F. Scott Fitzgerald, were he writing of the Lexus LX570, could say, “LX570 owners are different from you and me.” That would be because Lexus says this small but well-heeled crowd has an average annual income of $380,000 and lives in a home worth $1.2 million. Their net worth is three times the norm for luxury SUV buyers, and they intend to spend more than $70,000 on their next vehicle. Lexus hopes to sell 9500 LX570s each year in the United States.

The 2008 LX570 replaces the svelte and successful LX470 and outclasses it in every important way. Those folks who are different from you and me can drive it anywhere. The new Lexus is handsome enough not to shame its owners in front of their fellow club members or their bankers, and it now has the juice to go off-road without fear that a Range Rover driver will pass by and snicker. The new Crawl Control feature can do the boulder crawling, limiting driver contribution to steering only.

The horsey set will be ecstatic at the LX570’s towing capacity of 8500 pounds, enough for anyone other than a beer company with Clydesdales.

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Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 30