Compared with BBA’s mechanical feel, Lexus has always been the unique choice in many people’s minds because of its low-key and restrained Eastern philosophy. The Lexus LM, Lexus' first MPV that has just been launched, is a new flagship that combines many oriental-flavored luxury elements. The official recommended guide price of this car is 1.166 million yuan for the seven-seat version and 1.46 million yuan for the four-seat version, and both are LM300h models.
Its selling price has set a new ceiling height for “vans”.
This price can be regarded as a relief for haters and pain for relatives: Haters are relieved: more than one million yuan is a proper IQ tax for buying a van; relatives complain: the pricing threshold is low, and too many people will buy it. No longer noble.
As a sacred car, the price must be increased. As for the price increase, how much? The price previously released online would cost an additional 650,000 for a seven-seat model and an additional 950,000 for a four-seat model.
However, this is an evolved version of Alfa. For those who buy it or not, it doesn’t matter whether the price is increased or not.
No peers, no rivals
Since its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2019, Lexus LM has attracted everyone’s attention, but when it comes to its story, it must not be forgotten. Not to mention its smaller brothers, the Toyota Alphard and Wilfa.
For a long time, "van" has been a major category of van-type passenger vehicles. It once generally referred to cars such as Huangdafa, Songhuajiang, Wuling Hongguang, etc. The engine compartment, passenger compartment, and trunk are all in a bread-shaped shell, even if It is a higher-end MPV and has always been widely regarded as a "van that can seat people" in the domestic market. In the early years, it was once specially called a "bullet car".
It wasn’t until Chinese car consumers came into contact with Hong Kong culture and discovered the value and convenience of the “nanny cars” of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars that it directly led to the Toyota Alphard & Wilfa with dual license plates. As the trend continued to spread further into the mainland, people realized again that "vans" can be high-end, comfortable and classy, ??and MPVs can also be sold very expensively.
Toyota Alphard and Wilfa on the streets of Hong Kong
More importantly, due to limited supply, the terminal prices of these two cars not only do not have any discounts, but even To add 100,000-200,000 to 200,000 to the official guide price, coupled with the high basic price of the car itself, it can only become the choice of the Chinese-invested class and above because the entry price is easily one million. It is popular among those who already have a Mercedes-Benz at home. Favored by the S-class crowd.
This time, due to the emergence of Lexus LM, MPV has been given the word luxury again. I am afraid there are not a few people who want to buy it when they have cash in hand.
Since the debut of the LF-GH concept car with Lexus design language in 2011, Lexus’ design has been very stylish. Almost every work is unforgettable, and LM naturally continues to uphold it. Lexus design style: family-style spindle-shaped front air intake grille, inside the light clusters on both sides of the front, with three granular light sources and L-shaped LED daytime running lights, boomerang-style chrome decorative parts, etc. , born out of Alpha, but beyond Alpha.
For LM and Alfa, the most important thing is actually the car logo, because the side and rear of the LM car are like a facelift of Alfa. Except for the detailed decoration, the differences are not worth mentioning.
LM only has two colors
High-end cars have always been very particular about car colors, which must not only conform to the brand's temperament, but also be bright and eye-catching. Different from the usual thinking of car companies who often use two-color bodywork and want all parts of the car to be different colors at this stage, Lexus has achieved the ultimate in simplicity at the LM level. All LM models only have ordinary black and white paints. .
The Lexus LM has a body size of 5040mm in length, 1850mm in width, and 1945mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3000mm. For a flagship luxury MPV, the size of the Lexus LM ensures that even if you drive by yourself, you will not feel like a truck driver. I am afraid that no other model can match it in terms of size. If you add the level, you will have no opponents at all.
The interior cabin has been upgraded, and luxury four-seaters are no longer exclusive to cars
Compared with Alfa's "nanny car" positioning, Lexus LM pays special attention to its own business travel requirements.
In addition to the seven-seat Junya version that is popular among home users, it has also launched a four-seat Royal Edition. This innovative four-seat version has undoubtedly become the most attractive model in the car series.
The four-seat layout has long been the standard configuration of top flagship models, especially in sedans, because rear passengers have greater privacy and a sense of exclusivity and nobility. This is especially important for rear passengers. The importance of MPV is obviously higher than that of front-row MPV: it is precisely because of the addition of four-seater models that Lexus LM can be regarded as a top-notch luxury MPV.
