LX700h Overtrail - First Wheeling Impressions (4 Viewers)

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kreiten said:
Love it and sounds like a plan buddy, I got my 200 abs offroad trailer ready for overlanding adventures, maybe we do eastern oregon in the next couple years!!! Loving the write ups, photos etc…. And yeah would be cool if Lexus does some kind of plug and play for the front bumper!!!
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Dude, lets hit the Washington BDO!

Washington Backcountry Discovery Route (WABDR) Map & Information - https://ridebdr.com/wabdr/

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kreiten said:
Love it and sounds like a plan buddy, I got my 200 abs offroad trailer ready for overlanding adventures, maybe we do eastern oregon in the next couple years!!! Loving the write ups, photos etc…. And yeah would be cool if Lexus does some kind of plug and play for the front bumper!!!
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Maybe someone will come up with a plug and play for the front bumper...damage is going to happen and owners will be looking for alternatives.
 
Canyonero said:
TL;DR: The new LX700 Overtrail is a beast out of the box. Capable and comfortable. Triple lockers and the other off road goodies are welcome improvements. There is plenty of room for improvement, however.

Longer version: Yesterday at lunch I was notified my dealership had an unclaimed (for the moment) LX700 Overtrail. We immediately headed that way and picked it up.

This morning, I headed out for some light 4-wheeling at a series of trails about an hour from my house. Rainbow Falls OHV area if you're in Colorado and familiar with the area. The trails are a mix of rock obstacles, off camber sections, and you can choose your own adventure from mild to wild. There's a section called "mini Moab" that challenges even the most build rigs.

Today it was very muddy, with some light leftover snow.

My intention was to take it easy and just test the capabilities of the new LX700 and for the most part I succeeded... Had one "oopsie" that has mostly buffed out and is not super noticeable and I probably will just leave as a battle scar.

With 1 hour of driving there on back roads and about 2 hours on trails and then 1 hour back on the highway, I think I have a pretty good impression of the vehicle after just a single day. Here goes.

Pros:
-Smooth and quiet. More "Lexus-y" than other Lexus vehicles I've owned. They took NVH seriously and it shows.
-Interior functionality and ergonomics are really good. It's easy to find what you will commonly use, quickly. I know people bemoan the two-screen setup, but it's actually great in practice. I think the interior looks fantastic, very clean.
-Nice road presence. Stealthy but one of those IYKYK vehicles.
-Overtrail tires are 3 peak rated and do very well on snow and ice. Not great in the mud, as they cake up and you're then ice skating.
-Ground clearance is excellent in H2 even on factory tires. Approach angle, not so much, but most people won't be attempting the dumb things I was today. If you want more approach angle, I'm sure Dissent and maybe Slee would be happy to sell you a front bumper. I see no need, this vehicle is not meant to be a Jeep.
-Power and power delivery are both ample and smooth at low speeds off road.
-Triple lockers are the pinnacle of capability. I actually needed them today to get up a muddy hill. No chance MTS alone would have sufficed on a slippery uphill with tires caked in mud. I tried to get up with just the center locker (nope), then added the rear locker (nope) and finally the front locker (success.)
-What I love about the addition of lockers is how much they help you go UP things. But DAC/CRAWL is incredible for helping you get down safely. Having both is quite nice.
-The camera system is much improved and actually helpful. In the photo below, you can see to the left where it's darker; this is actually a 2.5' drop off, so the cameras can now show you some level of depth.
-I could complain about space, but I won't. The 112.2" wheelbase is perfect, and that's why Toyota kept it. Any smaller and it would be too small. Any bigger and it would be too big. I think the size is perfect.
-Articulation reminds me exactly of my 2015 200 series. It's excellent.
-In fact, the whole truck reminds me of my 200, just improved in every way.
-This thing simply drives like a Land Cruiser. Not a bad thing.

