Toyota and their luxury brand, Lexus, sure know how to build mega-SUVs. The five-metre-long Lexus LX has every imaginable in-car creature comfort, and nothing costs extra. German and British luxury SUVs can quickly burn a hole in your pocket once you start adding optional extras, plus Lexus has an excellent reliability- and aftersales rating. The LX also offers a class-leading 7-year / 100 000 km warranty, with a total of seven services; one at every 10 000 km.
South African buyers can choose between the LX 500d diesel models and the LX 600 petrol models.
This is the current lineup:
| Lexus LX 500d | R 2 215 200 |
| Lexus LX 500d F Sport | R 2 247 000 |
| Lexus LX 600 F Sport | R 2 247 000 |
| Lexus LX 600 | R 2 260 400 |
| Lexus LX 600 VIP | R 2 627 500 |
Engine specs
The 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6 engine has an output of 225kW and 700 Nm of torque. Lightening-quick acceleration is not on the menu if you opt for this engine, because the LX is not a light vehicle. Your fuel economy will be considerably better than the petrol model's though, but I suppose if you have this much money to spend on a new car, this won't make much of a difference. If you're buying used, fuel economy and reliability become more of an issue.
The petrol-powered 3.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine has 305 kW and a mammoth 650 Nm of torque. Acceleration is much brisker than the diesel.
The naturally aspirated petrol engine is significantly thirstier, guzzling 11.3 litres per 100 km vs. the turbo-diesel model's 8.3 litres per 100 km. These are also the claimed manufacturer's figures, so you can be certain that usage will be higher.
Related: 10 things we love about the Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI Executive R-Line (2020)
Verdict and buying advice
If you have a bottomless pit of R200 notes, then by all means, go for the petrol model. But since most of us don't have a money tree growing in our back garden, the diesel makes a lot more sense.
I would recommend buying a used Lexus LX 500d with a few years of warranty and perhaps a few services left, depending on mileage, of course. That way, you'll be covered if something goes seriously wrong. Always check that the model you're interested in buying has not been used for serious bundu-bashing.
