After reading my first drive of its new LX SUV, Lexus decided to ask me back to drive the LX again, this time in hybrid form. I wasn’t expecting the LX 700h to be wildly different than the versions I’d already driven, but Lexus knows hybrids, and who doesn’t want the chance to off-road a brand-new luxury SUV that probably won’t see its first desert pinstripes until it’s been sold two or three times? I’d fly out to California, do a little driving, fly back, and a couple days later, my review would show up on the site for you to read, peruse the photos, and complain about something down in the comments.
Initially, everything went according to plan, but I also didn’t realize how little driving I’d actually get to do. I made it through the off-roading portion without any issues, but once I got to the on-road portion, everything fell apart. I didn’t crash, but it didn’t take long for me to realize something was wrong wrong. Not with the Lexus. With me. So for the first time in my career, I found myself asking a PR rep for help getting to the hospital instead of finishing the drive route. Lexus couldn’t have possibly been kinder or more accommodating, and while the hospital didn’t keep me overnight, further testing confirmed it — there’s something else wrong with my brain (in addition to the things we already knew about).
I’d rather not get a bunch of unsolicited advice from people who aren’t neurologists, so I’ll just say I’m probably not dying much faster than most of you are, and it’s not a tumor, but things are officially not ideal in Collinland. Including the part where I couldn’t tell you a single thing about the LX 700h that you couldn’t find in my first drive of the non-hybrid LX or the official press release. However, with the help of a translator, I did record an interview with Lexus LX chief engineer Takami Yokoo. So while I wish I’d been able to fully review the LX 700h, at least I came back with something other than a giant bruise on my right arm. It’s also a good excuse to look at more LX photos.
What were your priorities when hybridizing an off-roader like the LX?
Takami Yokoo: Before just the process of electrification, this vehicle is an LX. And so there were three pillars that we had to protect, which were reliability durability and off-road performance. So our first priority was protecting those three pillars in the process of electrification.
The second priority was making sure we took full advantage of the ample torque that the motor would create and make sure that we could achieve the Lexus-like kind of performance.
First off the LX was the only car in our lineup that wasn’t electrified up until now, and the priority was that we could prove that we could electrify a vehicle with the heritage and the expectations of an LX.
So what challenges did you run into while trying to do that?
TY:I think you could agree with us in the fact that all the previous Toyota hybrid systems have achieved a pretty decent level of reliability. But let’s say in the event of an unlikely malfunction, we’re always thinking of safety, and the system is designed to shut down. In this vehicle, let’s say you’re overlanding. Somehow you damage [the hybrid system], or the hybrid system malfunctions, the last thing you want to do is have it shut down and not be able to return.
So we had to make sure that if we put a hybrid system in it but it malfunctions, now you’re still able to return home safely with the engine portion of the car. So, that was very important.
Collin Woodard: So if the hybrid system malfunctions, there’s a starter that will still turn the engine on?
TY: Yes. It’s the first time in a Toyota or Lexus — a starter and alternator.
Why not make the LX a hybrid across the board?
TY:Perhaps one day that might happen, but on the other hand, with the gasoline-powered car, we do have a lot of customers who prefer that. So when we think about carbon neutrality, the more electrification, the closer we get, of course, but we’re also looking at what our customer wants and looking at their needs as well, and that’s how we put our lineup together.
CW: How much does the hybrid system improve emissions?
TY: We have to get the exact specs for that and get back to you.
Note: The EPA still has yet to release its fuel-economy rating for the LX 700h
Is there a specific type of customer you see choosing the hybrid LX?
TY: We don’t have a really specific kind of customer that we were targeting. I’m sure in America, too, and even during [LX 600 development], it was the same. We have all kinds of customers who are looking at the car.
And when you look at the affluent customer, within that parameter, there’s many kinds of affluent customers and different use cases. So in today’s realm. I think everybody’s experienced it. It’s difficult to categorize [customers] into one segment or stereotype.
Are there any durability or reliability improvements in the LX compared to other Lexus and Toyota SUVs?
TY: I think the first and the most important thing, when a question like that we get asked, is that each vehicle has its own specific role to play and its own development goals, so they’re all clearly defined. If you take the LX, for example, in the Toyota/Lexus group, it’s the flagship — it’s the top-of-the-line. So everything has been really channeled into the LX.
When you put it in that context, it’s not like a comparison of, “This car is good [at this or that],” it’s, “What are my expectations for this particular vehicle, and how do we best achieve all of those expectations, those goals?” So that’s how we build each car.
Could we see this powertrain in other vehicles, or is it an LX exclusive?
TY: Currently, it’s LX-specific, but we’re not sure about what will happen next.
Are there any features people may overlook, but you’re proud that you added?
TY: It’s so many.
One, it’s a body-on-frame vehicle [but] we would hope that it felt to you like a normal passenger car. Like you almost wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, and we really tried hard to make sure you wouldn’t notice [it’s a body-on-frame SUV]. For us, that was a really big engineering achievement.
And then still making sure we don’t compromise an ounce of off-road capability that the other predecessors have had and be able to package it all together in one car. That is something [we’re] very proud of.
How do you balance those two conflicting requirements with price?
TY: First, it’s not like [there’s] a price point or a definitive line where we cut the line and say, ‘We’re not going to put any more than this.’ It’s, ‘We believe [these are] the best things we can put in the LX, and we put that in.’
Because it is the flagship of our Lexus lineup or SUV lineup. And because it is a flagship, we are able to put in our top-of-line, premium equipment into the vehicle, as well.
What percentage of U.S. buyers will off-road their LX?
TY: I don’t know if [we] have the data on that.
The use cases in North America might be very urban…[but] a big portion of our customer base is in the Middle East. Of course, they have paved roads in many places. But one step off, and it’s just the wilderness. It’s the desert and the desert has off-road environments as well. So there is a large population of affluent buyers who off-road actively, and that’s also part of why the LX is the way it is.
