2021 Lexus LX570: Capable, Beautiful, and Cramped?
Erica Mueller
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Let’s Start with Style, Shall We? Because the 2021 Lexus LX570 Has It.
We recently drove from north Texas to eastern Kentucky in the 2021 Lexus LX570. My husband, myself, our teen, pre-teen, and toddler. And, we chose not only to travel during a pandemic but also during one of the worst winter storms the south has ever seen. To say we had an adventure would be an understatement. But the LX570 took it all in stride.
Modeled after the Land Cruiser, which has always been known for being a luxurious beast, the LX570 has a rugged stance that says “I can do anything!” while still looking like a model ready for a photoshoot. Everyone who looked it over said “It’s just so pretty!” and they were right. Lexus does a great job of carrying strong lines all the way through a vehicle for a very sculpted look that catches the eye. And the Eminent White Pearl paint with the sporty black accents really popped, even in the snow.
Inside, you get black leather seats with red accents, and boy is it sharp. I really enjoyed the bolstered front seats with their automatic heat and ventilation settings. You could choose high, medium, or low, or automatic which worked wonderfully!
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Car companies, take note: these window shades are the bomb! Photo: Erica Mueller
A Few Features I Really Loved
The new 12.3″ split-screen touchscreen infotainment screen is beautiful and was easy to use as a touch screen. We hardly ever used the joystick/mouse style controller in the console. I’m hopeful this means Lexus will be moving to touch screen for all their vehicles and getting rid of the old joystick and trackpad controllers in the near future!
The tailgate on the 2021 Lexus LX570 is very different from most SUV’s. Modeled after the Land Cruiser, this tailgate/liftgate is split in two. The top part comes up like a regular hatch-back liftgate. The lower piece remains closed unless you wish to open in, and then it folds down like a truck’s tailgate. I actually loved this feature because I could easily load and unload groceries without worrying about anything falling out! It was also handy for keeping our luggage in place when we needed to access something mid-trip.
Built-in window shades for the kids! Oh my goodness, I wish every car had these. They are so helpful when you have a baby who fusses when the sun is in her eyes. Seriously, these should come standard on every vehicle’s second row.
The LX570 has a beautifully styled interior! Photo: Erica Mueller
Some Things I Missed
For a luxury SUV that starts at $86k, we expected to find things like remote start and USB-3 charging ports. I was also really disappointed that there wasn’t a single USB charging port in the back seat for the kids. We had to take along an adapter for the cigarette lighter port so my kids could charge their devices one at a time.
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The baby’s convertible car seat had to go behind the passenger seat because my husband couldn’t drive with it behind the driver’s seat. There just isn’t enough room. Photo: Erica Mueller
Capable in All Kinds of Weather and Terrain
When my husband and I were talking about the target market for this vehicle, he said he thought it would be perfect for a realtor because it is so classy and comfortable for multiple passengers, and it can drive anywhere. At least around here, a realtor needs to be able to get in and out of ranch roads and undeveloped properties as often as they need to drive around neighborhoods. So all the off-road capabilities of the LX570 would come in handy for someone like that! People who live in mountainous areas will also enjoy the 4-wheel drive and the ice, snow, and mud drive modes that help to give the vehicle the proper traction for the weather and terrain. We spent a week in icy, snowy Kentucky and had no issues at all navigating the roads, even before they were plowed.
The LX570 is also the most advanced LX ever when it comes to the infotainment system, sound system, and climate control. It has a multi-terrain monitor so you can see beside the car, on screen, when pulling into tight spots like the bank drive-thru, or rounding a curb in the school pickup line. The dual-screen entertainment system in the back allows your passengers to watch separate things, or play their own games thanks to HDMI input, and each screen has its own wireless headset. The full-color heads-up display (HUD) was really great too.
These tiny cup holders are all you get up front, and you can’t reach the wireless charging if there is anything in the cupholder. There was literally no extra space in the front console. Photo: Erica Mueller
A Little Cramped Inside
I think the only real downside to this vehicle is it feels small inside. Up front, the console is very crowded with way too many buttons and knobs, a giant joy-stick controller for the infotainment system (the largest I have ever seen!), and barely enough room for two very small cup holders. The wireless charging area was hard to access, and it was so small we had to take our phones out of their cases to get them to fit. There is absolutely no place to set a purse, and the center console, which is a cooling box, is quite small. I believe you could put two 6-packs of Sprite in there, one on top of the other. Maybe.
The second row was alright, thanks to the seats being able to slide back to make for more legroom, but that left the third row very cramped, with only about 3″ between it and the second row. One of my kids had to sit back there the whole trip, and I felt bad about the amount of legroom he had. The controls for the second-row infotainment screens are in the center console of the second row, meaning if you have a passenger in the center seat you can not fold that down to access it. So while it’s nice that they tuck out of the way and are kept safe when not in use, I would have liked seeing those put somewhere else. The second row’s only drink holders are also in this fold-down console.
The third-row is a 50-50 split that folds up to the sides vs folding forward and flat. This didn’t bug us too much for this trip, but for a personal vehicle, I would have preferred something that folds forward and flat, giving more cargo space. I did like that I could operate them singlehandedly with buttons! When your hands are full and you suddenly discover you need more space it’s super handy to be able to fold the seats up and out of the way with the touch of a button. Another note about the third row is that it is supposed to seat 3, but this leaves the middle passenger sitting right on the split which does not look comfortable. If I hadn’t seen the third headrest and seatbelt I would have sworn only two people could sit back there.
It should be noted that the 2021 Lexus LX570 is available as either a 2-row or 3-row SUV, so if you don’t need a third row you will automatically have a lot more cargo space in the back without those seats!
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We had just enough space for the baby’s pack-n-play, a plastic tote, a box and a few backpacks. It was tight! Photo: Erica Mueller
What You Need to Know About the 2021 Lexus LX570
- 5.7-liter V8
- 403 lb-ft of torque
- 383 horsepower
- 5 off-road driving modes
- 7,000-lb towing capacity
- Full-time 4-wheel drive
- Pre-collision and pedestrian detection
- Brake assist
- Dynamic radar cruise control
- Automatic high beams
- Lane departure alert
- Heated and ventilated seating
- 5 or 8 passenger
- 12 mpg city / 16 mpg highway
- Starts at $86,730 for the 2-row base model
- Price as pictured: $103,815
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Disclousure: Lexus loaned me the 2021 Lexus LX570 for a road trip review. All thoughts are my own.
