“This is the coolest car.”
You know you’re in something special when a 14-year-old boy, which is a creature not renowned for easy compliments, is moved to say something. But it’s really special, downright shocking, when they say it about a people mover, as my son and his friend did when I was giving them a lift.
When I was younger you could always spot the biggest families in the neighbourhood, because they had a Toyota Tarago in the driveway. And never once in my childhood did I ever think to call a Tarago ‘cool’.
In the days before the emergence of the seven-seat SUV, the Tarago was the go-to choice for any family with more than three kids. Then, as the Tarago faded, the Kia Carnival rose up to take its place but it too always remained a vehicle you accepted, rather than aspired to.
Now Lexus has completely changed the people mover equation, introducing the LM, a van that redefines luxury on wheels. It effectively brings Business Class air travel to the road, with a spaciousness and luxury that few other vehicles can even come close to matching – regardless of price.
To be blunt, the LM doesn’t come cheap, with the range starting at $160,888 for the LM 350h 2WD, stepping up to $165,888 for the LM 350 AWD we drove and topping out at $220,888 for the LM 500h Ultra Luxury (which we’ll detail later).
That actually puts the LM into a similar price bracket to the Lexus LX600, which is actually a fitting comparison in terms of internal vehicle volume. But whereas the LX requires passengers to climb up and in, which can be tricky to get into the third row, the lower stance of the LM helps make getting in and out easy, as do the power sliding doors, which create a much bigger opening.
In the seven-seat LM 350h Sports Luxury guise, everyone is treated in style. The front seats are trimmed in semi-aniline, leather-accented and feature heating and ventilation. Then there’s the second row, which is arguably the biggest selling point for the LM, with its pair of captain’s chairs.
But these aren’t just ordinary captain’s chairs, they have arm rests, fold-out leg rests, massage function and smartphone-style controllers for the sun shades, sunroof, climate control and the 14.0-inch screen that folds down from the ceiling. These are the seats that make you want to be a passenger, not the driver.
There’s also just loads of space, more than you get in a conventional seven-seat SUV, with a feeling of space and airiness to the cabin. You can genuinely stretch your legs out, there’s plenty of headroom and shoulder space, so it feels incredibly room for the inside of a motor vehicle.
However, all this comfort does come at a cost. If you’re counting you will have realised the first two rows only tally four seats, which means the third row has three seats to make it a seven-seater. That means the space is compromised, so much so that if you do use this as a family car your children will definitely argue about who gets stuck in the middle of the back row.
Instead, it’s better to think of the LM 350h as a generous six-seater and consider something else if you need to use seven seats on the regular.
But if you are looking purely for comfort when being driven around, then the LM 500h Ultra Luxury lives up to its name. It is only a four-seater, literally isolating the rear of the cabin behind a partition, that also allows for the fitment of a massive 48-inch widescreen display for the lucky passengers.
To ensure you can take your work video calls or watch a movie without missing anything, the screen is paired to a 23-speaker Mark Levinson 3D sound system.
The rear seats in the LM 500h match the captain’s chairs for comfort and luxury, with all those functions previously listed.
This is obviously not a family car, this is for the wealthy who like to be chauffeured around, or perhaps a luxury limousine service for elite clientele. Put simply, this is unlike anything else on the market today, so while it won’t appeal to a big market, there will be those who value this level of luxury and space highly and will pay the $220k asking price.
But while the LM pampers the passenger, it’s also quite a pleasant vehicle to drive. Sure, it lacks the on-road presence of an SUV like the LX and the dynamic handling of a sedan, the LM finds a nice balance and doesn’t feel like you’re driving a converted delivery van.
The LM 350h AWD is powered by a 184kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired with an electric motor. The LM 500h adds a turbocharger and boosts power to 273kW, while keeping the entire range hybrid.
Let’s be honest, nobody really aspires to own a van. But if you need to carry six people in comfort or four people in ultimate luxury, then the Lexus LM is hard to beat.
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