The Lexus LX flagship SUV is nothing short of extravagant – featuring a cabin filled with
exotic wood and plush leather, all while providing a quiet and smooth ride along with
amazing off-road abilities. That has summed up the Lexus LX600 since 2022 when the
fourth generation of the LX came out. For 2025, Lexus has expanded the LX lineup with
the LX700h – a hybrid version of the LX. And along with a hybrid version comes a new
trim level that bolsters off-road capability. Let’s look at the 2025 Lexus LX700h
Overtrail.
First, some background on the LX. It made its debut back in 1995 as the LX450 and was
Lexus’ first entry in the SUV market. It was based heavily on the Toyota Land Cruiser
with its inline six-cylinder engine and full-time four-wheel drive system. A V8 soon
found its way into the engine bay, along with many luxurious amenities. The Land
Cruiser was eventually dropped by Toyota leaving the Lexus LX as the top off-road SUV
from the Japanese automaker. Since then, the Land Cruiser has returned, but as a smaller,
completely different SUV from what it once was.
Today’s Lexus LX continues to use an old-school body-on-frame construction – riding on
the same platform as the Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck. As the LX600, the big
Lexus uses a twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 that makes 409 horses and 479 pound-feet
of torque.
Enter the LX700h. It combines the same engine as the LX600 with an electric motor
using a nickel-metal-hydride battery, making this the first time the LX has gone hybrid.
The electrification pushes output to 457 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque. But
while the gas-electric combo is gutsier, it isn’t much more efficient than the gas-only LX
600, providing just 1 mpg better than its nonhybrid sibling.
For those that want and appreciate the Land Cruiser heritage, the new Overtrail trim,
available only on the LX700h, is available. It rides on 33-inch tires, has front and rear
locking differentials, plus a beefy metal skid plate underneath. It can raise the body as
much as 4.5 inches above the standard ride height (and lower it by just over an inch). If
off-roading isn’t your thing but still insist on a hybrid LX, the 700h is available in other
trim levels such as the F Sport Handling, Luxury and Ultra Luxury.
Inside, for 2025, all LX trim levels get massaging front seats while all LX700hs get a
refrigerated front center console box and rear-window sunshades. As expected, there are
tons of amenities, including the optional Mark Levinson sound system, 12.3 touchscreen
display and wireless phone charging. In Overtrail trim, the LX700h seats seven. The
packaging of the hybrid-system battery does compromise the LX’s cargo space behind the
third seat, reducing it from 11 to 7 cubic feet. And the third-row seat no longer folds into
the floor as it does in the LX600 instead, the seatback folds down onto the seat bottom.
It’s not the greatest solution, but it works. On the upside, the hybrid system provides a
2400-watt AC inverter, as well as a power outlet in the cargo area.
Mostly, though, the tuning of the LX700h’s powertrain is what sets it apart from its
siblings. The hybrid adds 104 pound-feet of torque to the standard LX’s 479 pound-feet,
which comes atop the 48 horsepower that the Lexus’s twin-turbo 3.4-liter V-6 makes.
And despite carrying almost 400 pounds of additional mass compared to the LX600, the
LX700h is about a half-second quicker to 60 mph, needing just 5.5 seconds to get there.
On the road, power from the hybrid system is always on tap. Whether it is the torque of
the internal-combustion engine or the electric motor or both, then multiplied by 10
forward ratios in the transmission, it becomes clear that the hybrid system in the LX700h
isn’t about fuel economy, but more about power.
I don’t see Lexus selling a lot of Overtrail versions of the LX700h. I mean, who really
wants to do some crazy off-roading in a vehicle that has an MSRP of $118,510? But with
the Toyota Land Cruiser just a shell of what it used to be, the Lexus LX700h Overtrail
does assume the title of the ultimate, go-anywhere vehicle from Toyota/Lexus. And for
those that do splurge on it, they will be getting an incredible, cost-no-object off-road
machine. Lucky them.
— Christopher A. Randazzo
By The Numbers:
2025 Lexus LX700h Overtrail 4WD
Base Price: $114,000.00
Price as Tested: $118,510.00
Layout: front-engine / full-time four-wheel drive
Engine: 3.4 liter twin-turbo V6 with electric motor
Transmission: 10 - speed automatic
Horsepower: 457 hp
Torque: 583 lb-ft
EPA Fuel Economy: 19 city / 22 highway mpg[Visit me at www.carsbycar.blogspot.com or email me at auto_cran@hotmail.com]
