Front, Side, Rear Cameras

The four-wheel-drive LX 570 replaces the 10-year-old LX 470 and promises lots of power, awesome air conditioning, ride and handling poise on- and off-road, and plenty of safety features.

To me, the most intriguing technology of the top-end Lexus SUV is the bevy of video cameras, all viewed through the center-stack LCD. To the rear is a parking camera, which can be paired with parking sonar. The second camera mounts in the right side mirror, facing down, and covers from past the front to past the rear of the LX 570, so you can see when you're maneuvering in tight spaces. The front camera provides a wide-angle view of the road immediately ahead, useful in two situations: close-quarters parking at the mall, and ascending a steep hill when you can't see past the hood. It takes a while to understand the view, especially when you multiplex front and side images. But once you're acclimated, you'll love it.

Sometimes on steep uphill slopes, you can't see the road ahead on the 8-inch active-matrix LCD screen, because the LCD washes out in sunlight; Lexus ought to do as BMW does with its 3 Series convertible and use transflective LCDs that get brighter in sunlight.

Seats Eight (Four Comfortably)

In a day of driving on- and off-road on Alabama's Gulf Coast (think Florida Gulf Coast, but more affordable and fewer non-stop flights), the LX 570 was a poised touring vehicle for four passengers and up to 8,500 pounds of trailer. It's actually sold as a three-row, eight-passenger SUV, but the third row on this 197-inch SUV has no useful legroom, and when the power-folding third row seats are in place and occupied, there's not much cargo room, either. In other words, it's a practical kiddie car-pool vehicle if mom and dad made their money before the kids reached five feet tall. Lexus says family income for its estimated 10,000 (annual) buyers when the LX 570 arrives early in 2008 will be on the high side of $350,000.

Should you venture from paved highway to muddy dirt road, you'll find the variable suspension keeps the ride comfortable. Variable ride height lets you down gently 2 inches closer to the ground for exit, then back up for highway travel, and up to three more for off-roading. The anti-lock brakes have a separate program for dirt/gravel roads. A confusing set of center console switches (one Lexus rep couldn't figure it out either) drops you down to as little as a 1 mph crawl mode on really rough or steep terrain, and the LX 570 can handle such steep side slopes you need to turn off the head protection system (which took three of us almost 5 minutes to figure out); otherwise, the Lexus might think you're in a rollover situation.

Lexus Technology by the Numbers

A nicely optioned LS 570 has 28 air conditioning vents with four-zone climate control capable of outputting 64-degree air even after a half-hour idling in the Arizona summer heat, 19 speakers with the optional Mark Levinson audio system, and a 30GB hard disk drive for the touchscreen navigation system with 8GB set aside to store 2,000 MP3 songs. Lexus says LX 570 buyers get a next-generation navigation system, same as on the Lexus LS 600 super sedan, but I found the underlying Denso and Nuance technology hasn't kept up with the competition. One small plus: If you don't press the nav system consent screen on startup, it goes away after a few seconds. Bluetooth comes with the standard navigation system.

The 5.7-liter V8 engine now produces 383-hp but mileage with a new six-speed transmission but economy improves compared to the outgoing 4.8-liter, 268-hp V8 with a five-speed automatic. And frankly, even with an estimated 12 mpg city, 18 mpg highway (vs. 12/15 for the LX 470 on an easier EPA test), LX 570s pose little collective threat to Planet Earth resources with such low production quantities, just as a 10,000-square-foot Al Gore-style house would be bad only if everybody had them. We don't. Weight is on the order of 5,500 pounds.

Should You Buy?

Lexus marketers say the typical LX 570 buyer is self-assured and doesn't need an expensive, limited edition vehicle to prove his or her self-worth. Right. And Congressmen aren't crooks and Piaget watches are only about keeping time. The Lexus LX 570 represents an amazing vehicle with superior creature comforts that will be appreciated by all who set foot inside the first two rows and exceptional off-road capabilities that will be, I suspect, barely exploited. It's no more ridiculous than a BMW X5 that could--yet almost never does--wind up on a racetrack for club lapping days. And to be fair, the LX 570 doesn't shout its presence like a Land Rover (brush guards in Marin County?) and isn't ostentatious in the manner of a chrome-package Cadillac Escalade.

The offered entertainment packages are excellent, including the upgrade audio, rear DVD, and XM satellite radio. But Lexus doesn't provide direct control of iPods, the 8GB music cache seems a bit miserly, and HD Radio isn't offered.

The LX 570's role, beyond subtly reminding the middle class of its station in life, is to germinate technologies that over a couple years gravitate down to more mainstream vehicles. Next stop for some of this technology: the Toyota Land Cruiser, which has been an affordable variant of the LX line. Price of the LX 570 hasn't been set, but it should start around $70,000 and reach $80,000 if you check lots of options boxes.

If I were in the Lexus-style demographics, the LX 570 would be high on my list, especially if I towed horses to my kid's equestrian competitions. But so would the Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI with its high-output, high-mpg Bluetec diesel engine, for about $15,000 less. Unless I'm really and truly going off, off-roading.

As the newest kid on the high-tech block, the LX 570 has more technology than anyone else in this class. It's overkill for most buyers, but you've got to admire Lexus for raising the bar. A padded, ventilated, heated, and cooled Napa leather bar, at that.

Lexus, a Division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.

Price: $70,000 (estimated base price)

EPA economy: 12 mpg city, 18 mpg highway (2008 estimate)

Pros: Up to three cameras help in parking, off-roading. Excellent on- and off-road suspension and drivetrain. Huge front row seating. Excellent upgrade audio. More-compatible Bluetooth. State-of-the-art safety.

Cons: No-longer a top-rated navigation system. Confusing switches. No iPod connection. 12 mpg city mileage (18 highway). Vestigial third row seat.

Bottom line: The most recent and best of the ultra-luxury SUVs with incrededible off-road capabilities. Bluetooth is better but the navigation system could use work.