Want a factory imported Toyota Alphard or Vellfire? You’re looking at the next best thing. Toyota has been unwilling to import its premium people movers Down Under, so Lexus has decided to bring its own take on the formula with the LM. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Now in its second generation, the 2024 Lexus LM is a high-end, hybrid-only MPV that almost makes the Mercedes-Benz V-Class look ‘basic’.
Starting from $160,888 before on-road costs, this MPV is sort of in a class of its own. The flagship $220,888 LM 500h Ultra Luxury now the most expensive vehicle the Japanese luxury arm sells in Australia. There’s seating for up to seven, though there’s a very cool four-seat configuration available in the top-spec car.
It’s almost like a business class airline for the road. What’s the market for something like this? While the Kia Carnival has a stronghold on the mainstream people mover segment, and SUVs are now the norm in the luxury segments, what’s a big MPV to do? Well, plenty of people buy grey imported Japanese people movers. Check out the classifieds and you’ll see there are essentially brand new Toyota Alphards and Vellfires fresh from Japan priced for similar money as the ‘base’ LM.
Is the factory solution a worthy one? The Lexus LM range kicks off from just over $160,000 plus on-road costs. To see how the Lexus LM lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool . Rather opulent.
Looking at images of the latest Alphard and Vellfire, the Toyota’s version of this people mover is already pretty plush. As is the Lexus way, the LM turns it up another notch. The design and execution is typical Lexus, with padded and stitched leatherette surfaces on the dashboard and doors, flashes of wood-like trim, a chunky Lexus leather steering wheel, and display technology aplenty.
Front seat comfort is excellent, with plenty of electric adjustment, as well as an airy cabin design that enhances that perception of space and luxury. Even with the sheer feeling of size, it’s a comfortable space to sit and you’re perched in the pilot’s position more like an SUV rather than a van. There’s plenty of glasshouse in this long boxy shape, including big triangular windows in the A-pillars.
And, despite the big housing that is home to the driver cluster and infotainment displays, it doesn’t feel overly bulky. The LM is one of the first Lexus models to employ a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel to go with its massive 14-inch touchscreen navigation system.
It’s more in keeping with the brand’s luxury status compared to the budget-looking 7.0-inch TFT cluster in most other Lexus products including the NX and RX SUVs. It’s quite configurable so you can tailor it to your tastes.
Sitting pretty atop the dashboard is the connected infotainment system, which offers satellite navigation with live traffic updates, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to go with the standard connected services, DAB radio and 21-speaker Mark Levinson surround system. It lacks the fanfare the German marques employ, but if you’re a smartphone mirroring user it won’t matter. Storage is also very good, with a huge centre bin under the front armrest and a cubby for phones and the like ahead of the shifter.
Big cupholders with teeth will keep your coffee secure on airport shuttle runs, and the door bins are deep. The second row is really the centrepiece here, even though the Sports Luxury doesn’t have the first class-style armchairs and massive rear screen that the Ultra Luxury does. A pair of individual captain’s chairs with folding tables and adjustable ottomans are very business class, and there are pop-out touch controllers to adjust various second-row features – mainly the seat, amongst other things.
You can individually slide and recline each second-row chair, and the fold-out ottomans are a really cool touch. I popped my parents back there for a couple of trips and their minds were blown. Electronic window shades and little sunroof portholes further enhance the experience, and there’s still a 14-inch flip-down rear display that can be hooked up via HDMI cable to play audio or video from a portable device.
The third row isn’t quite as plush, but you have better space and comfort back there than an equivalent three-row SUV. You even get armrests for the outer seats in a ‘six-seat’ configuration. Boot capacity isn’t a huge consideration for a vehicle like this, and as such there’s just 110 litres with the third row in place as demonstrated above.
Unlike the Kia Carnival, which folds the third row into the floor, the LM folds the third-row seats up and to the side like an old off-roader, though that does free up a maximum of 1191 litres according to Lexus. To see how the Lexus LM lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool . All versions of the LM are hybrid, with the LM 350h getting a 2.
5-litre naturally aspirated hybrid powertrain. To see how the Lexus LM lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool . It may look like a big van that will be cumbersome to drive, but shared underpinnings with the likes of the Lexus NX and RX, as well as the Toyota RAV4 and Kluger, make it more car-like to drive.
