A magazine ad for the Lexus LX450 said, “Mountains aren’t impressed by your title, the amount of money you make, the size of your house, or what you happen to drive. Scratch that last one.” The LX was all about combining go-anywhere capability with abundant creature comforts. Our Pick of the Day is a 1996 Lexus LX450 SUV listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Vining, Minnesota.
The listing says, “This vehicle has been cared for, with a clean CARFAX report and no accidents throughout ownership. A well-documented maintenance history is available, with extensive records demonstrating pride of ownership.”
The LX450 went into production in November 1995 and was released in the United States in January 1996. It was a crafted from the onset as a premium version of the “80-series” (1991-97) Land Cruiser. The sport-utility market was booming, and automakers realized there was an opportunity to capture an upscale buyer segment. Around the same time, Acura rolled out the SLX (a rebadged version of the Isuzu Trooper) but that’s another story entirely. Hey, at least Toyota’s luxo-SUV was engineered in-house.
Exterior features include two-tone paint, fender flares, power moonroof, roof rails, receiver hitch, and alloy wheels wrapped in Trailfinder all-terrain tires.
One of the biggest merits of the 80-series LX was its interior versatility. The cabin offered three rows of seating (with capacity for up to seven) that could be readily reconfigured for cargo.
Features include leather upholstery, power-adjustable seats, power windows, power steering, woodgrain trim, and automatic climate control. The seller says, “The front leather seats show some wear but are in overall good condition. Overall, the cabin presents very well and retains the character and feel of an original LX450.”
Under the hood is a 1FZ-FE 4.5-liter inline-six (215 hp/275 lb-ft of torque) mated to a four-speed automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case. Despite showing 207,000 miles, the vehicle sounds healthy in the start-up video that the seller has provided.
“It can be driven and enjoyed as-is, gradually restored, or preserved as an increasingly collectible example of the first-generation LX450,” the listing concludes.
Ready to go on an adventure and impress some mountains? The asking price is $13,950.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
