2012 Lexus LX launched in UAE
Interview with Al-Futtaim Motors on the LX and Lexus range – plus what buyers really think of the IS-F
By Shahzad Sheikh
The facelifted 2012 Lexus LX570 has just gone on sale, and we went to see Saud Abbasi, General Manager of Al Futtaim Motors, Lexus to get all the details on the new car and find out how things are going for Lexus in general, and learn the rather surprising feedback they’ve had on the IS-F.
Whilst it keeps the 5.7-litre V8 producing 362bhp, there have been several cosmetic and technology changes to the new LX, including a signature ‘spindle grille’ and the ‘world’s first Overturn Assist’ which is exactly NOT what you think it is. We’ll let Abbasi explain.
“There are fundamental changes that we are introducing to the 2012 LX, the biggest one is from a design perspective, the front end demonstrates the all-new direction that we taking with the unique identity with Lexus going forward, so LX is the first new vehicle in the market showing our customers the new look of Lexus.” That’s the uniquely sculpted slightly samurai, slightly Predator-esque inward pinched grille.
That button top, second from left, activates Overturn, which is exactly NOT what you think it is
“On the technology side, we’ve actually enhanced the off-road performance, and we’re introducing what we’ve called the world’s first Overturn Assist,” and whilst we immediately assumed it was a sort of stability system to avoid the car rolling over during off-roading, we had to be corrected.
“What it does is allow a three-point turn to be done in a far narrower space in off-road conditions than was previously possible. We’re using the crawl-control feature, torque control and the Limited slip. It effectively locks up one wheel and you’re able to turn the car around that wheel. Its primary function is off-road. You have to be in crawl control, and then switch it in.” Oh… okay then.
Not that many Lexus owners tend to take their vehicles off-road: “By and large customers want the capability to go off-road, but they aren’t doing hard-core off-roading with their Lexus, given the nature of our customers, who have a fairly large-sized garage, they usually have something else to go off-road in.”
So what else is new on the LX?
“There’s a design change on the wheels, design change on the interior colour, we’ve got a new beige coming in and there’s two new interior wood trims coming in. The instrument panel has also been enhanced.”
Make no mistake this is an important car for Lexus accounting for 30-35% of Lexus business in the UAE, and the number one seller in the Lexus range. In fact after previewing it to loyal customers they’ve pre-sold the cars well into next month.
They’re offering customers more choice this time though with SEVEN grade and trim levels to choose from, compared to the previous four. Prices start from AED342,000 ($93,000) and rise to AED398,000 ($108,150).
LX has a built in commode... er... at least that's what we thought that button top right means, although might be something to do with lowered height for ease of disembarkation
And they want to market the LX and indeed the Lexus range (traditionally more popular with the host community) to a wider audience over the next two years.
“Our strategy this year, is that we are now starting to engage with the expat population, this LX has a lot to offer, and this year the packaging strategy and pricing strategy is designed to entice customers that may not have considered a Lexus before.”
Recovering sales
2011 was a tough year for all the Japanese manufacturers because of the natural disasters, how did Lexus cope?
“Last year when the earthquake hit, we reassessed what we could achieve and achieved that by the end of the year. So we were exactly where we expected to be. But it was a flat year in terms of growth, completely driven by lack supply.
“The coming couple of years for Lexus are very exciting, there’s a lot more focus on the business, we’re getting into segments that we haven’t considered before, there’s a lot of things coming our way and we will have very aggressive plans for this year and next year.”
LFA, IS-F and CT200h
How have the recent new model introductions performed in the market? Actually what we really want to know is, how many LFAs are here in the UAE?
“With the LFA we’ve delivered two cars with a few more this year, the idea was to demonstrate what we were capable of doing.”
MME has heard that five will be delivered in the UAE in total – although Abbasi is still trying to get hold of another car to display at the Lexus flagship showroom in Dubai Festival City.
“With the introduction of the CT200h – we’ve actually doubled our hybrid volume (this is mostly with private buyers), in a year when our sales remained flat. What is going to be more exciting is what will happen when we bring the GS hybrid in, shortly after GS.
F-Sport is now a trim and sports package that is being rolled out to the whole range. It ranges from just bodykits to actual modifications to the setup of the car.
“F-Sport is now available on CT200h which is a body kit, it will also become available for the GS, in which it will also involve suspension tuning. We have a three grade tragedy at Lexus: the F series of cars such as the IS-F, then F-Sport packages for eventually the range, and then the regular cars.” Think of it as Lexus’ version of AMG and M-Sport.
And finally, how have sales our MME’s favourite Lexus, the awesome IS-F gone?
“Feedback we’ve had on IS-F is that it’s ‘overpowered’! I never thought I would hear that. For the size of vehicle that you get, a lot of people have said that…”
Say what? It’s a very technical car in our opinion in which you have to work hard to get at the performance, which is plentiful, but we’d never call it “overpowered”, and we at MME think it might be down to driver training and driver education.
“This kind of performance coming out of Lexus vehicles is something people are still getting used to,” concedes Abbasi. However the car has exceeded volume targets it has grown 30-40% he claims.
Hmm… overpowered? Tell you what Saud, give us a long-termer and we’ll let you know if it could possibly described as ‘overpowered’.
Own a Lexus? How have you been getting on with it? Let us know below
