2025 Lexus LX Gains Its First Hybrid Powertrain And Rad Off-Road Overtrail Trim
2025 marks the Lexus LX’s 30th year on sale, if you can believe it, and the fourth generation of the Land Cruiser–based SUV is getting a host of updates for its third model year. Lexus is now offering the LX with the model’s first hybrid powertrain, along with a new Overtrail trim aimed at serious off-roaders.
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Since the current LX debuted for 2022, it has only been offered in LX 600 guise that uses Toyota’s twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 in the U.S., a motor shared with a host of other models like the Lexus LS and GX and the Toyota Sequoia and Tundra. The new hybrid model is called the LX 700h, and it stuffs an electric motor between that same engine and 10-speed automatic, with a nickel-metal hydride battery in the rear floor. Lexus doesn’t give a spec breakdown, but the LX 700h has a total of 457 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque, 48 hp and 104 lb-ft more than the LX 600. Towing capacity remains 8,000 pounds.
Image: Lexus
The hybrid isn’t really about the efficiency, as Lexus says the LX 700h will achieve an estimated 20 mpg combined, only 1 mpg better than the LX 600. Its capability is more important — the hybrid LX is the first Lexus that has electric motor–driven power in low range, offering “precise throttle control” in various off-road terrains through the different Multi-Terrain Select modes. It’s also the first Lexus hybrid to have both an alternator and a starter, so if the hybrid system becomes inoperative you’re still able to start up the engine and power the 12-volt battery to drive under gas-only power. As the battery sits under the cargo floor in two-row versions or under the rearmost seats in third-row versions, the spare tire was repositioned and the cargo area has a fold-flat shelf system.
Available only for the LX 700h is a new Overtrail trim, the brand’s name for off-road variants that first debuted with the new GX. It looks plain cool from the outside thanks to available beige paint (called Earth), a front skid plate, a matte grey grille, numerous black exterior accents, roof rails, larger fender flare trim and 18-inch wheels wearing 33-inch all-terrain tires. The interior gets Black or Stone Brown leather with contrasting Stone Brown stitching and black open pore wood, and the Overtrail is available with either two or three rows of seats. To further its actual capability, the Overtrail also gets electronically locking front and rear differentials on top of the already standard Torsen limited-slip center locking diff.
Image: Lexus
Every 2025 LX now gets active height control for its adaptive suspension, a head-up display and USB-C ports in the rear. The hybrid has a 2400-W waterproof AC inverter in the center console, along with a refrigerator box and manual rear sunshades. If you get the optional semi-aniline leather your LX will have five different massage options, and the shifter has been redesigned. Also now standard on every LX is Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 that has some upgraded features, and the hybrid gains a remote parking system.
Lexus dropped the base LX trim from the lineup, now offering the model in Premium, Luxury, four-seat Ultra Luxury and F Sport Handling guises, along with the hybrid-only Overtrail — Lexus hasn’t disclosed if the hybrid will be offered in all those same trims, though it seems likely. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the 2025 LX should carry a slight premium over last year’s model, with the LX 700h costing at least a few thousand more than the gas-only LX 600.
Image: Lexus
Image: Lexus
Image: Lexus
Image: Lexus
