2010 Lexus LX 570

The 2010 Lexus LX 570 is a vehicle of extremes. It's the biggest Lexus on the road, and it has a massive V-8 engine to go with it. It also has tons of cupholders, stereo speakers, air vents, ride-control options, safety features and road presence. It goes through gas like there's an endless supply of the stuff. This luxury SUV is not fooling around.

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I had a split reaction to the LX 570. The kid in me, who's a materialistic, fun-loving speed demon, loved it. I loved pushing all the buttons and listening to the engine's roar as it hauled its massive body up the steep hills of my neighborhood. I loved knowing that I had room enough for the most outrageous carpool – this SUV can carry eight people – or even the most irresponsible of shopping sprees. It was just fun. However, the mature, eco-conscious killjoy of a practical parent in me just winced at the excess of it all. The adjustable ground clearance and four-wheel-drive crawl control system was wasted on my suburban roads. And the price tag? My test car, which had the Luxury Package, cost $83,860. The LX 570 starts at $76,905. This is not my idea of economical.

Though the all-wheel-drive LX is based on the Toyota Sequoia, the ride is all Lexus, with a three-mode adaptive suspension. The LX 570 doesn't drive like a truck or a bus, which is what I expected. While there's virtually no road feel, there's also little roly-poly heaviness in the turns. I was comfortable tackling twisty roads and poorly maintained highways in this full-size SUV. The only place I didn't enjoy driving the LX was in tight parking lots because of its gigantic size. The LX 570 has plenty of power to haul its bulk around, plus anything you'd like to tow up to 8,500 pounds.

EXTERIOR

For its gigantic size, the LX 570 isn't particularly stylish or exciting looking. It's a huge, rounded-off square of an SUV, with a piggy snout and bulgy rear that don't add any sleekness to the LX. The huge headlights, situated at the far corners of the front, manage to dwarf the chrome grille. Without any hard edges, this SUV manages to look soft. In spite of all that the LX looks big and expensive, which, I'm sure, was the Lexus' goal. Mission accomplished.

The LX has Active Height Control, which allows you to choose one of three ride heights with the push of a button. It also has an automatic setting that drops the LX to its lowest ride height when you turn the SUV off. This made getting in and out of it much easier. It's also kind of like an amusement park ride. I couldn't stop playing with it. Up! Down! Wheeee! Getting in and out of the LX was also easy because of its big, wide-swinging doors, which somehow weren't too heavy for my kiddos to manage. The running boards doors helped them out, too. They also made access to the third row less of a struggle.

The rear cargo door is split into a power liftgate and a manual tailgate. Rather than mess with the tailgate, I mostly just pushed the button to open the upper liftgate. I had to lift groceries and luggage over the closed tailgate, but I considered it a shoulder workout.