Lexus LX 450 sport-utility wagon defines luxury in its class
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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Seated high above the traffic, you see more and can react quicker to avoid potential road hazards.
Nestled in a padded cabin wrapped with safety measures and lined in soft leather, you feel cozy and secure.
Riding in a machine equipped with powerful engine and rigged with mechanical gear which applies traction to all wheels, you know you can tackle with confidence any earthly element, whether wet pavement or slick snow, sticky mud, even rocks or serious off-road rough stuff.
There's room for all in this one, with space for seven adults plus flexibility in the seat system to make way for more or less people and less or more cargo.
The suspension, featuring a live axle at each wheel coupled to a coil spring and dampened shock valving, rides like a cushy limo.
And those plush appointments: Soft leather and rich wood trimmings, power-everything, and seven audio speakers to envelop you in soothing stereo sounds.
What a way to go.
Check out the label on this new full-size sport-utility vehicle dipped in luxe and its mission becomes obvious.
Lexus, it seems, offers an ultimate sport-ute.
Called LX 450, the new Lexus wagon aims to sate a narrow niche of the expanding sport-utility market -- that luxury-conscious upper echelon who desire the go-anywhere capability of a 4-wheel-drive sport-utility which can tackle the rough-and-tumble off-road world but also want seemingly contradictory trappings of a limousine.
New LX 450 combines these disparate attributes into one handsome package that's a dreamboat to drive.
The new Lexus wagon comes with an impeccable heritage.
It's derived from Toyota's Land Cruiser, recognized around the world as one of the toughest and most capable of all 4-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicles.
With high stance, torquey engine and a 4x4 traction system that can cross the sands of a Kalahari Desert or mud mires of an outback Borneo swamp, Land Cruiser can take you there -- and get you back.
To this proficient sport-ute designers added hardware and soft interior comforts to make the LX 450 ride and feel more like a Lexus, the upscale line derived from Toyota which scores at the head of all polls measuring passenger comfort and owner satisfaction.
Transformation from Land Cruiser to LX 450 begins on the outside and continues through suspension enhancements and added insulation to a variety of fine interior appointments.
For the exterior, the Lexus nose looks different due to the specific headlamp treatment with front cornering lamps and unique grille.
In addition, color-keyed bumpers show up on LX 450, as do lower body-side trimmings which create a strong horizontal statement and make this one look massive and like it's hunkering on the ground.
Its classy external design enables the Lexus to stand out in a crowd of cars, not only from the tall stance but a visual attitude which seems strong and muscular.
During a week's worth of tests while living with the new LX 450 -- this one painted quite manly in Black Onyx -- on countless occasions strangers passing by would approach the vehicle to admire its stylish good looks or provide some sign of approval, such as a thumb-up hand signal.
Streetwise reactions like these usually only occur when testing exotic sports cars.
After adorning the Land Cruiser in distinctive window dressings, designers went to work on the suspension system to make the wagon's ride quality more elegant.
First, they softened the coil springs at each wheel by as much as 15 percent, then increased the dampening effect of shock absorbers by almost a third.
Within each shock, special rebound springs do their job over bumpy road surfaces to blunt resultant vertical movement and even out the ride for passengers.
Then bushings of suspensional anti-roll bars were retuned so the entire platform would react in a more compliant manner when turning.
Add Land Cruiser's existing speed-sensing power-assisted steering system and you end up with a surprisingly responsive vehicle which rides in a far more plush manner than the typical truck-like sport-utility.
It's also incredibly quiet for a SUV, thanks to all sorts of additional insulation installed.
For power, Toyota's big in-line-6 packs strength.
Displacing 4.5 liters and wearing dual overhead cams with four valves in each of the six cylinders, the plant produces 212 hp and up to 275 lbs/ft of torque, figures which make it quite competitive in class.
What's so unusual about the engine is that up to 90 percent of the torque can be applied at the impressively low engine speed of 1,400 rpm -- just what's needed in low gear to virtually idle across off-road obstacles.
A 4-speed automatic transmission with electronic controls and overdrive gearing links to the plant and performs in efficient but genteel manner.
The full-time 4-wheel-drive system with 2-speed transfer case, viscous coupling and locking center differential doesn't require a mechanical engineering degree to operate.
To complete the mechanic package, LX 450 gets power-assisted brakes with ventilated disc at every post and a connection to computer-controlled anti-lock system.
Nubby 16-inch tires, rated for action in mud and snow, mean LX 450 can go directly from dealer showroom to mud pit without extra off-road equipment required.
If already acquainted with the leather-trimmed niceties of a Lexus sedan, you'll feel at home inside this SUV, which features upgraded leather seat upholstery and glossy wood trimmings, plus automatic everything.
Options have been limited to a power moonroof, 6-disc CD changer for center console, tow gear and cellular phone.
And figures on LX 450 window stickers start at $48,000
1997 LEXUS LX 450
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| 1997 LEXUS LX450 VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Full-size sport-utility wagon |
| Model Options: |
Full-size sport-utility wagon |
| Wheelbase: |
112.2 inches |
| Overall Length: |
189.8 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 4.5-L I6
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Full-time 4WD |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
32/40 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 48,000 to $ 52,000 |
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