The Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury is everything I frankly never expected from a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series based vehicle.

Although I would wager a bet Lexus would prefer I mention it simply shares a platform – specifically the TNGA-F chassis – with its LandCruiser 300 sibling.

But I’m Matt from CarSauce, chronic rule-book bender, so I say the LX600 is a mega-luxury LandCruiser, with a really powerful twin-turbo petrol V6, a hydraulic suspension system, and slammed with even more tech. I.e., a better Toyota LandCruiser 300 series!

So, what’s not to love? Well, a few things, but we’re still very impressed with the Lexus LX – even if the top-spec Ultra Luxury is not the spec most should go for.

How much does the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury cost?

Let’s be honest, any luxury car brand that names their trim Ultra Luxury is going to be expensive. It even sounds expensive.

And of course, the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury is expensive. But its frankly not as costly as I thought it would be (I know, what a privileged thing to say).

LX 500d (3.3L Twin-Turbo Diesel): $171,667 Driveaway

• Sports Luxury: +$18,530; OR
• F Sport: +$25,070

LX 600 (3.5L Twin-Turbo Petrol): $175,473 Driveaway‍

• Sports Luxury: +$18,530; OR
• F Sport: +$25,070; OR
• Ultra Luxury +$63,774

As tested, we are looking at a drive away price of $239,247 Driveaway including on-roads.

To put that in perspective, a totally non-optioned ‘base model’ BMW 7 Series (740i) will set you back $303,388 driveaway.

You can watch our review of the 7 series here!

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What do we think of the exterior looks of the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

If ever there were a sexy looking, enormous body-on-frame SUV, it would be the Lexus LX.

Well, that’s what I think anyway – and I’m sticking to it!

The grille is the classic spindle grille, ever growing in size to be probably at least 2-square meters in size, but considering this is a dolled-up Landcruiser, it looks just about right.

However, as far as my research can tell, you cannot fit a bull bar to the front of the Lexus LX600 – at least, no solutions exist yet.

The matrix-LEDs as you would expect are phenomenally bright. They are mega-high tech and will blank out parts of their light for oncoming traffic which worked incredibly well on pitch-black rural Victorian roads.

Jacob and I agree that the double-bubble hood is cool, but it suffers the same issue as the LandCruiser 300 – it shakes at high speed and is a little annoying to look at.

The 22” Alloy Wheels are almost blinding when the sun hits them, and the quality of the green paint looks to be extraordinary. It’s clear this is built differently to a ‘normal’ LandCruiser.

Except for maybe the side steps, which are literal pieces of plastic. Our test unit (which to be fair, had clearly been put through the wringer by previous journalists), had what looked to be cracked side steps. Or perhaps it was the plastic moulding seams.

Either way, it’s unacceptable for a car that in all other respects is Ultra Luxury.

The best part of this car though is the rear. Or maybe it’s the soft-close doors, which will close themselves when you can’t be bothered to latch them all the way.

Nope, it’s still the rear.

The giant rear lightbar is just so distinctive and has a very, very cool look.

There is no doubt in my mind, the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury is the most beautiful LandCruiser, ever.

What’s the interior and connectivity like of the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

Not many people would say, “yep, my favourite colour is Orange”. And I would wager, not many people would spec their Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury with the “Sunflare” interior.

But that is what we have on test here, and frankly, I like it a lot.

You just know as soon as you get in, you are sitting in something extremely special.

The Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is a very premium place to be, but the LX600 takes the cake for special – as you would expect for a much more expensive car.

Leather adorns absolutely everything, with soft touch and lux materials everywhere.

You want technology? Lexus has got you covered.

Up front you get no less than 4 screens if you include the heads-up display.

The digital instrument cluster won’t blow your mind, and it certainly is not as customisable as what you would find in German competitors, but it shows enough information and works well (although why keep any analogue gauges @Lexus??)

The 12.3” infotainment display is fantastically sharp, with great graphics and some of the snappiest response times. It also has wireless Apple Carplay, which is great! But there is no wireless charger in the front, so that point is almost redundant.