As you’d expect of a Lexus hybrid, the LM starts up with an electronic ‘BEEP’ though the powertrain will remain silent. You can set off in electric mode before the petrol engine fires up on cold start to warm up and/or charge the battery. The drivetrain will shuffle between electric and combustion power – or a mix of both – where necessary, and the CVT keeps the ICE motor on the boil and then drops revs quickly when you’re off the throttle.
Really, it drives very like a big Corolla Hybrid or Camry Hybrid, meaning there’s little learning curve other than accounting for the dimensions. At least the driver controls are light and accurate, and as mentioned earlier there’s good outward visibility to help you pinpoint the LM’s edges. The quoted 184kW is the sort of power a previous-generation petrol V6 would have produced, but don’t expect the LM 350h to give you a proper shove in the back if you need to make a break for it.
Off the line there’s good initial response thanks to the immediacy of the electric motor, but from there the CVT and Atkinson-cycle petrol engine get revvy and noisy under load. Being a Lexus it’s still more refined at the limit than most Toyota hybrids. Working through the city is surprisingly easy despite the LM’s 5130mm length and 1890mm width, thanks to the light but accurate steering, bolstered by the plentiful glasshouse and surround-view camera assortment.
Drive with a measured right foot and you’ll make smooth, quiet progress mixed with great fuel economy for such a large vehicle. Lexus quotes a combined fuel efficiency figure of 5.6L/100km, though we saw low- to mid-6.
0s in mixed real-world conditions. Our AWD tester adds a second electric motor for better traction when conditions get a bit dirty or slippery, but to be honest unless you regularly frequent gravel roads or are planning to take this to the Alpine region, I can’t see why you’d need it – save yourself some money and 50kg with the FWD. On the freeway the LM is surefooted and settled, with plenty of active assists to take the load off extended stints.
The drivetrain settles into a quiet hum and continues to shuffle between EV and Hybrid modes, and does a decent job of isolating external noise even with its open cabin. I also trialled the additional Rear Comfort mode which tailors the adaptive dampers and electric motors for optimal rear passenger comfort. There was a slight difference in feel but it wasn’t major from the driver’s seat, though my parents in the back where very happy.
The ride in general is pretty good regardless of drive mode, with the adaptive suspension geared for comfort. There’s sometimes a firmness to the initial hit over sharper imperfections like rail tracks or road joins, but it’s still superior to a lot of other van-based people movers in this respect for bump and sound insulation. From a driver technology perspective, the LM integrates an intuitive semi-autonomous highway driving mode which combines adaptive cruise and lane centring functions with the touch of a single steering button.
It keeps this big bus centred in the lane well with progressive and natural-feeling steering inputs, while the adaptive cruise control keeps a set distance from the leading vehicle ahead without any sharp or unsettling braking if someone rudely cuts you off. As noted earlier there’s a surround-view camera system with 3D view that shows on the massive central infotainment screen so you shouldn’t be knocking bumpers and scraping wheels in tight car parks, while blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts make negotiating gaps in heavy traffic or reversing out of blind spots that little less unnerving. Finally, the safe exit assist is a handy feature if you have kids or even adults in the back prone to open doors without checking for oncoming cyclists or vehicles.
Pretty much everything bar the kitchen sink...
LM 350h Sports Luxury highlights: The Lexus LM hasn’t been crash tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, and is therefore unrated. Standard safety equipment includes: As with the wider Lexus range, the LM is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. This is a pretty badass way to get around.
Vans have been branded uncool in Australia for some time but are now are enjoying a resurgence, and thank goodness for that. The Lexus LM demonstrates this body type is still the best for transporting lots of people in space and comfort. It leaves something like the LandCruiser 300 -based Lexus LX for dead if you need space for six or seven.
Yes it’s pricey, but as noted earlier the equivalent Toyota-branded grey import isn’t that much cheaper. Alphard and Vellfire have badge cachet, but surely the Lexus brand has equal if not more. It also puts other luxury MPVs in the shade, namely the ageing Mercedes-Benz V-Class.
It’s also not much more than a top-spec LDV MIFA 9 EV but without the range anxiety, and it’s far more luxurious. Should you be in the market for like the Lexus LM, save yourself the premium for the AWD and get the standard Sports Luxury, or go all-out and shell for the turbocharged Ultra Luxury. Vans are back, baby.
MORE: Buy a Lexus LM MORE: Everything Lexus LM.
