Description

The Lexus LX 570 is the flagship SUV of Toyota’s luxury brand and a rarity on American roads. Lexus doesn’t sell many of these battlewagons, and for good reason: They’re extremely expensive.

Built off the Toyota Land Cruiser and sharing that SUV’s many, highly capable electronic 4×4 systems, the LX 570 represents an upgrade of sorts. It can do everything the already expensive and luxurious Land Cruiser can do (and arguably more, thanks to its air suspension), but does so while swaddling passengers in a cocoon of leather, wood and sound insulation.

The LX received a refresh for 2016 (compare it with the outgoing 2015 model here), gaining new styling, a new transmission, a new multimedia system, some interior refinements and a bunch of new electronic safety systems. The price has gone up a hair, as well. But with the Toyota Land Cruiser’s price landing within just a few thousand dollars of the fancier Lexus, the question becomes: Is the LX different enough to justify paying even more?

Styling & Exterior
On some Lexus models, the new spindle grille and Nike-swoosh headlights work. On others, like on the LX 570,