The 2016 Lexus LX 570 is the Texas Auto Writers Association’s 2015 Full-Size Luxury SUV of Texas
The Texas Auto Writers Association’s annual Truck Rodeo is an opportunity for automotive journalists to come down to the Knibbe Ranch in Spring Branch, Texas, pretend to be a cowboy, eat BBQ, and drive an impressive array of pickups and SUVs on- and off-road for two days. This year’s event gave me and 68 other writers the first shot at driving the extensively revised 2016 Lexus LX 570 (which starts at $88,880; the as-tested price is TBD) and the chance to determine if it would defeat the 2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali ($76,600 as tested) and 2016 Lincoln Navigator L Reserve ($81,595 as tested) to take home the title of Full-Size Luxury Vehicle of Texas.
The most obvious changes Lexus made to its flagship SUV are visual. The spindle grille is now more pronounced and the rear end is more dramatically styled. LEDs are used in the headlights, turn signals, fog lights, interior ambient lighting, and tail lights, among other places. Lexus says the only body panels carried over from the 2015 LX are its door panels. There are new designs for the 20- and 21-inch wheels. All of those changes certainly make for an eye-catching vehicle. It’ll be interesting to see how the bold design will age, though.
The LX’s 5.7-liter V8 is several years old, but now comes mated to a new eight-speed automatic for 2016. Fuel economy is estimated to be 13 city, 18 highway, and 15 combined. Horsepower and torque ratings of 383 and 403, respectively, are healthy, but I was hoping for a little more punch down low in the rev range to get the 6,000-pound rig moving. Using the truck’s Drive Mode Select system to choose Sport mode for driving on the roads surrounding the ranch livened up the throttle response slightly.
I didn’t need to use the navigation system in my short loop around part of U.S. Route 281. However, if someone in the lane next to me needed to, they could’ve. At 12.3 inches, the center screen is hard to miss. It’s one of the many focal points in the 2016 LX’s handsome, high-end, leather- and wood-lined interior, aside from its analog clock and Remote Touch Interface. Apparently, Lexus engineers paid a lot of attention to sound insulation because the new LX 570’s cabin was impressively quiet.
It came as no surprise that the interior was also jam-packed with four-wheel-drive technology. I called the array of knobs, switches, and buttons a “command center for off-roading.” I used a great deal of them when I took the LX into the rough and over the rocky trails that snaked across the ranch as Wild Rio Grande turkeys and F-1 Tiger Stripe cattle watched. Before I ascended or descended a steep grade, I put the truck into low range, jacked up the air suspension to its maximum height, then engaged the trick Crawl Control feature shared with the 2016 Toyota Tacoma. Despite what a phenom the LX was on challenging terrain, I found it had the smoothest ride in its competition segment.
At the end of the Truck Rodeo, the LX glided to victory and was named the top Full-Size Luxury SUV. Perhaps my fellow TAWA members agreed with me that it’s an attractive, plush, highly capable machine. Yes, it is pricey, but I consider it similar to a James Bond movie, during which you’re supposed to see the money spent on it on the screen. One drive of the 2016 Lexus LX 570 made me see what a small fortune buys – if you have the opportunity to spend it.
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STATIC SHOTS
ACTION SHOTS
*Courtesy of Raven Studios Photography
interior photo [Lexus]