There is also a screen below that, which duplicates and compliments some of the air-conditioning controls below it, but also provides some cool off-road tidbits too.

Is it unnecessary? Absolutely. But does it elevate the interior? I think so.

Storage is galore in the LX600, but again, weird omission for the wireless charger. There are literally 2 phone sized storage areas but no chargers beneath them.

All-can be forgiven though when you take your icy beverage out of the fridge that is also your centre console. Nice!

I love the use of wood around the interior, it feels ultra-primo – especially on the steering wheel, which is one of the nicest to grab onto.

The LX600 also comes with – get this – a 25-speaker Mark Levinson sound system… that is ABSURD!

It sounds amazing though, so audiophiles rejoice.

Shoutout to the seats as well. The leather feels incredibly high-quality, and you can adjust the seats in more ways than your heart desires.

The seats are also heated and cooled but miss out on any massage function as you do in the rear.

Speaking of rear seats, we need to discuss these.

What about the back seats of the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

Opting for the Ultra-Luxury will turn your LX600 into a 4-seater, but clearly that is not a negative for most.

In the rear you get two enormous… lounges? It’s hard to categorise these as seats.

I must say, if front occupants don’t compromise a bit with their seating position, the rear seat passengers will not have much room.

I’m only 5’11”, but sitting behind myself – thanks to the limitations of the off-road construction of the TNGA-F Chassis shared with the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, and the huge rear seats – there actually isn’t that much room to stretch out.

That is of course unless you are sitting in the left-hand seat, where you can use the opulent rear screen to push away the front passenger seat as if it never existed.

In doing so, you can electronically drop a foot-rest, recline your seat to 48-degrees, drop the TV screen in-front of you to view the road, turn on your heated or cooled seats, and turn on a full-body relaxation massage.

Oh, and here you will find a wireless charger for your phone.

However, it is not all perfect.

The right-hand passenger will still have their space dictated by the driver, which will likely mean quite little room without some form of compromise.

The screens in the rear are – as far as I can tell – the same as what you would find in an equivalent LandCruiser 300 series. So you still need to plug in an HDMI cable and provide your own DVD player (if those still exist?).

Graphics and viewing angles are pretty bad, but I guess you are sitting right in front of it anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter.

There is also loads of space in the rear, with plenty of connectivity options, but its also covered in piano black plastic which has to be the worst choice of materials due to its tendency to scratch and collect any form of dust.

Both of which we noticed in the rear.

These are relatively minor complaints though, and when I was being driven back by my fiancé I was certainly extremely comfortable and very much NOT complaining.

How much can it fit in the boot of the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

If you want the big, boofy seats of the Ultra Luxury, you’re going to sacrifice boot space.

The Ultra Luxury has 767L of rear boot space, and because of the seat electronics and motors, you can’t put down the rear seats.

For context, the regular LX has 1109L of boot space.

However, on our testing we could fit 4 large suitcases stacked 2x2 in the rear, which still shows it has plenty of room.

What’s under the bonnet of the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

Here is where the LX600 varies significantly to the LandCruiser 300 series.

That’s because this is a petrol LandCruiser. Although those who want a diesel can opt for the Lexus LX500d, and if you want to see how that engine performs watch our full review of the 300 Series LandCruiser here.

On test today is a 3.5-litre, twin-turbocharged petrol V6 pumping out 305kW of power and 650Nm of torque.

All of that power is sent through to the same 10-speed automatic torque converter transmission found with the diesel engine, and power is sent through to all wheels via a full-time four wheel drive system.

Claimed fuel economy is 12.1L/100km, and over our week of testing we recorded an average of ~13.0L/100km.

How does the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury drive?

I want to make a correction here off the bat from our YouTube review, the Lexus LX600 does NOT have air suspension. Instead it has hydraulic suspension.

So let’s talk about it.

It’s wafty.

Is that a good thing most of the time? Absolutely! Its incredibly soft suspension setup, which can change through selecting drive modes, can go so soft – particularly in ‘comfort’ mode – although some might find that too soft.

