Lexus LX470 review: a Land Cruiser 100 in a tuxedo, and still capable of the work
3.5/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The LX470 remains the honest choice for a buyer who genuinely uses the four-wheel-drive system — locking centre differential, low range and all — dressed in a cabin far nicer than the contemporary Land Cruiser 100 offered. The 2UZ-FE V8 and drivetrain are as tough as any Toyota-derived SUV on the market; the item to inspect on facelifted cars is the Active Height Control air suspension, which ages the way every air system does in Gulf heat.
Pros
- Genuine Land Cruiser 100 four-wheel-drive hardware — low range and locking centre diff, not for show
- 2UZ-FE V8 has an outstanding durability record
- Cabin refinement well ahead of the standard Land Cruiser 100 of its era
- Facelift's Active Height Control adds real off-road and highway versatility
Cons
- Interior electronics and climate control components are the age-related weak point, not the drivetrain
- Air suspension on facelifted cars needs the same wear checks as any air system this old
- Heavy fuel consumption typical of a naturally aspirated V8 SUV of this era
- Official dealer support for a vehicle this old is minimal
Lexus built the LX470 by taking the Land Cruiser 100 — already the Gulf's default large off-roader — and adding the leather, wood trim and quieter cabin that a Land Cruiser buyer of the late 1990s did not get. Underneath, nothing about the hardware was softened: full-time four-wheel drive, a proper low-range transfer case and a locking centre differential all carried over, which means the LX470 can genuinely do the sand and mountain work the badge implies, not just look the part in a mall car park.
The 4.7-litre 2UZ-FE V8 is not a quick engine by modern standards, but it is one of Toyota's most durable, and the 2003 facelift's Active Height Control air suspension added genuine ride-height flexibility — raised for sand and low-speed rock work, lowered for stability at highway speed — without giving up the beam-axle-level durability underneath.
Buying one in Bahrain today
These are now 18-to-27-year-old vehicles, and the honest caveats of that age apply: interior electronics and climate control components fail more often than the drivetrain does, and pre-2003 cars without the air suspension are mechanically simpler and arguably a safer used buy for that reason. The facelifted Active Height Control system is worth having if well maintained, but its compressor and air struts are wear items exactly like on any other air-suspended vehicle this age.
What it is genuinely good at
Unlike many luxury SUVs of any era, the LX470 was never a soft-roader dressed up for image. Bahraini owners who take it across the causeway for desert trips in Saudi Arabia, or use it for genuine sand driving, still rate the drivetrain highly — it does the job a modern crossover-based luxury SUV simply cannot.