Want a Land Cruiser 300, but with fewer seats and a bigger grille? No problem.

There is now an alternative if Toyota’s Land Cruiser 300 isn’t quite luxurious enough for your adventure travel needs.

The Land Cruiser 300’s Lexus twin has been revealed; it utilises the same platform and powertrain, but offers a bit more in the way of creature comforts inside.

Toyota’s Lexus LX600 adds a typically enormous grille to the front of Toyota’s G-AF platform. You are looking at the world’s most luxuriously appointed and spacious ladder-frame 4×4, with real off-road ability.

Although the Lexus LX600 is primarily marketed at American customers, who don’t have option on the Land Cruiser 300, it could also curry favour in South Africa.

The previous LX570 was quite a unique offering, combing the proven Land Cruiser 200 platform with a potent naturally-aspirated petrol V8. This gave it a much swifter turn of speed than any Land Cruiser 4.5-litre turbodiesel V8.

With the LX600, there is only one engine choice at launch: the 3.5-litre turbocharged V6 petrol, which also features in the Land Cruiser 300. So why would you buy into the Lexus interpretation of Land Cruiser? Cabin comfort.

Infotainment is relayed via a stacked dual-touchscreen configuration, measuring 12.3-inch at the top and 7-inches below. The bigger screen is where you experience all the satnav and audio interfacing, with the smaller screen for HVAC information and off-road data.

The ladder-frame construction might not have given Lexus interior designers that much floor depth to work with, but they’ve managed to work some magic. The LX600 offers a four-seater cabin set-up, delivering unrivalled rear-seat comfort for a Toyota brand stable off-roader.

For optimal comfort, the rear seats can recline up to 48-degrees, and there are footrests that fold out from behind the front seats. This is very much the Lexus idea of business class off-road travel.

An interesting variant on offer with LX600, is the F-Sport. Usually associated with Lexus products that might be used for the occasional track day or spirited drive,an F Sport separate chassis off-roader is odd.

Lexus engineers have managed to package a limited-slip differential at the rear-axle, not just the centre-diff, to give the LX600 F Sport slightly better cornering agility. There is also talk of special damper settings and electric power steering calibration.

Attempting to calm the influence of those optional 22-inch wheels and a ladder-frame platform, is the LX600’s hydraulic active ride height control, which offers four selectable settings.

When will the new Lexus LX600 be available in South Africa?

Lexus South Africa has confirmed that the LX600 will arrive locally in the first quarter of 2022 and specification and pricing details will be communicated closer to launch.