Missed opportunity?
Meet the version of the Lexus LM intended for the European market: a huge MPV with two sliding doors that offers as much space as it does indulgence. However, the luxurious ballroom will not come to the Netherlands. What are we missing?
What are we missing? Especially a lot of extravagantly packed space. The Lexus LM is just shy of 5.13 meters long, 1.89 meters wide and 1.94 meters high. That makes it almost 30 centimeters longer and almost 15 centimeters higher than Renault’s last real pipe dream, the very last Grand Espace. The Lexus LM stands on the modular GA-K platform, a basis of the TNGA family that can also be found on cars such as the new NX and RX and which also serves on the Toyota Highlander. In terms of silhouette, the Lexus LM is quite reminiscent of the equally luxurious space giants that Toyota sells in its home country of Japan: the Alphard and Vellfire. The LM is also quite square in appearance with a short snout. The wheelbase of the space giant is a generous 3 meters.
Lexus has of course placed its family face in that snout with a gigantic version of its Spindle Grille. Above it are fairly flat headlights, which are more or less optically connected by a wide chrome strip. The lighting at the rear consists of a meter-wide curved light bar. The brand name Lexus is written above it. The Lexus LM always has a sliding door on either side of the body, but the way in which the interior is designed can vary considerably. Lexus offers the LM as a seven-seater, but also as an even more spacious variant with only four seats.
The four-seater LM is optionally available with a huge screen.
According to the Japanese, the Lexus LM – whose model name stands for Luxury Mover – is a combination of a top limousine and an MPV. When we look at the interior of the LM, we understand that too. According to Lexus, this four-seater is mainly aimed at ‘VIP transport’ and is therefore optionally available with a gigantic 48-inch screen to extremely important people provide entertainment on the go. The screen also separates the rear passengers from the front occupants. The four-seater also has an extensive, 23-speaker audio system by Mark Levinson. In the second row you will find two extensively adjustable seats, in which you can also lie back. They wouldn’t look out of place on a private jet and are equipped with cushions and offer a choice of seven different massage programs. In the seven-seater you also sit in the second row of seats, apparently spacious, but less regal than in the four-seater. The seven-seater version has two seats in the third row that fold away towards the sides of the luggage compartment, which you can also remove completely from the car. Thanks to Active Noise Control, it should also be exceptionally quiet in the LM, regardless of whether you opt for the four- or seven-seater. More pampering comes in the form of control panels in the rear, which are of course even more extensive in the four-seater than in the seven-seater.
Nice fold away.
The Lexus LM comes to Europe as a hybrid 350h and will be marketed with that powertrain in Germany, among others. This LM 350h has a 2.5 four-cylinder and an electric motor. Together this is good for a system power of 250 hp. There will be a four-wheel drive version that can reach a speed of 100 km/h from a standstill in 8.7 seconds and a variant with only front-wheel drive that will complete the o-100 sprint in 9.1 seconds. Both versions have a top speed of 190 km/h.
As we wrote at the international presentation of the Lexus LM, the space giant is not coming to the Netherlands. The Dutch importer confirmed this to AutoWeek at the time. Yesterday, AutoWeek was able to report that the electric MPV that Volvo has in the pipeline – the EM90 – will also not come to the Netherlands. In fact, it won’t come to Europe at all.
Do you think there is a market in the Netherlands for an MPV like the Lexus LM?
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl