2022 Lexus LX 600: The new Land Cruiser in a more polished wrapper

The redesigned 2022 Lexus LX 600 takes the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser, unavailable in the U.S. for first time in decades, and bundles it into a new lighter, upscale package.

Under the hood of the fourth-generation SUV is a powerful turbocharged, 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 409 hp, off-road capability and enough luxury amenities to make a royal out of your standard suburbanite.

The engine is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission, with standard four-wheel drive.

Under the sheet metal, the running gear still includes LX and Land Cruiser hallmarks: body-on-frame construction and a solid rear axle, similar to most pickups and authentic off-roaders.

But with a move to Toyota Motor's GA-F truck platform, torsional rigidity is increased 20 percent and weight is cut by 441 pounds, compared with the outgoing LX.

The front seats are dominated by the brand's first use of dual center-console displays, with a 12.3-inch screen on top to operate a new Lexus Interface infotainment system and a lower 7-inch screen to communicate and control functions such as climate control and terrain select.

The second-row seating features curved headrests, seat backs and cushions to better embrace and support passengers. Rear-seat sunshades, reading lights and rear-seat displays are standard.

We've collected some early reviews from the automotive media.

"There was one LX that stood out amongst all the ones available for our drive — a $101,470 Premium model painted plain white with a special appearance package ($1,295) that ditches all the brightwork for black trim and installs thick-sidewall, 18-inch matte grey wheels. It's like a NATO-spec LX and it's way cool. Visually, it's as close to a Land Cruiser as we're going to get. This is the one I hopped into.

"The steering is so much lighter than before, making the big Lexus far easier to steer. The old hydraulic steering was so heavy, it practically felt unassisted at parking lot speeds. Here, the weightiness and on-center feel increases slightly when you move from Comfort to Normal and then on to Sport or Sport Plus modes. And it's excellent.

"Thanks to those 18-inch wheels and 265/65R18 tires, the ride is absolutely creamy over bumps. These are incidentally the same Dunlops that came on the last Land Cruiser, just in a smaller size (the Cruiser used 285/60R18s). On washboard-type rough pavement, this LX might be one of the smoothest SUVs around."

— Ben Stewart, The Drive

"Good news: the third-row seats fold into the floor, a huge improvement over the outgoing model where the seats were pushed to the sides of the cargo area, encroaching on space for gear. On the Luxury trim you can push a button to fold both the second- and third-row (50-50 split) seats flat. But the 2022 LX600 still has a live rear axle, which means those in the very back are forced to sit up high, upright, and with raised knees.

"Another improvement: the split-opening at the back is replaced by a traditional single-piece liftgate. It is powered and can be opened by kicking your foot under the sensor, just right of the trailer hitch.

"Inside, the big news is a vastly improved, in-house-developed infotainment system. It relies on touchscreens and good old-fashioned knobs and buttons rather than the much-maligned Lexus joystick/touchpad.

"The 2022 Lexus LX600 comes with six drive modes, one more than the 2021 model offered. They include Comfort, Normal, Sport S, Sport S+, Custom, and Eco. The Sport modes are barely perceptible as sportier; the throttle and exhaust notes are turned up, but barely.

"This remains a quiet vehicle to drive in all modes. The F-Sport is a bit more visceral; you feel gear shifts more succinctly and acceleration does fall off quicker when you lift your foot. The F Sport has standard Adaptive Variable Suspension electronically controlled dampers, and the electric power steering is tuned to be more responsive."

— Alisa Priddle, Motor Trend

"There's one fun perspective trick at play in the new LX, and it has to do with the doors. From either front seat, the doors feel impossibly thin, like what you'd find in an Eighties 4x4. It helps the cabin feel more airy, and encourages you to hook your elbow over the window sill like your grandpa used to do. It feels like a throwback to early-days Land Cruisers, before sound deadening and side-impact regulations. It's a ruse: Just a few inches below the sill, the exterior door panel bows out into the thick, hefty cross-section you expect of a modern car. It just happens low enough that it's entirely out of sight from inside the car. It's a nifty little trick."

— Bob Sorokanich, Road & Track

"The first thing that struck me was the SUV's immense size. Despite the move to the same modular platform as the Tundra, the 2022 LX's dimensions are virtually identical to the old LX 570. The 112.2-inch wheelbase remains, while the length and width grow barely half an inch, at 200.6 and 78.4 inches, respectively.

"And in the grand scheme, this is not a huge vehicle. A standard-sized Cadillac Escalade is a foot longer, for example, and the ESV model adds 2.25 feet to the LX's length. But plop in the Lexus' cushy leather seat, grip its smallish steering wheel, and gaze across the huge, flat hood, and a sense of disorientation sets in. It's easy to feel lost in the LX because there's so, so much sheet metal in front of you.

"The poise and stability on rough surfaces is a pleasant surprise, but then so is the way the LX behaves in corners.

"The ride brought me back, though, because it's unlike any body-on-frame vehicle I've experienced. Typically, when BoF trucks and SUVs hit a bump, the frame responds half a second before the body that's bolted to it. This disjointed reaction, which is a common and accepted sacrifice for the capability and durability inherent in this type of vehicle assembly, is nonexistent in the LX.

"I could feel it in my backside as the chassis soaked up an impact, but the secondary reaction in the LX's body never arrived. Part of this impressive isolation is down to the new TNGA-F platform, which improves torsional rigidity compared to last year's LX by 20 percent, but I suspect a fair amount of the improvement is just magic. That how'd-they-do-that feeling extends to the new electric power-assisted steering, which replaces a hydraulic tiller and is so well isolated that even tackling rutted dirt trails at speed couldn't disrupt the LX."

— Brandon Turkus, motor1.com

"Behind the wheel, the driving position is notably less bolt-upright and trucklike, and the comfortable new seats lower themselves significantly more than the outgoing Land Cruiser. The resulting crossover-cockpit feel is enhanced by a shifter and console that are closer in reach. A dual-screen infotainment system reserves audio, navigation, and (wireless) smartphone-mirroring functions for the 12.3-inch upper screen, with secondary HVAC, situational, and off-road controls reserved for the lower 7.0-inch display. The most often-used climate adjustments are made via physical controls. The result is one of the cleaner Lexus interfaces in recent memory. If only the Start button wasn't so high up on the main infotainment bezel, where it's easy to mistake for the smaller, higher, and slightly out-of-reach volume knob — and the stereo's equalizer controls weren't so deeply buried in the menus."

— Dan Edmunds, Car and Driver