Lexus LM review

• Overview
• What is it?
• Rivals?
• Bit of a rogues’ gallery, that.
• What's the verdict?
• Mercedes-Benz V-Class
• BMW 7 Series
• Land Rover Range Rover
• Driving
• What is it like to drive?
• Any drive modes?
• Does all of that, um, work?
• I’m guessing there are safety gadgets galore too…
• Interior
• What is it like on the inside?
• Buying
• What should I be paying?

Overview

What is it?

In this context, that’s an unusually important question, because the LM – ‘Luxury Mover’ – is many things. It looks like a van and unquestionably has van-like proportions, but it actually uses the same modular global architecture as the Lexus NX and RX SUVs (the GA-K passenger car platform, fact fans). So it promises more acceptable structural rigidity and body control if not searing car-like reflexes.

Of course, this isn’t particularly relevant because all the action here is focused on the rear. TG.com has a long and deep appreciation for JDM oddities, including the magnificent Toyota Alphard, so when Lexus confirmed that the LM was UK-bound, frankly they had us at 48in hi-def screen and fully-flat captain’s chairs.

The LM is gate-crashing a world of VVIP travel, openly inspired by the kind of hermetically sealed high-end travel experience enjoyed by serial users of private jets, the real world Logan Roys, Bobby Axelrods and Hollywood high rollers. Only this time you don’t have to bend down to get in and you can really stretch out once ensconced.

Interestingly, the LM is also the most expensive Lexus since the LFA. That spawned a Nürburgring edition. The LM probably won’t. It’s available instead in four- or seven-seat iterations, with prices starting from £89,995.

Rivals?

The fashion media has documented how really famous people shun regular limos in favour of the luxury minivan or SUV. Under the radar, see. The prime target here, then, is the ubiquitous Mercedes V-Class, a vehicle that has never completely managed to hide its more functional roots even when expensively tricked-out by one of the aftermarket modifiers that proliferate.

A quick stroll through Knightsbridge also confirms that Mercedes still utterly dominates the limo sector with the S-Class, although the BMW i7 is gaining serious traction. Then, of course, there’s the Range Rover, the capo di tutti capi, available in long wheelbase form with seven seats, and/or in SV form for the full luxury immersion. With the marquetry and price tag to match…

[node:field_onward_journey_card-themed]

In America, we’d also be talking Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, and Lincoln Navigator, but Lexus has no plans to sell the LM in the US. Sorry about that if you’re reading this over there.

Bit of a rogues’ gallery, that.

Yep. Not much is flying under the radar among that lot, despite the apparent need for cloak and dagger. The LM is something of an eyeball hoover, too. It’s the fourth model in Lexus’s ‘Next Chapter’ narrative, whose design philosophy is predicated on ‘dignified elegance’ and an execution that majors on a ‘Resolute Look’. Well, they got that second bit right.

There’s obviously a much greater frontal area to play with here, and the ‘spindle’ grille is as, erm, striking as ever. It’s body-coloured on the LM. There’s a deep windscreen, sliding side doors, and a full-width L-shaped light bar runs round the tail-gate to enhance the stance. The LM is 5.1m long, 1.9m tall, and 1.89m wide. It’s not pretty, but it is sorta cool. And it has massive presence.

Lexus has always been a quality experience, if one that sometimes falls short on driver interaction. Well, the only driver interaction that matters here is the one between the rear seat occupants and the hired hand upfront. The LM is a truly stellar luxury proposition, one that repositions Lexus – whose brand bandwidth is bigger than ever now with the arrival of the LBX – back where the original LS saloon put it 30-plus years ago. This is a quixotic car in many ways, and slyly disruptive. We approve.

Mercedes-Benz V-Class

£57,210 – £92,530

BMW 7 Series

£45,747 – £138,600

Land Rover Range Rover

£81,785 – £186,300

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Driving

Driving

What is it like to drive?

This section is usually the most important. But not here. In the Lexus LM all the entertainment happens in the rear compartment and has nothing to do with driving dynamics. The LM may be based on a passenger car platform but it feels tall, and its size and weight encourage a decidedly sedate approach. The sort, in fact, adopted by any decent professional driver keen to keep their job.

Actually, it’s not bad on the move. The body’s stiffness has been improved by using laser screw welding, special adhesives and bracing in key structural areas. The LM is close to class-leading in terms of NVH. The suspension uses double wishbones at the rear, with adaptive dampers fitted with frequency sensitive valves. All in the service of maintaining calm in the rear rather than ultimate handling acuity, obviously.

Any drive modes?

There are five, the most important being the Rear Comfort one: this reduces squat and dive under acceleration and braking, although one of TG’s fellow testers reckoned things got uncomfortably floaty as a result. The LM can be had in front- or all-wheel drive form; the brakes are nicely modulated and use Braking Posture Control software to control roll and pitch. There’s also Smooth Stop Control to stop the LM rocking back when it comes to a halt. An in-built chauffeur, in other words.

Does all of that, um, work?

Driven in the appropriate manner, this is a wonderfully serene experience. The powertrain is the 2.5-litre four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle petrol unit also used in the NX and RX. It’s paired with two electric motors for a total system output of 247bhp and 176lb ft. Performance is so leisurely it’s hardly worth noting (8.7 seconds to 62mph and 118mph top speed).

While the power unit is smooth enough, no-one’s going to write home about the CVT, whose propensity for linear, unruffled progress is rather undone by the noise it emits while accelerating or overtaking. Around town or at lower speeds, the LM switches in and out of EV mode smoothly, and there’s enough sound-deadening in the rear compartment to isolate the occupants from any unruliness when it does occur.

