When a manufacturer starts to ‘sportify’ its lineup, the meaning of its roots start to get diminished and lost within itself. Reminiscing on what the letter F meant to Lexus, it was there hierarchy of performance that started with the blistering quick LFA and intoxicating V8 from the IS F that also found its way into the RC F & GS F. But now, like every mainstream brand, there is a special line to get the look and feel of a performance car, without having to pay the premium performance price. Mercedes did it with their AMG Line, BMW with the M Sport, even Hyundai got in on the action with the N Line, but what does it mean when Lexus tacks on the F Sport badge to their posh riding, off road catering LX600? 

A whole lot of panache. 

Starting at $92,160, the LX600 is a far cry from anything we’d call sporty. In fact, it continues to ride on a rugged body-on frame chassis with a live rear axle and more off-road technology than a military tank. It’s the SUV that remains true to its core values of being a big, burly, sport utility vehicle that we all fell in love with before everything went down the poop shoot to unibody construction.  

Moving with the modern times, Lexus dropped the old V8 for a more favorable athletic twin-turbocharged alternative. Using a 3.4-liter V-6 bolted to a hybrid powertrain, it produces a beefy 409-horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. It’s the same set up we would find in the higher trimmed Toyota Tundra and Sequoia. Surprisingly for as brute as the LX600 is, its low-end torque makes it quite spiffy when setting off from a stop. And when we put our foot down to pass a slurry of slow-moving vehicles, the twin turbos come to life galloping into the near three figure mph, dominating the highways.  

Around town, however, things are a little different. The LX uses a 10-speed automatic transmission, which works wonderfully out on the highway, managing its fuel economy as we got nearly 19-mpg’s (hey, that’s pretty good for something that weighs as much as the moon), and the transmission works diligently when things get spirted. But when it comes to daily driving, the transmission acts similarly to a dual-clutch system – at low speeds it jitters and struggles to maintain the right gear. We find that it tends to downshift far too frequently and inconsistently with its driving behavior. Which is where the F SPORT driving dynamics start to play a slight advantage; by slipping the drive mode into Sport and Sport +, it makes the transmission more alert and aware by maintaining the correct gear and holding a higher ratio.  

With previous F Sport models, traditionally we would find boosted steering for more flavor in the turns, adaptively dampened suspension for better body control and cornering capabilities. In the LX600, the F Sport Handling package tacks on a mere near $20,000 to its price that features Active Height Control with Adaptative Variable Suspension. In turn, this does somewhat change perspective on how the LX600 responses to certain road conditions. We found that on certain roads that get a little bouncy, you know the kind that go up and down, up and down – by switching the drive mode to F SPORT +, we found the dynamics of the suspension change to provide a more robust stately feel over the wobbling effects of a busted Nissan with no shocks.   

The LX600 could however do for a steering tune up, especially given the F SPORT badging. There is a Jell-O likeness to how it performs with an empty feel and no concept for how much input needs to be applied. Lexus does claim that their Adaptive Variable Suspension can detect sharp turns and adjust the suspension as needed to reduce body control; however, after spending some time on mountain roads a sharp turn of the wheel was the last thing we were going to do. But should this be an abrupt maneuver, there is some relief in how the LX600 potentially could perform.  

From the outside, the F SPORT package does give the LX600 some justification with its honeycomb grille, dark black accents and 22-inch forged aluminum wheels that give it a strong appearance. Even the inside gets a little Las Vegas Strip Club with a heavy dose of red leather on nearly every surface – which maybe we might enjoy if we were a couple generations younger, but here on a vehicle that costs $110,925, it seems a little over dramatic and quite on par with modern luxury. Fit and finish however is Lexus’ strength and is showcased very well here with nearly every touchable surface having some sort of soft touch material and metal contrasting accent.

Comfortably however is the LX600’s strong suit. The F SPORT offers seating for 7, but only just. Keeping the bench style seating in the second row almost seems old fashion when looking at other vehicles of this caliber and price point. And then there’s the third row… with a push of a button rises from the ashes of its storage only to show that anyone under 10-years old can fit back there. As the driver and front passenger, the seats are supportive and comfortable with the usual essentials of a six-figure vehicle with the heated & cooled functions, even second row passengers get a dual-zone climate control and their own heated & cooled seats. But sadly, there is no massaging function here.  

On the technology sector, the LX features a large 12.3-inch touch screen display with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto. For as much as we complained about the touch sensitive pad, we kind of wish Lexus brought back its mouse like puck control considering how difficult it was to reach and navigate the screen. The LX also comes standard with the latest in Lexus Safety Sense with its Adaptative Cruise control, forward collision avoidance, lane assist, lane centering assist, and pedestrian detection.

The biggest problem the LX600 faces is its modern era competition. Even though the LX has always been known for its off-road capabilities while offering a luxury lifestyle, nowadays most people aren’t so inclined to put their six-figure luxury SUV through sketchy off-the-beaten-path scenarios. So then, that leaves it facing vehicles like the Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the Lincoln Navigator – the LX is not as spacious, not as quick and more expensive. However, one thing is for certain, the LX600 is a functional luxury SUV on and off the road, unlike a certain Jeep that got stuck in 4-inches of snow… not to throw shade, but I did.