Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury 2025 Review

Opting for seven seats in your Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury diesel will cost you $175,576 plus on-road costs (ORCs). That’s $2600 more than the two-row version and involves the sacrifice of soft-close doors and the 30-litre auxiliary fuel tank that are both standard in the regular five-seat LX 500d Sports Luxury.

The $180,276 (plus ORCs) 3.4-litre petrol-engined LX 600 Sports Luxury seven-seater, meanwhile, is $3800 more expensive than its five-seat equivalent, and the only thing missing is a rear tonneau shelf.

There are seven Lexus LX models in all, comprising the base LX 500d 3.3-litre V6 diesel at $155,976 and its 3.4-litre petrol equivalent, the LX 600, at $159,476; the LX 500d Sports Luxury at $172,976 and its petrol equivalent, the 600 Sports Luxury, at $176,476; the LX 500d F Sport diesel at $178,976 and the petrol equivalent LX 600 F Sport at $182,476; and the range-topping four-seat LX 600 Ultra Luxury at $217,976.

The new seven-seat variants, both built to Sports Luxury spec, comprise the LX 500d reviewed here ($175,576) and the $180,276 petrol V6. All prices are plus ORCs.

With a four-seat cabin offering up to a metre of rear legroom, the $219,061 flagship LX 600 Ultra Luxury comes with first-class aircraft-style second-row seats offering seven ‘relaxation’ programs for the two rear passengers.

Upper-large competitors for the Lexus LX include the seven-seat BMW X7 xDrive 40d M Sport ($178,300 plus ORCs), Mercedes-Benz GLS Sport ($181,800 plus ORCs) and Porsche Cayenne S ($181,800 plus ORCs), none of which have the Lexus LX’s legitimate off-road capability.

When you’re chasing membership of an ultra-exclusive market segment, corner-cutting is a distinct no-no. The Lexus LX passes muster in just about all respects.

From the full-leather, heated and air conditioner-cooled seats, the expansive sunroof, the fingerprint-sensing start-button, real wood trim highlights, signs of solid metal ornamentation and plenty of soft-touch surfacing, it’s something of a slap in the face for the “Meh, it’s all plastic” naysayers.

The LX isn’t quite the 4x4 off-roader you’d expect to find negotiating a deeply rutted and boggy track or fording a boulder-strewn mountain stream, but with its LandCruiser underpinnings its potential capabilities are never in doubt. Among the few things that conflict is the LX’s less-than-LandCruiser ground clearance and the very large, not particularly off-road-friendly 22-inch forged-alloy wheels.

Right now, the most off-road-likely version of the Lexus LX is the F Sport version, although there is a tougher Overtrail model on the way.

High levels of standard equipment are a given here. There’s an all-enveloping 25-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, dual rear seat video screens with an HDMI port, four-zone climate control, and heated and cooled seating just about everywhere, including the third-row seats. The seemingly counter-culture adoption of tactile pushbutton, toggle and dial-type switches throughout the control systems is actually welcome.

The Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury is covered by a standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with three years of roadside assist, which is well and good, but the six-month/10,000km scheduled servicing intervals are a bit on the mean side, particularly in this era of some truly expansive EV service scheduling.

Fixed-price servicing is set at $595 per workshop visit over five years, or $5950 in total.

The Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury comes with a comprehensive lineup of active and passive safety systems including autonomous emergency braking in forward and reverse (high- and low-speed in the former), pedestrian and cyclist avoidance (the latter in daylight only), intersection assist when turning, proactive emergency steering assist if an accident is imminent, lane centring, lane departure assist, rear cross traffic alert and a system called BladeScan, which uses LEDs and a high-speed rotating mirror that combine to better illuminate shaded objects, such as road signs, pedestrians or animals, at night.

The LX’s LED headlights follow bends in the road and incorporate active shadowing the help protect oncoming traffic from glare.

The total airbag count is 10, including driver and front passenger bags, dual front kneebags, side airbags for the front and outboard rear seats and curtain shield airbags for front and rear seats.

No ANCAP safety stars have yet been announced for the Lexus LX, although it’s reasonable to expect it to achieve the same five-star rating that applies to the eight-generation Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

The LX 500d Sports Luxury’s technology kit includes a 12.3-inch display screen complemented by a smaller seven-inch screen underneath which show climate control and off-road information, along with an eight-inch digital display directly ahead of the driver. There’s a head-up display, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto (although only the former is wireless), a phone-charging pad and a good distribution of USB-A and USB-C points and 120-volt outlets throughout. With recreational activities in mind, there’s a 230V outlet in the boot.

The Lexus LX shares both its 3.3-litre twin-turbo diesel V6 (LX 500) and the slightly larger 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 (LX 600) engines with the Toyota LandCruiser, as well as its quick-lockup 10-speed auto transmission.

The diesel develops a lot less power (227kW) than the petrol (305kW), but more torque (700Nm compared to 650Nm). In terms of power delivery, the diesel is obviously all about torque and this is evident throughout the full drive experience.

The 10-speed auto gearbox is configured to improve efficiency through early transmission lockup in all gears, and it permanently drives all four wheels through a dual-range system with a locking Torsen centre differential.

The diesel is comfortably more economical with its quoted combined-cycle fuel consumption of 8.9L/100km. In contrast, the petrol slurps 95 RON unleaded at a rate of 12.1L/100km. Our review LX 500d averaged 10.9L/100km over a week of driving in the usual mix of conditions including freeway and urban work, but without any off-road work or towing duties – both theatres some LX owners will undoubtedly embrace. The LX 500d’s 110-litre fuel tank promises a range potential of around 1000 kilometres.

The LX’s corporate GA-F platform was developed with rigidity and weight reduction in mind and, even though it still weighs in at a substantial 2690kg and isn’t exactly nimble, it’s no burden on regular roads. For a full-size off-roader the steering, at just 3.2 turns from lock to lock, is well weighted and quite quick, while the 265/50 multi-purpose tyres on their 22-inch wheels ensure plenty of road grip.

With the help of its height-controlled adaptive air/coil-spring suspension (with live axle at the back), the LX 500d’s ride is comfortable and relaxing, despite it not having a particularly long wheelbase. At 2850mm, it’s well short of, say, a BMW X7 (3105mm) or Mercedes-Benz GLS (3135mm), both of which could be considered monetary rivals.

The diesel V6 comes with an enhanced metallic engine note that ironically sounds like a noisier version of Mazda’s new-generation 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder diesel when under load. Although, with 227kW and 700Nm on hand – compared to the Mazda’s 187kW/550Nm – the Lexus LX 500d feels a lot more pumped.

Although the Lexus LX’s basic 4x4 chassis underpinnings are relatively primitive compared with its independently sprung soft-road rivals, the attention applied to just about every other aspect is more than adequate compensation.

The seating is Lexus-plush; as grippy and comfy in the rough as it is fatigue-resistant on the long haul. The driver’s seat has 14-way adjustment (12-way on the passenger’s side), while heating and cooling extends from the front to the 60/40-split folding middle row.

The twin third-row seats are accessed electronically, although folding the middle and third rows during the process is initially difficult to figure out.

And the mid-row legroom, although ample, is limited by the short(ish) wheelbase and is not quite as expansive as might be expected. Conflictingly, the third row is a tad more generous than normally anticipated in a seven-seater. Otherwise, the all-round head and shoulder room is quite a bit more than ample, as is the overall loading capacity that opens up to a maximum of 1960L.

Is the Lexus LX an upper-luxury SUV that also happens to be an effective off-road workhorse, or an off-road workhorse masquerading as an upper-luxury SUV?

It’s difficult to be both, and in the case of the Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury, which is lavished with a full complement of luxury trimmings and leaves passengers wanting for little more, there’s no denying either its premium market legitimacy, or its obvious physical similarities with the Toyota LandCruiser.

However, whichever way you look at it, the Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury is certainly not a case of mutton dressed as lamb.

2025 Lexus LX 500d Sports Luxury at a glance:
Price: $176,061 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.3-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 227kW/700Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.9L/100km
CO2: 235g/km
Safety rating: Not tested

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