Lexus LX 600 review: the Land Cruiser for buyers who never touch sand
motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the LX 600 over the mechanically identical Land Cruiser if the extra cabin refinement and air suspension genuinely matter to how you use the car day to day — school runs, highway cruising, being driven rather than driving. If the car is going to see real dune time, the Land Cruiser does the same job for meaningfully less money and you will not baby the air suspension over rough terrain.
Pros
- Mechanically identical to the Land Cruiser J300 — same frame, engine, transmission and low-range transfer case
- Air suspension noticeably improves ride over Bahrain's patched roads versus steel springs
- Cabin noise at highway speed is measurably lower than the Toyota equivalent
- Retains genuine off-road capability rather than trading it away for luxury
Cons
- Significant price premium over a mechanically identical Land Cruiser
- Air suspension is more expensive to repair than the Land Cruiser's steel springs if damaged off-road
- Same width and turning-circle tax as the Toyota in older Manama parking structures
- Not rated by a recognised NCAP body at time of writing
Strip away the badge and the LX 600 is a Land Cruiser J300: the same TNGA-F ladder frame, the same 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6, the same ten-speed automatic and the same low-range transfer case with locking differentials. What Lexus adds is air suspension, a noticeably quieter cabin, and a finish level that makes the Toyota feel like the value option it structurally is.
What the money buys
The air suspension is the meaningful mechanical difference — it settles the body over Bahrain's patched roads more effectively than the Land Cruiser's steel springs and lets the driver raise ride height for genuine off-road clearance or lower it for easier entry. Cabin noise at highway speed is measurably lower than in the Toyota, and the interior materials are a clear step up rather than a badge-engineering exercise.
Where it makes less sense
None of that changes the physics of a 5.1-metre, 2.6-tonne SUV in Manama's older parking structures, and the LX carries the same width and turning-circle tax as its Toyota sibling. Buyers who actually cross into the desert regularly should think hard about subjecting an air suspension system to serious dune work — it is more capable than it looks, but it is also more expensive to repair than a Land Cruiser's simpler steel setup if something goes wrong far from a workshop.