I’m guessing there are safety gadgets galore too…

Yup. The LM is also equipped with the latest gen safety and driver assistance systems, expanded here to include a Safe Exit Assist for the sliding doors. The warning bings and bongs aren’t obtrusive so for once this is a car whose ADAS doesn’t have you scrambling dementedly for the off button.

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Overview

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Interior

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

Chief engineer Takami Yokoo says that he “wanted to create a space where guests who are super busy or living active lifestyles can get back to being their natural self.” The LM builds out on the established Lexus principle of ‘Omotenashi’, which focuses on traditional Japanese ideas of hospitality, comfort and convenience. These guys were pushing a ‘wellness’ agenda long before it became fashionable, and the LM’s rear compartment is surely the most soothing this side of a Rolls Phantom. No, honestly.

We’ve got to start with the seats. Lexus claims inspiration from the world of first-class air travel, but the chairs in the LM are perhaps even better than that. Why? Because a mini van isn’t a jet and the seats are mounted higher up than usual. The centre of gravity can be problematic, which can lead to a swaying sensation and motion sickness. The LM’s chairs keep the occupant’s line of sight stable, special foams and materials in its construction reduce low-frequency vibrations, and side wires in the structure improve posture.

The head-rests provide support from the top of the back rather than just the neck, keeping your core more secure. They’re heated and ventilated, there’s an air pocket lumbar support system, and seven different massage settings. The upshot are the best seats we’ve ever experienced in a car. The heating even extends to the leg ottomans and the arm-rests. And of course they fold almost completely flat (see below). As do the seven-seater version’s.

The rest of the LM’s rear compartment is quietly – in every sense – impressive. Lexus does a nice line in understated bling, and the materials used are peerless, with hardly a trace of hard plastic to be seen anywhere, even in the places you could get away with it. Each occupant has a detachable smartphone-sized tablet which gives them control over the seats, audio, climate, electronic roof and window blinds, and ambient lighting (14 shades in five different mood themes – healing, relaxing, arousing (!), focusing and exhilarating). A roof panel duplicates some of this functionality, and deepens the jet allusions. Settings can be personalised and stored on a one-touch button. Neat.

The four-seater LM in ‘Takumi’ guise has a cabin partition that sits in a die-cast magnesium frame. It’s vaguely reminiscent of a New York taxi in configuration, but superior in every other domain. The upper section has a glass screen that can be raised or lowered, and dimmed in a split second by pushing a button. It also features thermal sensors which use infra-red surface temperature tech to scan the occupants and adjust the cabin atmosphere accordingly. This is integral to the LM’s so-called Climate Concierge, which uses nanoe™-X2 air purifying tech to minimise viruses and allergens. Doubly neat in this age of anxiety.

Below the partition is one of the LM’s more obvious showpieces: a 48in ultra widescreen monitor, tilted 15 degrees for the best viewing position. It can be configured as a full screen, a cinema one, or as separate left and right screens to run different content. Or you can plug two laptops into it to create two interfaces, using the fold-out tray tables to turn the LM into a mobile office, for Zoom/Teams meetings on the move.

Content can be streamed from whatever device you favour, and there are HDMI ports in the vast rear centre console (in the seven-seater version, a smaller 14in screen folds out of the roof). It’s easier to watch than the vaunted Theatre Screen in BMW’s i7, but can still spin your head a bit.

Audio is supplied by a bespoke Mark Levinson 3D surround sound system, with 23 speakers in the four-seat LM, 21 in the seven-seater. It’s stunning. There’s also a decent-sized refrigerator.

Big windows help keep you oriented – the side ones can be lowered – and it’s only when the LM is being hustled along a twisty road that rear passengers are likely to feel vaguely nauseous. Lexus hasn’t gone for absolute silence inside, because that’s just too oppressive. Insulation, air-tight sealing, acoustic glass and active noise cancelling all contribute to an almost monastic sense of calm. The four-seat LM also has five-layer headlining. Most of these cars will be locked into airport runs or picking their way through the city, and the comfort remains superlative. Yep, this Japanese mini-van is a highly credible Rolls-Royce rival.

It’s pretty good upfront, too, and uses Tazuna principles to minimise driver distraction (that’s the term used to describe the instinctive control a rider should enjoy over their horse). The centre console sits high and the infotainment interface is easy to use. The front seats are almost as comfortable as the ones behind, for enhanced employee relations (no-one wants a grumpy chauffeur). There are big storage bins and cup holders in the middle, although the door ones are oddly shallow.

The materials used are exemplary, with a new traditional Japanese Yebane herringbone wood trim used throughout. There’s even a Bengala red pigment in the steering wheel, usually seen in ceramics and rendering for buildings. And – yes! – there are bevelled physical knobs for the climate control.

Evidently, much thought has gone into this car. It’s even easy to park despite its size.

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Driving

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Buying

Buying

What should I be paying?

The normal rules don’t really apply here, although apparently some wealthy private families have ordered a few LMs. Mostly this is a car aimed at luxury hotel chains, executive car and high-end private hire companies or embassies. Lexus UK has surprised itself by taking 170 orders so far, surpassing expectations. It’s targeting 250 sales in 2024.

For context, it will sell a mere 20 LS 500h saloons this year. Prices start at £89,995 for the front-drive LM, the four-seat all-singing Takumi grade version costing £112,995. A modified V-Class or highly specced Range Rover would be double that.    
The LM will return around 38mpg combined. For a car destined to remain a rare sight, residual values will remain competitive, at 57 per cent after three years. Lexus already tops most customer satisfaction surveys and sees no need to adopt any fancy new strategies for the LM.

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Interior

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Specs & Prices

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