I love Toyota trucks, but I was skeptical here. With a $115,350 starting price, how could the 2025 Lexus LX700h Overtrail justify a $42,000 premium over the superb GX550 Overtrail? Surely, there’s no way it’s worth it? But after a day on the trail, I realized I was asking the wrong question.
This is the closest thing we get to the traditional flagship Land Cruiser in the US, and though it’s officially a Lexus LX, it’s very much of the Land Cruiser bloodline. Toyota sells a new Land Cruiser in the US, but it’s really the 250-series Prado, the latest in a line of “light-duty” companions to the real Land Cruiser. The GX is a 250-series, too, but the LX is based on the 300-series, the real deal.
| Quick Specs | 2025 Lexus LX700h |
| Engine | Twin-Turbocharged 3.4-Liter V-6 Hybrid |
| Output | 457 Horsepower / 583 Pound-Feet |
| Fuel Economy | 19 MPG City / 22 Highway / 20 Combined |
| Base Price / As Tested | $115,350 / $118,010 |
Out at Northeast Off-Road Adventures in Ellenville, New York, it took a while for the LX700h to reveal just how special it is. There’s no rational argument for the LX over the GX, and I think that’s the point.
For the LX700h, Lexus cherry-picked all the best parts from the new Toyota truck bin. You get a hybrid powertrain with a twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 and an electric motor making 457 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque; full-time four-wheel drive with a low-range transfer case; Active Height Control (AHC), which uses hydraulics to raise and lower the suspension; adaptive dampers; and all of Toyota’s clever off-road traction and cruise control systems.
Opting for the Overtrail tips the LX more toward its Land Cruiser heritage with 33-inch tires, front, center, and rear locking differentials, plus a beefy metal skidplate underneath. But compared with the GX, the LX has lower approach, departure, and breakover angles. Plus, it has running boards, which make it easier to climb aboard, but make going over rocks a more delicate operation. The LX also does without the GX’s excellent electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (e-KDSS) system that uses hydraulics to adjust sway-bar stiffness.
Frankly, I thought the larger LX would get shown up by the GX, but the big brother does things its own, incredible way. A reminder not to pay too much attention to spreadsheets. (Useful advice beyond reviewing cars.)
Pros: Huge Off-Road Capability, Great Hybrid Powertrain, Is Basically A Land Cruiser
The powertrain is immediately impressive. Out in tight, rocky trails like the ones here at NORA, you need absolute precision, which is hard to manage with a hybrid. Think about it, you've got the torque of the internal-combustion engine plus the electric motor—both of which come in very different ways at different times—all multiplied by 10 forward ratios and a low-range transfer box.
That’s a recipe for a car that will feel totally different every time you hit the throttle or brake, but it doesn’t. There are even times where you might be holding constant throttle or brake pressure, and the car will switch from electric to hybrid driving, yet there’s seemingly no change in torque output at the wheels. It’s a remarkable achievement, arguably even more so than with a full-electric off-roader, since that’s just a singular power source.
More often than not, you’re just idling the thing over obstacles thanks to that monster torque. That, plus Toyota’s suite of off-road drive modes, means any terrain you throw at it is easy to manage. The only times we needed to break out traction boards was when the tires got caked in wet mud—stuff you’ll get stuck in no matter how much fancy off-road hardware and software you’re packing.
But even more impressive was the articulation. The AHC suspension system has a few height settings, but it constantly makes adjustments depending on the terrain. It’s an interesting system, especially compared to the more common air suspension used in luxury off-roaders. AHC doesn’t give the LX the same floaty ride quality, but Toyota says it’s more reliable—it’s not hard to wreck an air spring in rough terrain—and the hydraulics actually handle some of the springing and damping forces.
Cons: Way Pricier Than GX, Big, Flinty Ride On Road
That means you don’t need any sort of sway-bar adjustment or disconnect mechanism to vary the roll stiffness. In fact, the LX700h Overtrail doesn’t even have a rear bar. The upshot of all of this is that not only do you have good ground clearance, but the articulation is incredible.
Over NORA’s Pucker Ridge, so named because it’s a rock obstacle over a ridge where your axles will get crossed up, the LX just scooted over like it was nothing. Even our trail guide, Alex, was astounded, and having tested a handful of off-roaders on this same obstacle myself—including the GX—I was too.
There’s another neat detail that reveals the Land Cruiser heritage. Typically, Toyota hybrids eschew a separate starter motor and alternator because the hybrid system does the same job. But here, Lexus has a backup starter and alternator because in the unlikely event the hybrid system fails, you can still drive the truck.
It’s that kind of get-you-out-of-anywhere mindset that makes the LX700h special. People entrust their lives to Land Cruisers, and there’s a deep satisfaction in knowing you’re driving something designed to be tougher than anything on earth.
On the road, the LX isn’t as plush as a Range Rover or less off-road-focused rivals like the BMW X7, Cadillac Escalade, or Mercedes-Benz GLS. The ride quality can be fidgety at highway speeds, and it feels especially stiff at the rear, the weight of the battery making itself known. The hybrid system’s benefits aren’t as great as you might expect. Throttle response is excellent, and the LX is genuinely quick, but the fuel economy only improves slightly.
Yet, the LX700h Overtrail defies logic. I can’t imagine Lexus will sell a lot of them in this particular trim, but the people who buy them will get an incredible, cost-no-object tool. The GX is a more rational choice, without a doubt, so good that it basically renders the LX pointless. But, there is something about this one.
It’s like Lexus’s equivalent to the Mercedes G-Wagen. Silly, but you would if you could. Is it worth $42,000 more than the GX Overtrail? Only if that matters to you.
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Gallery: 2025 Lexus LX700h Overtrail Review
2025 Lexus LX700h Overtrail
