The 2013 Lexus LX 570 emerges more refined than ever

Arriving at local dealerships early next month, the 2013 Lexus LX 570 wears its makeover well with greatly improved styling, a carefully enhanced interior, state-of-the-art technology and unexpected off-road versatility.

“With all of the enhanced features, the LX 570 offers perhaps the most exciting combination of luxury, on-road smoothness and off-road performance of any vehicle in its segment,” said Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division.

The smarter look comes partly from fresh LED daytime lights accenting a new headlamp treatment with larger fog lamp bezels. The rear lighting cluster has also been updated, along with the license plate surround while the hitch has been better integrated into the overall appearance. Front and rear bumpers have a new chrome accent and turn signals were added to the sideview mirrors.

The LX 570 comes with a bodacious, load-hauling 5.7-liter V8, quad cam, 32-valve engine with dual (VVT-i). At 383 horsepower and 403 lb.-ft. of torque it will perform demanding tasks in the lap of luxury.

The new Crawl Control provides unexcelled throttle and brake modification when negotiating rough, convoluted surfaces. A fresh Turn Assist tightens cornering by adding brakes to the inside rear wheel, while an added Multi-terrain selector also allows drivers to customize performance to the terrain before them.

The 2013 Lexus LX 570 gets the greatly improved Lexus Enform, a color TFT display, improved seat cooling up front, a new power outlet in the second row plus new trims and accents, of course.

The navigator is displayed on a new high-resolution display with resident apps, providing mobile phone connectivity to a new level of information and entertainment management. Owners can access Bing and other voice-activated apps to make reservations with OpenTable, schedule movie outings via MovieTickets.com or surf radio services with Pandora or iHeartRadio.

LX owners can also check-in on Facebook and look for restaurant or business reviews on Yelp. With SiriusXM data services, you can get updates on stocks, traffic, weather, sports and fuel prices. Enform works with iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

The optional Luxury Package ($1,510) includes a cooler box, semi-aniline leather-upholstery, contrasting stitching, heated steering wheel, mahogany-trimmed door switch plates, center armrest cover, climate controlled front seats and heated second-row window seats.

The new LX 570 also provides an available rear-seat entertainment system with two display screens, wireless headphones and a three-pronged electrical outlet for $2,005. This allows two input sources to be used simultaneously, for example, one for a DVD player with the other running a game or audio player.

If you like them big, pricey and very comfortable, the 2013 Lexus LX 570 is well worth a look.