For the 2018 model year, Lexus’s Enform Safety Connect and Service Connect are complimentary for 10 years (previously one year). Otherwise, apart from one new body color, nothing has changed.

Joyfully old-fashioned yet modern, the lavishly LX boasts first-class finishes. Like its close cousin, the Toyota Land Cruiser, it promises big V8 power, but cumbersome handling. In effect, Lexus started with the practical-minded Land Cruiser, layering on leather upholstery and wood trim, behind a huge chrome-laden grille. At the finish line is a luxury truck.

Toyota’s 5.7-liter V8 develops 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque, sending its power to an 8-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive. Acceleration to 60 mph is accomplished in a brisk 7.3 seconds. Abysmal fuel economy is the price to be paid, estimated at 15 mpg in Combined city/highway driving.

A 5-inch addition to the nose makes the LX longer than its Toyota counterpart. Even so, the LX is nearly as masterful off-road as a Land Cruiser. An electro-hydraulic height-adjustment system can raise or lower the vehicle 2 inches. Five-mode traction control can select optimum operation on various road surfaces, from loose dirt to mud to snow and ice.

In its crash-testing program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the LX a four-star rating for frontal impact. No ratings have been issued for overall crash protection, or for side-impact testing. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not crash-tested the LX 570.

For the 2017 model year, Lexus made a bundle of advanced safety technology standard. The safety group includes forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, and automatic high beams. Ten airbags and a rearview camera are standard. A front-end camera gives a 180-degree view of obstacles ahead.

Lexus’s Enform system with Bluetooth connectivity is standard. A telematics system provides emergency notification services.