The Lexus LM is a 5.13-meter-long minivan with a very high price: 125,000 or 150,000 euros, depending on the configuration. It's a luxury vehicle—even, in Lexus's words, above the LS saloon—and a long shot for Lexus since there's nothing like it on the market.
It is necessary to distinguish between the two available versions. The "cheap" has seven seats (well, six) and could compete with the most equipped versions of the Mercedes-Benz V-Class. The "face", which has only four, is a mobile office or break room designed for those who have a driver. For each one, you can choose two body colors —white (image) or black (image)— and two for the interior —beige and black—.
Both have the same engine, a 250-horsepower hybrid drive system (the one found in the Lexus NX 350h and RX 350h), and all-wheel drive (the rear wheels are driven by a second electric motor).
The body is 1.94 m high and 1.89 m wide, the distance from the front to the rear wheels is 3.00 meters and there are two conventional opening front doors and two sliding rear ones. These two and the gate have an electric drive. A curious detail is that there are buttons to open and close the gate on both sides of the body, on the rear pillar just above where the pilot ends.
The suspension has shock absorbers of variable hardness and the wheels are 19”, forged. The driving assistants are included under the package that Lexus calls Lexus Safety System + and that is similar to the one that other models of this brand have.
Seven-seater version (well, six)
Seven that is six. Or six that is seven. The seven-seater version (well, six) has a 2+2+3 type layout. But the third row, which has seatbelts for three occupants, is designed for two. In fact, the central passenger will support his back on the armrests, which must be placed as if they were part of the backrest.
In the second row are two seats, the style of those found in Business Class on a transoceanic flight. These two seats, which are individual, can be moved forwards or backward on rails, tilt the backrest, or remove a footrest to make it more comfortable. They have heating, ventilation, and a massage function, but not one of those simple massages provided by the lumbar support mechanism, but rather a system with pressure points on both the backrest and the bench.
On the roof, there is a console that runs from front to back and in which a 14” screen is installed, ambient lights, reading lights, two windows, and a few little buttons. These are used to operate the blinds of the skylights, the curtains of the windows, and the lighting among other things.
Content can be played on the screen through an HDMI connection or by replicating the content of the mobile. The sound equipment is Mark Levinson with 21 speakers.
Four-seater version. "What happened in LM, stays in LM"
This configuration is the more expensive of the two. To the 150,000 euros that it costs, the driver's salary must be added, because it is essential to take advantage of what it offers.
Behind the two front seats, there is a partition that separates that service area from the main area. Both spaces can communicate if the window in the upper third of that partition is lowered. When the glass is up, the driver, if he has good hearing, may be able to hear conversations in the rear. As I have only gotten on the LM with it stopped, perhaps the noise of the tread and the engine running will completely cover up the conversation.
If maximum privacy is desired, at the touch of a button, the window glass changes from transparent to translucent. The driver, in addition to not hearing, does not see. And just like the Las Vegas catchphrase, what happens in the back of a Lexus LM stays in the back of the Lexus LM. Side window sunblinds and tinted glass protect passengers from outside curiosity.
The two passengers in this area will enjoy the huge rear space themselves. In it, they can work or entertain themselves using the huge 48” screen (image) that is in the partition, just below the window. As its format is very landscape (more than the 16:9 of a domestic television) it has three display configurations: full screen, widescreen (16:9), or two images in parallel. The sound is reproduced through the 23 speakers of the Mark Levinson sound system or through headphones.
Unlike what happens in the seven (well, six) seat version, in this the rear seats are fixed, they cannot be advanced or delayed. And as it happens in that one, to me, who is close to two meters tall, my feet hit me, in this case against the screen, if I try to recline the backrest and raise the footrest (calf rest in my case) to the maximum.
Leaving aside this inconvenience for those of us who are at the right end of the Gaussian height, the comfort in these seats is extraordinary, a little more even than in the seven (well, six) seat version. It is for its softness, for the texture of the skin, and for the possibilities of adjustment, which includes the possibility of being able to place them almost horizontally. Of course, they have heating (headrest included), ventilation, and massages.
Other amenities available to passengers are a refrigerator, drawers (carefully upholstered), USB connections, wireless charging areas for mobile phones, a Schuko socket, or two umbrellas.
Here, as in the seven (well, six) seater version, there is also an overhead console and two skylights (picture and picture). One difference is that, although there is also a rear air conditioning screen, it does not have controls to manage it, you have to do it from the Lexus MultiOperation Panels
Lexus Multi-Operation Panels
That is the name that Lexus has given to the two little screens that are in the second-row seats and that are used to manage the functions of air conditioning, lighting, blinds, seats, and the multimedia system from them, without having to look for the corresponding remote control. the roof or the seats. These two controls, manufactured by Grunding and which are like two mobiles, can be removed to make handling more comfortable. To prevent them from getting lost in their owner's pocket or in that of a passenger who wants it as a souvenir, they have a function that warns if they are removed from the LM.
Is it worth what it costs?
I will not be the one to confirm or deny it, but certainly, the interior of the LM conveys a feeling of luxury, I would say without being opulent. It is difficult to say anything about its quality because the two units that Lexus has brought to Spain so that journalists can get on them are pre-series. In this case, very pre-series with some parts that clearly don't match the fit of any Lexus you can buy at a dealer.
The plastics seem good to the eye and to the touch, the leather of the seats is soft and the open-pored wood that is in various areas of the car... is not wood. It is a vinyl with a finish that totally hits (in the style that Nissan uses in the Ariya).
Lexus emphasizes that the LM is not a derivative of an industrial vehicle and that it is designed and built to be what it is a luxury car. The platform on which it has been made is not exactly exclusive to this model, it is the same as that used in the Lexus RX —an SUV— and the Lexus ES —a saloon—, the so-called GA-K. And also in a few Toyota models, such as the RAV4.
There are details that confirm Toyota's intention to differentiate this minivan from a van and that may not be obvious. For example, although the rear doors are sliding - they leave a wide access area - there is no visible guide in the bodywork through which they move, something that is visible in the V-Class.
This is the second generation of the Lexus LM, whose name comes from Luxury Mover. The LM is a variant of a Toyota model, the Alphard, which is already in its third generation and, like the LM of the first, has not been marketed in Europe.
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