Cons:
-Honestly, I just could not get comfortable in the driver's seat. The thigh cushion feels like it's 4" too short. I'll keep messing with it, but if you're considering an LX I suggest an extended test drive. Seat comfort is among the key reasons I sold my GX460 prior. I have a normal frame, 6'' 200lbs and I'm comfortable in my wife's Cayenne, my F-150 Raptor, my
Wrangler, etc. But this seat is going to take some fine tuning.
-The ML sound system is a joke. Sure, it has clear sound, but without bass, I feel there's no point. I have better stock sound in my Jeep, Porsche, and F-150. I think even our Sienna's JBL is better. I'm severely disappointed in the lack of base. I get that Toyota had trouble with packaging as it is (clearly), but the lack of any sub-woofer is inexcusable to me for a halo vehicle that costs $120k. It can be fixed, but I should not have to pay extra to add a sub.
- I know I said above you don't need a better approach angle, but that's still a missed opportunity from Lexus. The approach angle should be better, even if most won't need it. Why give it triple lockers if I can't get over a rock that's too tall? Again, a halo vehicle, triple locked, off-road tires, skid plates, and a dumb approach angle. The breakover is great. Departure is fine.
-Ventilated seats. C'mon, Toyota, get your sh!t together on this. It basically just makes fan noise like all Toyota and Lexus products. I wish Toyota engineers would spend some time in a Ford and realize why Ford sells so many trucks - they get all the interior details like this right. Not to mention, seat comfort is so much better in a Ford truck.
-It would be nice to have a larger fuel tank, but I understand the concerns with payload and packaging when adding a battery and electric motor. My Wrangler 4xe deals with similar compromises, so I won't fault Toyota for this but just know you're not going over 300 miles on a tank unless you bring Rotopax.
-This one is weird, but trust me, it's noticeable: When the vehicle is in EV only mode and the ICE kicks in, you will hear a low, almost pop sound. It sounds like if you had a lax ball in the back of the vehicle and it rolled back into the tailgate when you take off. It's not loud, but you'll hear it every single time the engine kicks on, as pressure quickly exits the exhaust tip. Shocking to me, I've not heard anyone say this. My wife drove it home from the dealer and immediately was like "something is rolling around in the back" and when I investigated, I confirmed it's the ICE coming on. It will happen at any speed when you go from EV to ICE.
-I could complain about space, but I won't. The 112.2" wheelbase is perfect, and that's why Toyota kept it. Any smaller and it would be too small. Any bigger and it would be too big. I think the size is perfect.
-The transmission is not great. Not particularly smooth and even the hybrid engagement is rougher than I'm used to from Toyota. Sometimes braking would lead to harsh downshifts of the transmission. This is not unheard of, but again, at this price point, I expect Toyota/Lexus to get it right. Our Cayenne is flawless on every shift, up and down every single time. My Wrangler gets abused like a red-headed stepchild, but its ZF 8-speed always gets it right. Even my F-150 shifts its 10-speed much smoothly than the LX does. Hoping this is a break in thing, but I suspect it's not.
-Finally, hood flutter. You've got to be kidding me with this. 85mph on the way home and it's all I am noticing. $120k rig and the hood flutters because Toyota is too cheap to make it thicker? There's no obvious fix for this that I can see, the material is simply too thin and with enough wind and air pressure the thing flutters. That's bush league.


I realize that's a long list of cons, but I would recommend the vehicle to anyone if they go into ownership with eyes wide open. Resale should be strong, the vehicle should last a long time, we all know these are engineered to a very high standard. I'm glad I got it.
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Have you tried turning the "Surround" setting to off? I found the 3D and 2D settings add a ton of high frequency and you get a more balanced aound with it in off. I can turn it up a lot louder in off and there is decent bass. I would have sworn there is a subwoofer somewhere, at least in the 600.
 
Oakleyguy said:
Don't forget you can extend the driver's seat thigh support.

I like that pop when the gas engine kicks in, reminds me of the 918 when the engine kicks on.

Transmission has been smooth for me, but I already have 1900 miles on mine.

RE: ML, bass can be weak, but then on some songs it hits really hard. I think there's a spot sweet on the low end frequency range that is ideal for the ML. I boosted bass to about 3/4 and mid a bit behind that on the EQ. I'm also playing with the fade between centered and one tick rearward. That said the system does come alive around volume level 45.

I also have noticed a shimmer in the hood, but that was at 80MPH+ with a strong headwind. No where near egregious as the GX hood was.
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I have a 1000 miles on mine. Did some light offroading around the PHX 4 peaks area after a major rainstorm a month ago and liked how it performed (coming to a Lexus after owning an LR4 with e-rear locker) tho feel the articulation could have been better, perhaps the lack of E-KDSS.
Bass is terribly weak and the sound bias has to be faded towards the rear speakers for it to feel any good. Reminds me of my Honda Accord from 2 decades+ ago.
Getting some mods done by Dissent in the near future (front high clearance bumper, winch, rear bumper with swingout tire, body mount sliders, planning dual battery system). Will be installing a new Ham radio. Currently in a shop getting Xpel 10 mil PPF around doors.
Trying to ignore the hood vibration but I have noted the same on the Rivian R1S too, I guess the hoods are very lightweight aluminum lacking much rigidity.
 
mrlittlejeans said:
Have you tried turning the "Surround" setting to off? I found the 3D and 2D settings add a ton of high frequency and you get a more balanced aound with it in off. I can turn it up a lot louder in off and there is decent bass. I would have sworn there is a subwoofer somewhere, at least in the 600.
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Yep, tried that. Different, not sure if better?
 
mrlittlejeans said:
Have you tried turning the "Surround" setting to off? I found the 3D and 2D settings add a ton of high frequency and you get a more balanced aound with it in off. I can turn it up a lot louder in off and there is decent bass. I would have sworn there is a subwoofer somewhere, at lea tinny high
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Canyonero said:
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Just got my 700h on Thursday night (earth with black interior) and promptly took it to the turkey woods. Unfortunately, the gobbler did not ride back in the truck. Have to say that it is miles better than my 2021 LC which I traded. More comfortable, good power and torque and love the height adjustment and the adaptive cruise feature which will literally follow the road. Amazing. I do not want my 200 back. (I drove a 2015 and the 2021 for 8 years straight. Time to move on.
 
