Road and Track: “The 2022 Lexus LX600 Attempts an Impossible Combination of Luxury and Off-Road Ability”
You can’t buy a new Toyota Land Cruiser in the U.S. The legendary off-roader was discontinued here at the end of the 2021 model year, which happened to be the last year for the 200-series, introduced in 2008. The rest of the world gets the new, 300-series Land Cruiser for 2022. We get this: The Lexus LX600, a vehicle that attempts to be the flagship of the Lexus luxury lineup while simultaneously serving as the only way Americans can buy a new Land Cruiser.
Talk about conflicting orders.
Like all previous Lexus LX models, the LX600 is luxuriated and lightly restyled vehicle built on Land Cruiser bones. For 2022, that means the new TNGA-F platform, a conventional ladder frame setup that also underpins the new Tundra pickup. Engineers claim that the new TNGA-F-based LX sheds nearly 450 pounds compared to the previous model, achieving a lower center of gravity, better weight distribution, and a roomier interior without meaningfully changing the vehicle’s dimensions.
That’s right. The LX is perhaps the only full-size luxury SUV in modern history that hasn’t grown larger with a new generation. The 112.2-inch wheelbase is identical to the outgoing model; overall length and width are within an inch of the previous generation. Way back in 1998, Toyota enshrined the 100-series Land Cruiser’s wheelbase, track width, and suspension travel dimensions in a “golden ratio,” idealized for off-road performance; the new Land Cruiser adheres to the golden ratio, and thus, so does the LX.
