Motor Trend Comparison: Lexus LX 570 vs. Escalade, Navigator, QX80, MB GL450 & RR Sport

[krew]

The Lexus LX 570 may be eight years old, but it still manages to place mid-pack in a huge Motor Trend comparison test with the Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes GL450, Range Rover Sport HSE, Lincoln Navigator, and Infiniti QX80.

https://lexusenthusiast.com/2015/05...finiti-qx80-mercedes-gl450-range-rover-sport/

 

[Hamed Al Ketbi]

How come its the worst selling?
You guys forget that in the Middle-East it got 50% higher with the little changes in 2014 with the spindle-grill
It obviously made a difference!!
And for Middle-Eatern the LX570 is the MOST PERFECT SUV!!!
Maybe its the worst selling in the US .... but NEVER the Middle-East
Also, if you're comparing Lexus LX570 & The Range Rover Vogue HSE ... for SURE Lexus LX570 sells more in the Middle-East and forget about the Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes GL450 maybe for the Mercedes you ONLY get to see the GL63.

 

[Alshamsi]

Well the car is selling very well here in the middle east, but really the car is quite old now, any information on when will the new one come ?

 

[Och]

Pretty good comparison, but no way Caddy deserves the first place. That should be between GL and RR, with Caddy somewhere behind LX.

That being said, I'd rather have anthrax than find myself having to drive any of these self propelled condominiums.

 

[Och]

How come its the worst selling?
You guys forget that in the Middle-East it got 50% higher with the little changes in 2014 with the spindle-grill
It obviously made a difference!!
And for Middle-Eatern the LX570 is the MOST PERFECT SUV!!!
Maybe its the worst selling in the US .... but NEVER the Middle-East
Also, if you're comparing Lexus LX570 & The Range Rover Vogue HSE ... for SURE Lexus LX570 sells more in the Middle-East and forget about the Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes GL450 maybe for the Mercedes you ONLY get to see the GL63.

Don't they sell a supercharged LX in the ME?

 

[Habitashi]

How come its the worst selling?
You guys forget that in the Middle-East it got 50% higher with the little changes in 2014 with the spindle-grill
It obviously made a difference!!
And for Middle-Eatern the LX570 is the MOST PERFECT SUV!!!
Maybe its the worst selling in the US .... but NEVER the Middle-East
Also, if you're comparing Lexus LX570 & The Range Rover Vogue HSE ... for SURE Lexus LX570 sells more in the Middle-East and forget about the Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes GL450 maybe for the Mercedes you ONLY get to see the GL63.

I am from Middle East also, I couldnt agree more! the LX sales aren't bad here, specially in KSA and Duabi.

 

[Hamed Al Ketbi]

Well the car is selling very well here in the middle east, but really the car is quite old now, any information on when will the new one come ?

We will only know when the NEW Land Cruiser comes thats for sure

 

[mikeavelli]

Hamed is right, the LX sells amazing in the Middle East, I think 20k or so units a year which is amazing....only second to the Land Cruiser....in the states its never been a volume vehicle so its not that its selling poor, it just isn't a vehicle that Lexus expects to sell in huge numbers here. The Escalade clearly owns this segment and even as the price has risen people line up to buy it. Amazing it still has a column shifter though.

Very respectable finish for the oldest vehicle here!!!

 

[Tinhinnh]

Kinda odd that the LX is the only white vehicle in the test...

 

[Gecko]

With all things considered, I thought that was a pretty solid finish for the LX. Escalade is all-new, so while there is plenty that I dislike about it, I'm not surprised to see it in first or the GL in second. The full-time 4WD and off road prowess definitely play into the LX's appeal - it feels purpose built instead of a poser - and to some people, that's important!

Rumor is that a heavily refreshed LX will show up later this year. Looking forward to seeing it!

 

[Och]

With all things considered, I thought that was a pretty solid finish for the LX. Escalade is all-new, so while there is plenty that I dislike about it, I'm not surprised to see it in first or the GL in second. The full-time 4WD and off road prowess definitely play into the LX's appeal - it feels purpose built instead of a poser - and to some people, that's important!

Rumor is that a heavily refreshed LX will show up later this year. Looking forward to seeing it!

Didn't they just refresh it with spindle grille just recently?

 

[BOSS]

Third place not too shabby for a dinosaur hehe.