Turn a corner with any amount of Sauce, and yep, you feel the body roll.

An inherent flaw of body-on-frame offroad elite chassis is that they make the car heavy and reduces on-road prowess compared to monocoque cars (think BMW X7).

And so even when you put the car in Sport S+ mode, the suspension becomes foreign-ly stiff, while the body will still roll on-top of the ladder frame.

To summarise, it weighs over 2.6 tonnes, so don’t expect awesome handling.

Driving on-highway or in suburbia is where I found the Lexus to excel. This will be the only time you catch me saying a LandCruiser is good around a suburb.

You simply don’t hear anything outside of the car, the 10-speed automatic is smooth enough, the engine is totally effortless if not unnoticeable, and the mega-soft suspension means that road bumps are literally unnoticeable.

Driving it around Mornington Peninsula, however, is cumbersome. And frankly, tiring.

I would highly recommend spending the extra $5,000 or so grand on the 3.5L Twin-Turbo Petrol V6.

Fuel economy on paper is a lot worse, but in real world driving it’s incredibly similar.

More importantly, the petrol V6 delivers a lot more performance.

Slam your foot down, the torque converter questions why in-gods name you would want to make your rear passengers uncomfortable, and then it finds the right gear and off-you-go.

We timed the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.32 seconds. THAT IS INSANE.

Here though, unless you really want your kids to live lavish OR you want to be chauffeured OR you are a chauffeur, is where I recommend the Sports Luxury or F Sport.

The Sports Luxury will net you everything you want without the on-road mechanical frills, and the F-Sport adds those bits while reducing some body roll with its ‘performance dampers’. Both with 5 seats and more boot space.

Is the Lexus LX600 the world’s best driving limo? No. Does it do everything just right at its price point? Yep.

Is the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury Safe?

Yes, the LX600 is safe. Although the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury has yet to undergo crash testing by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, its close relative, the LandCruiser, achieved a commendable five-star rating earlier in 2021.

In contrast to the LandCruiser, the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury employs an advanced rack-assisted electric power steering system, enabling a highly effective lane-centering feature for highway driving.

This function actively maintains the vehicle's position between the lane markings by applying precise steering adjustments at cruising speeds, rather than relying on braking alone.

So on long drives, the LX600’s active lane-centering allows for a more relaxed drive.

In conjunction with the refined radar-based cruise control, the LX600 Ultra Luxury offers drivers a more relaxed and effortless experience during lengthy highway journeys.

The LX600 Ultra Luxury is outfitted with a comprehensive suite of standard safety features, including:

• Automatic emergency braking (AEB): Day and night pedestrian detection, daytime cyclist detection, intersection assist
• Parking Support Brake, featuring obstacle and vehicle detection
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Adaptive cruise control
• Lane Tracing Assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Emergency steering assist

How much can the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury tow?

The Lexus LX600 has a maximum braked towing capacity of 3500kg, which is the same as the diesel LX / LandCruiser 300 variants.

How much does the Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury cost to service?

The Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury is supported by a reassuring five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

The LX600 Ultra Luxury includes a three-year capped-price servicing plan.

Scheduled service intervals are set at every six months or 10,000 kilometres, with each of the initial six services priced at a reasonable $595.

Final thoughts - should you buy a Lexus LX600 Ultra Luxury?

The Lexus LX600 is a beast, there is no doubt. And yes, it is my favourite LandCruiser.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. It is inherently flawed in how it drives because it is a great off-roader with its body-on-frame chassis.

That extends into the interior, where room is cramped thanks to the luxurious and huge rear seats (unless of course, you sit on the left-hand side and no one is sitting in front of you!)

However, if you are like most people and opt to get the more attainable 5 seat LX600’s – namely the Sports Luxury or F-Sport – you are going to have a mega quick, ultra-lux and highly capable LandCruiser.

Probably reliable too, because at the end of the day, it’s a luxurious Toyota.

It’s a truly well-balanced SUV, and we at CarSauce really enjoyed our week testing it.