Selwyn Times: December 13, 2016

36
Tuesday December 13 2016
Driven
SELWYN TIMES
• By Ross Kiddie
BY MY own admission I’m a bit
of a snob, I glamourise where
I live, and I tell people I own a
Lexus.
Well the latter is true up to a
point, I own a Toyota Altezza
which was sold here new as a
Lexus IS200/300.
Badge engineering is commonplace
throughout the automotive
manufacturing world, and Lexus
has had several models sourced
from the wider Toyota stable.
One to come my way recently
was the Lexus LX450d, a large,
luxury four-wheel-drive SUV
based on the Land Cruiser platform.
And realistically, it is a
Land Cruiser 200 in disguise, it
gets all the trick four-wheel-drive
gear along with all the grandeur
that embodies the Lexus spirit of
luxury, refinement and sophistication.
The LX has always been powered
by a 5.7-litre V8 petrol
engine, but just recently it has
been joined by a 4.5-litre V8 diesel
which, incidentally, is the first
Lexus diesel offering.
The LX570 lists at $179,900,
and I guess if you have that
amount of money to spend on a
vehicle, filling regularly with petrol
probably isn’t a disadvantage,
but at $159,900 the diesel variant
probably makes just that little bit
Plush Lexus at home in the rough
• Price – Lexus LX450d,
$159,900
• Dimensions – Length,
5080mm; width, 1980mm;
height, 1865mm
• Configuration – V8,
four-wheel-drive, 4661cc,
200kW, 650Nm, six-speed
automatic.
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 9.5sec
• Fuel usage – 9.5l/100km
LEXUS LX450D: Diesel engine is the first for Lexus.
more sense, and it is still the epitome
of luxury transport off-road, from an extensive array on the
dial or button operated, mostly
or any road as the case may be. centre console, they are intuitive
Ironically, it was just a few to use quickly when grip and
weeks back that I drove the Land traction settings need altering.
Cruiser 200 with exactly the same There are also comfort, normal
engine and driveline. I remarked and sport suspension settings.
then that even though it is a huge Lexus rate the 4461cc, quadcamshaft,
32-valve V8 at 200kW,
and bulky vehicle, it doesn’t feel
big to drive; the same can be said with an amazing 650Nm of
for the LX450d, and it is an offroad
champion like no other. from 1600rpm to 2800rpm. It
torque available all of the way
The four-wheel-drive mechanicals
and the electronic systems unfaltering flow of power right
is a true powerhouse with an
which override it are comparable through to the 4500rpm redline.
Well, it needs to be strong,
to the world’s best four-wheeldrive
platforms – even Range the 450d weighs heavy at over
Rover and Jeep product.
2500kg, and rated with a 3500kg
The LX450d has a multitude of towing figure there is a lot of
options available at the driver’s weight to haul constantly.
command for when road (or That aside, the 450d feels
track) surfaces vary, they are all sprightly, it will cut out a standstill
to 100km/h time of 8.6sec,
and will lunge through a highway
overtake in 5sec; both these figures
I would suggest are quick for
vehicle type.
Drive is transferred through
a six-speed automatic gearbox,
interestingly, the petrol V8 gets a
flash eight-speeder, but that matters
little, the diesel unit flows
smoothly through the transmission
and it has quick, fluid shifts
which work well with the power
characteristics.
A stiff southerly was blowing
through Canterbury during my
day of rural testing, and as big as
the LX450d is, it wasn’t bothered
by the wind gusts, there’s a lot of
sheet metal down the side of the
vehicle (almost 5.1m) but it feels
firmly planted on the road and
has remarkable stability.
There is little sensation in a
corner, there is body roll, but
that’s no surprise, it’s how I would
expect it to be. The LX450d gets a
fabulous ride through a complex
air suspension system, bearing in
mind that it has to disguise a live
rear axle. Up front the suspension
is more traditional through a
double wishbone system, but the
engineers have created a plush
ride, and that is something we
have come to expect with Lexus.
The mechanicals are engineered
for life cross-country. I
didn’t take the vehicle off-road
for fear of damage, although I did
take it on a long shingle loop near
Hororata, crossing the Hororata
River through legitimate fords.
The river was barely a trickle,
but it was a good opportunity to
test the varying four-wheel-drive
options.
As a series, the LX has just
had a major makeover, it’s a lot
more than cosmetic facelift, the
only carryover panels are the
doors. The interior, too, has had
a major refresh, and all of the
trim elements are true Lexus with
enough cockpit dials and switches
to keep a Boeing pilot happy.
The LX series is a quality piece
of kit all round. It is expensive,
but you certainly get a lot of
vehicle for the money. It is most
certainly the machine to get you
to the skifield in style.
Specials
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$
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from
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