Refreshed Lexus LX priced headed by new 700h hybrid V6

Publicly shown at its annual State of the Motor Industry conference last month, Toyota-owned Lexus has revealed pricing for the updated LX range, now headed by the hybrid LX 700h.

Goodbye LX 600

Introduced towards the end of last year, the upscale sibling of the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 remains a five-model range, but no longer inclusive of the LX 600 that had been the range-topper in three trim grades.

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In its place, the LX 700h, which made its world premiere in October last year as the first-ever hybrid LX/Land Cruiser generation, keep holds of the 3.5-litre badged 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6, but with the addition of an electric motor and battery pack.

Producing a combined 341kW/650Nm, the self-charging system is paired to a hybrid-optimised 10-speed automatic gearbox that routes the amount of twist to all four wheels.

Carrying on, still as the base powertrain, is the 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6 in the LX 500d that sends 227kW/700Nm to all fours also through a 10-speed automatic ‘box.

Rejigged range

In terms of specification, the unbadged entry-level LX 500d falls away, leaving the F Sport as the new range starter and no longer the flagship.

Now placed above it, the off-road focused Overtrail seats seven instead of five, with model bespoke touches such as 18-inch alloy wheels, darkened exterior trim, locking front and rear differentials and a model specific colour called Desert Moonlight.

Besides the sportier bumpers and door sills, the F Sport, which remains the entry-level model in the LX 700h catalogue, boasts a black mesh-patterned Spindle Grille, 22-inch F Sport alloy wheels and F Sport seats.

Solely offered with the hybrid powertrain as the LX 600 was, the LX 700h VIP seats four, with the rears being able to recline up to 48-degrees in addition to offering a massaging function.

A wireless smartphone charger for those seated at the rear rounds the unique touches off.

Standard across all models is a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a wireless smartphone charger and massaging front seats.

Price

Now available, all LX’s sticker prices include a seven-year/100 000 km maintenance plan and on the LX 700h, an eight-year/195 000 km battery warranty.

• LX 500d F Sport – R2 557 500
• LX 500d Overtrail – R2 577 400
• LX 700h F Sport – R2 666 500
• LX 700h Overtrail – R2 703 600
• LX 700h VIP – R3 092 100

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