The rocks are basketball-sized, the path is muddy and the water is deep – but this latest Lexus LX can handle it with nary a whimper. This is the Overtrail+ version, and it’s all-new for ’25 and it is properly capable.
The Toyo Geolander off-road tires it gets as standard measure 33-inches in diameter. They’ve been designed by Toyo with input from Lexus to ensure they work as well as possible in the conditions the Overtrail+ is meant to conquer, such as this off-road piste we’re currently on. The tire sidewalls themselves have been given a tread so that there’s still purchase when traversing roads at an angle.
There’s also height-adjustable suspension that allows four inches of lift if you need just that much more ground clearance to more easily bounce over boulders or wade through water hazards. We conquered all of that during our drive, gaining more and more confidence in this most rugged of LXs the longer we drove.
Now, if you know anything about the LX this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise; after all, it’s always shared most of its underpinnings with the Toyota Land Cruiser. On the surface, that’s changed a little for this generation – the Land Cruiser as we know it shares little with the LX. There are, however, Land Cruiser models in other markets that are LX twins.
One thing none of those get that the Overtrail+ gets as standard, however, is its 3.4-litre twin-turbo hybrid engine. In LX700h guise, it’s good for 457 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque – more than any LX or Land Cruiser before it. Power is sent to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission that’s capable of some pretty quick shifts. That power helps the LX700h to haul up to 8,000 lbs. behind it if you spec the tow package but be cautioned: that hybrid powertrain is less about sipping less fuel than it is about power. It doesn’t achieve much better fuel economy than the gas-only LX600 but that’s probably OK because let’s be honest: most folks opting for the Overtrail+ want the biggest and baddest LX700h. With its rugged off-road tires and dark 18” wheels, contrast-colour grille and door pulls and special Copper Crest exterior paint, well, let’s just say it ticks the right boxes.
Don’t think the rough-n-tumble exterior digs mean they’ve skimped on the interior niceties, though; real leather is everywhere, there are massaging front seats (an LX first), new digital gauge cluster, digital rearview mirror, dual displays for your infotainment and climate controls. If you spec higher trims – the top-spec Executive VIP model, for example – there are Takanoha wood inserts from Japanese wood craftsmen. Indeed, what you lose in the off-road department to the Overtrail+ you gain back in luxury with the Executive VIP, including reclining second-row seats that come heated and cooled, as well as with a massage feature and their own footrests.
2025 Lexus-LX 700h+
2025 Lexus-LX 700h+
2025 Lexus-LX 700h+
Classic off-roader vibe, or night at the opera vibe? With the LX700h, the choice is yours.