the only time the powertrain becomes audible is at full throttle, when the 5.7-liter V8 emits a civilized rumble. But while this engine is plenty powerful on its own merits, the latest turbocharged GL-Class and supercharged Range Rover models have raised the performance bar substantially, making the LX 570's considerable thirst for fuel even harder to swallow.

Much harder for any rival to match is the LX 570's competence once the pavement ends. Between the sophisticated suspension, the cleverly engineered crawl control system and the LX's rugged construction, this deluxe SUV has the capability to take you virtually anywhere you might ever want to go.

Interior

As we've come to expect from models with the big silver "L" on the grille, the 2014 Lexus LX 570 offers a downright posh interior thanks in part to its supple leather upholstery and genuine mahogany trim. Both the front and second-row seats are comfortable and roomy, and the high seating position offers excellent visibility. The third-row seat is much less accommodating, however, due to a shortage of headroom and legroom that makes it workable only for young children.

The design of the 50/50-split third-row seat also has a negative impact on cargo capacity, because the two halves fold up against the side walls instead of down into the floor. As a result, the LX 570 offers 41 cubic feet of cargo room behind the 60/40-split second row of seats and 83 cubic feet with all rear seats folded. Most rival large luxury SUVs are more accommodating in terms of cargo space.