 

[mmcartalk]

I agree that the LX did well in the test considering its age, but there's a reason why the Escalade won. This is clearly not the same GM that gave us junk for almost four decades. Although it is somewhat reflected in the 96K list price of the tested vehicle (second-most-expensive to the Range Rover), it is apparent that Cadillac did not spare material quality, engineering, or effort in designing it. This, compared to the (IMO) almost pitiful 1Gen Escalade, which was a sloppily-built, over-plasticized, rattle-and-squeak hasty response to the first Navigator.

Amazing it still has a column shifter though.

I don't think it is just retro-styling or design on Cadillac's part. Like minivans, vehicles of this type are designed to be large people-movers (though with SUV versatility), with plenty of interior room and space efficiency. A column shifter, while admittedly not sport-oriented (large SUVs, of course, aren't intended to be sports-machines) does help with front seat/console space efficiency, freeing up space on the console for things like cell phones, drinks, and other things one can't keep in their hands all the time....or that one shouldn't be messing with while driving. The column-shifter also allows for an easy-to-reach Tow/Haul mode button for the transmission when towing heavy trailers...the button is usually mounted on the very tip of the shifter. Though the Escalade, like the Navigator, primarily emphasizes luxury and people-moving, they are also large body-on-frame vehicles built off of full-size pickup trucks....so they can often tow the same kind of heavy loads that large pickups do, and have some of the same engines/transmissions.

I would, though, if it were up to me, toss two things in the Escalade, just as I would with all the other new Cadillacs......the CUE system and the finger-slide sensor-controls in the lower center-dash. I didn't care for those types of controls in the new Lincolns....don't with the Caddies, either.

 

[mmcartalk]

Third place not too shabby for a dinosaur hehe.

A dinosaur? This test was Jurassic Park.

 

[Och]

What amazes me even more is that all of them (except LX) did 1/4 mile in mid 14 second range. That is just utterly insane, just a decade ago this was a pretty good time for a sport sedan.

 

[mmcartalk]

What amazes me even more is that all of them (except LX) did 1/4 mile in mid 14 second range. That is just utterly insane, just a decade ago this was a pretty good time for a sport sedan.

True....but also a lot more than just a decade. I grew up with 60s-vintage American muscle cars, and most of them typically ran around 14 or so in the quarter-mile, even with optional power plants and the famous Hurst 4-on-the-floor manual shifts. Even the very fastest of them (427 Corvettes, HemiCudas, etc...) did between 13 and 14.

Of course, there are reasons for that. 40-50 years ago, big-engined muscle-cars usually wasted a lot of their power and RPMs just spinning the rear wheels on the launch (burnouts) instead of actually propelling the car forward. Then, one typically had only three or four gears for efficiency (some GM automatic transmissions of the time had only two speeds). Engines were mechanically controlled and fed by carburetors. Today, off course, engines are electronically controlled for maximum power/efficiency, transmissions have six to nine speeds, and electronic traction-aids don't waste power and RPMs just spinning the rear wheels from a stop.

 

[CIF]

Yes, all things considered, a great finish for the old and dated LX.

Surprised a bit that the Escalade had the best interior. VERY surprised at the interior problems on the Range Rover.

Overall not surprised the Escalade won. GM really did a great job on it, and didn't mess up the styling like the rest of their large SUVs that were redesigned. Personally, the Escalade is the ONLY redesigned large SUV that I like from GM. The rest of them now have styling ranging from ugly to goofy. The Escalade thankfully retains that really nice boss exterior look.

We shall see how a new LX does in this class. Really good timing for this comparison, as I'm excited to see what Lexus brings to the table with a new LX.

Rumor is that a heavily refreshed LX will show up later this year. Looking forward to seeing it!

Didn't they just refresh it with spindle grille just recently?

Actually, the latest rumor is that the LX will be getting a full redesign this year . Whether it's in reality a heavy refresh or full redesign, I guess we shall see soon enough.

 

[Mohammed Taha]

Don't they sell a supercharged LX in the ME?

Yes, head over to the Middle East Section, I've posted a picture of one I spotted in Dubai.

 

[Tinhinnh]

If column shifters are so space-efficient, how come every suv doesnt have one...

 

[Tinhinnh]

Why does the QX80 have almost 100 more hp than the Titan with the same engine?