Standard on the new Ultra Luxury grade and available on F Sport and Luxury trims, the hydraulic Active Height Control suspension uses a spring rate switch at the front and rear wheels to adjust the ride height in four settings. It also showed the suspension changes in models equipped with hydraulic springs. When the wheels slipped, the on-screen diagram of the LX highlighted in yellow the slipping wheel. The G-force meter became a pitch meter, and the brake and accelerator gauge lit up. Above that is a 7.0-inch touchscreen for climate controls that seemed redundant until it came to life in 4L. The transfer case dial sits at the bottom of the wide center stack, opposite the mode selector and separated by three buttons for off-roading, street driving, and crawling. What wasn’t new was putting it in neutral and turning the dial from 4H to 4L. Prior to my unscripted jaunt, Lexus guided me up and down a weather-worn course to show off the LX 600’s new off-road tech. Lexus lengthened the suspension stroke by 0.8-inch and it didn’t come close to bottoming out or breaking one of my molars. Whipping around curves, the rear didn’t kick out like a truck. Sun-baked but forbidding, the trail was a mix of dirt and rock, with snow lurking in shaded areas and an occasional mud bath. The Sangre de Cristo mountains are a subset of the Rockies, and that’s reflected by the terrain hovering near 8,000 feet above sea level. On a three-mile dirt road that turned into five, then six miles, I turned the multi-terrain selector to “Sand” and locked the center differential on the fly because the trail was…unpredictable. Lexus redesigned the suspension arms and moved the rear shock absorbers outside of the lower control arms, so the solid rear axle stays more planted, especially with the F Sport grade and its exclusive Torsen limited-slip rear differential. The new platform has 20% more torsional rigidity and the center of gravity drops for better stability. Roll into the throttle instead of hammering it and the seamless transmission apportions out the power just the way I wanted. Six drive modes ranging from Eco to Sport+ determine shift points and add or subtract weight to the steering. Output improves to 409 hp and 479 lb-ft (from 383 hp and 403 lb-ft), and despite some lag under a heavy foot, the LX 600 and its standard four-wheel-drive system scoot to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds, according to Lexus. The prodigious power and improved efficiency make it easy to forget the capable but thirsty outgoing 5.7-liter V-8. The LX also shares the truck’s twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. Lexus shaved 441 lb from its slabby sides thanks to aluminum doors and a shift to its new GA-F global platform shared with the redesigned 2022 Tundra pickup truck. The LX 600 moves much smaller than its 5,800-lb size.
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