Desiboy said:
I have a 1000 miles on mine. Did some light offroading around the PHX 4 peaks area after a major rainstorm a month ago and liked how it performed (coming to a Lexus after owning an LR4 with e-rear locker) tho feel the articulation could have been better, perhaps the lack of E-KDSS.
Bass is terribly weak and the sound bias has to be faded towards the rear speakers for it to feel any good. Reminds me of my Honda Accord from 2 decades+ ago.
Getting some mods done by Dissent in the near future (front high clearance bumper, winch, rear bumper with swingout tire, body mount sliders, planning dual battery system). Will be installing a new Ham radio. Currently in a shop getting Xpel 10 mil PPF around doors.
Trying to ignore the hood vibration but I have noted the same on the Rivian R1S too, I guess the hoods are very lightweight aluminum lacking much rigidity.
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Send us pics of the new bumper!
 
Canyonero said:
-In fact, the whole truck reminds me of my 200, just improved in every way.
-This thing simply drives like a Land Cruiser. Not a bad thing.

I appreciate your thoughts on this vehicle. The 200 is just so damn good, to say the 300 is an improvement is a big statement. I was hoping to see one at the Denver auto show but sadly no. They did have the 250/GX but both were underwhelming. I'm personally not a fan of the Lexus version aesthetics but this is the version we have to play with. After 10+ years in my 200, I may need to go drive one of these.
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Dissent has some light duty ones and Slee is working on theirs actively.
 
If they changed the waterfall grille on the OT, it would have been an almost perfect overland rig from the factory. Additionally, a factory compressor and rock rails would of been a cherry on top.
 
JackAttack13 said:
If they changed the waterfall grille on the OT, it would have been an almost perfect overland rig from the factory. Additionally, a factory compressor and rock rails would of been a cherry on top.
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Can't disagree with those points. I will say the approach angle is overblown. In H2 and when climbing anything technical, it gets out of it's way pretty well. Rock sliders would be nice. Seems like Lexus couldn't decide what it wanted to be, and they are too conservative to ever (EVER) go "all in" on a vehicle like Jeep or Ford both do. Even the Trailhunter trims are weak sauce IMO compared to something like a Rubicon or a Raptor.

I've done some overlanding in the rig at this point, and I'm at 5k miles. It's been really good and I think the sweet spot for the LX700h OT is overlanding; pulling a medium size off road trailer and knowing you have the toolkit to make it through almost anything.
 
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Canyonero said:
Can't disagree with those points. I will say the approach angle is overblown. In H2 and when climbing anything technical, it gets out of it's way pretty well. Rock sliders would be nice. Seems like Lexus couldn't decide what it wanted to be, and they are too conservative to ever (EVER) go "all in" on a vehicle like Jeep or Ford both do. Even the Trailhunter trims are weak sauce IMO compared to something like a Rubicon or a Raptor.

I've done some overlanding in the rig at this point, and I'm at 5k miles. It's been really good and I think the sweet spot for the LX700h OT is overlanding; pulling a medium size off road trailer and knowing you have the toolkit to make it through almost anything.
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Agree on Toyota being overly conservative. I was actually shocked at how far they went with the Trail Hunter 4R. The ARB, OME, Rigid collaborations were shocking TBH. A Trail Hunter 700h edition would be 👌.

Adding an exclusive grille and some rock sliders wouldn't be a huge ask.
 
I'm not very familiar in off road parks like this so I can't tell if the trails that they tried out are pretty hard but it looks gnarly.

 
eNx said:
I'm not very familiar in off road parks like this so I can't tell if the trails that they tried out are pretty hard but it looks gnarly.

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I’ve been to this very park (RAM Off-road Park in Colorado Springs) and what they were doing was reasonably difficult.

Understandably, they didn’t want to scrape up the rig so they didn’t push it quite as hard as they could have.
 
Canyonero said:
I’ve been to this very park (RAM Off-road Park in Colorado Springs) and what they were doing was reasonably difficult.

Understandably, they didn’t want to scrape up the rig so they didn’t push it quite as hard as they could have.
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That last climb that they did, it seems like that rock was pretty inclined and the approach angle was ok. The dude keep saying it's climbing a wall but that maybe a little over exaggerated?
 
eNx said:
That last climb that they did, it seems like that rock was pretty inclined and the approach angle was ok. The dude keep saying it's climbing a wall but that maybe a little over exaggerated?
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Yeah...probably to gather likes for the "channel", but the performance was very decent. Even with the big'ol chin and the guy fumbling to turn on the lockers. I don't think he even touched the front one. That said, I will only become a fully converted 700H praiser when one of you guys run the Moab trails and the OT comes out the other side chin unscathed. ;) Come on guys, let's go!
 
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