going from expedition to LX

[jafo9]

hi all, i'm an FZJ80 driver and i've never posted in this forum before. my wife is on her 5th expedition and she is ready for a change. being the LC lover i am, i am wondering if we can make an LX 570 work for us. I was hoping anyone with experience from a larger SUV might be able to give us their thoughts about the change. our expy's have been our primary family hauler and tow vehicle. we have 3 kids and have really enjoyed the 3rd row and the size of the fords for long trips. my wife has been longing for a smaller car for quite some time. we have 2 boats that we tow a few times a year from the lake to our house. they both weigh around 6-7k lbs, however, one is a pontoon that sits high on the trailer and acts like a huge sail on the highway. i would love to hear from anyone who has made the switch from a larger suv to the LX or LC 200 and hear their positives and negatives. thanks.

 

[crazy1323]

Was your Expy the long wheelbase version?

 

[jafo9]

we've always had the short version. story of my life.

 

[patrickfinley]

The LC has tons of power but it's shorter wheelbase is going to keep it from towing as nicely as a longer wheelbase vehicle such as the Expedition. You may have wobble issues with the large pontoon boat. The Sequoia will tow better.

You've been through 5 Expeditions, wow. I will say that it would be very hard to go through 5 Land Cruisers in a lifetime.

 

[jafo9]

thanks for the input. we've looked at the sequoia. for a large SUV their tow ratings aren't as good as the expy and for some reason, if you get the "loaded" version, you have to get the 2nd row buckets.

 

[THEROK]

downsides

-less room

upsides

-everything else by magnitudes

frankly speaking, 3 growing kids and going from full-s to mid-s suv sounds like diametrically opposing forces at play.

 

[jafo9]

frankly speaking, 3 growing kids and going from full-s to mid-s suv sounds like diametrically opposing forces at play.

thats really our biggest hang up. my son is 14 so he'll be driving in a few years so that will take some load off the "station wagon". but it sure is nice on long trips to have all that space.

fwiw, we found a LX570 in atlanta that we were pretty fired up about and were seriously considering buying. made it half way there yesterday coming from birmingham and the snow here in good ol' alabama made us turn around. got to spend 9 hours on I-20 in the snow and ice in her 2wd expedition. ended up abandoning her car at the entrance to our subdivision. would have loved to have been in my LC or her "new" LX.

 

[xrayos]

If you're going to tow that much, then I'd look into a diesel SUV. The longest wheelbase diesel that you can buy new is the Mercedes GL350. I contemplated that SUV and the LX570 for a long time. Pros on the GL is it's long wheelbase and tow rating (8500lb) and it comfortably seats adults in the 3rd row. CONS: mercedes reliablity. I ended up with the LX, but I don't tow as much as you.

 

[jafo9]

i'd much rather stick with lc/lx reliability. i'd imagine the mercedes is a lot more expensive to repair than my ford. my guess is that we'll see how the LX tows and if necessary, i may have a good reason to buy an older F250 to supplement my LC.

 

[xrayos]

^smart move. Nothing beats a diesel truck for towing.

 

[patrickfinley]

fwiw, we found a LX570 in atlanta that we were pretty fired up about and were seriously considering buying. made it half way there yesterday coming from birmingham and the snow here in good ol' alabama made us turn around. got to spend 9 hours on I-20 in the snow and ice in her 2wd expedition. ended up abandoning her car at the entrance to our subdivision. would have loved to have been in my LC or her "new" LX.

The snow may have saved you. The LX is rated lower than the LX for towing. Due to the AHC system it can't tow as much.

The 200 LC is rated 8200 lbs
The LX570 is rated 7000 lbs