The four-seater Lexus LM Royal Edition has an independent design. The front and rear rows are divided into independent spaces with adjustable seats. In order to take care of the business needs of the rear row and highlight unique product features, the Lexus LM four-seat Royal Edition is equipped with The private screen window separates the front and rear rows of independent spaces. It is electrically lifted and can change color. It is said to be inspired by traditional Chinese screens.
In the Lexus LM, rear passengers will enjoy a 26-inch display screen that can be connected to smartphones, tablets and other devices, and supports Blu-ray playback, coupled with a 19-speaker sound system specially created by Mark LeVin And double-layer noise reduction glass, visual and auditory enjoyment is enough. Speaking of luxury, the 14-liter car refrigerator that can hold 2 bottles of champagne or wine, and the subtle configuration also add to the comfort and style of the entire rear row.
Power is not important, after all, it is impossible to use it for mountain running
The power system of Lexus LM is equipped with the same 2.5-liter gasoline-electric hybrid system as Alpha Twin Engine, in which the engine The maximum power is 134 kilowatts (182 horsepower), the peak torque is 206 Nm, and it is matched with an E-CVT gearbox. The fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 5.3 liters/100 kilometers. Also equipped is electric four-wheel drive.
Hybrid engine and electronic continuously variable transmission system ECVT
Indeed, it is not correct to say that power is not what this car is pursuing, but this is not a compromise but a need. After all, For such a big and expensive car, even a six-cylinder seems barely adequate. But compared with gasoline engines, the main task of gasoline-electric hybrid engines is to maintain the smoothness and stability of driving. This is its core appeal. As for fuel consumption and economy, the fundamental value of hybrid vehicles lies It's not important at all. At most, it can be regarded as the icing on the cake for low-carbon environmentalists to talk about after dinner.
But how does it drive? I secretly think that it is not much better than the Alpha. Anyone who has driven the Alpha knows that it has many problems when driving: its driver's seat adopts a set of typical ergonomics for small truck drivers. Model, its steering is as vague as ever and there is no road feel or control at all. Its wind noise control ability is also not worthy of the price, and its suspension is far from as balanced and comfortable as a Lexus sedan.
LM's electric four-wheel drive system
To sum up, the driving performance of this car is actually not very good, or in other words, it is not worthy of the price at all, and the Alpha is not worthy. LM is even less worthy.
But so what? In Asia, such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, it is a standard nanny car. Friends who often go to Hong Kong also know that it is used as a minibus to pull people at border crossings. , which is equivalent to a private car in China. Even now in China, the proportion of drivers in the driver's seat of Alpha has also increased significantly.
So, is it worth buying it?
Due to the almost crazy price increase of its younger brother Alfa, after LM was unveiled at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, what everyone paid most attention to was its price. As for how much the styling configuration has improved compared to Alfa, no one cares at all. . Dealer pre-sales started, and the news that the Lexus LM cost 2 million+ to pick up a car was widely circulated. There were abuses, jokes, and comments from onlookers, but they were basically negative.
If you ask me, is the price of a Lexus starting at 1.166 million yuan expensive for the Lexus LM? My answer is: not expensive. This price may be expensive for a considerable number of people, but it is not expensive for those wealthy people who want to buy a high-end luxury MPV.
The reason is simple. First of all, among many luxury car brands, Lexus is a niche outlier. Compared with mainstream German luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, Lexus is very different in terms of brand image and product style. Buying a Lexus is enough for the car owner to have a unique vision.
Secondly, its younger brother has laid a very solid foundation first: the official price of Alpha with Toyota logo is 772,000 to 856,000 yuan. As for the LM, it is Lexus's ultra-luxury flagship MPV. Its materials, workmanship and configuration are all worthy of this positioning. More importantly, for a Lexus, its brand value is obviously higher than that of Toyota, so The price is bound to be higher as well: I’ve already spent a million, so if I spend an additional 300,000 to replace the Bull Head logo with an L logo, why not?
Finally, as a high-end luxury MPV with a price increase background, whether it is a seven-seater model of 1.166 million yuan or a four-seater model of 1.466 million yuan, they are only the most basic price. There is basically no hope of getting a car at this price now. The LM price increase chart circulating on the Internet is most likely the real market situation: the average price increase of Alfa on the market is around 200,000 yuan, not to mention this is Lexus's first high-end luxury model MPV?
After all, for this type of car, the halo has long surpassed the value of the car itself.
I even dare to bet a dollar: the more the price increase, the happier LM consumers will be, and if the price increase is less, they will still curse.
Because for this group of people who are not short of money, finding a sense of identity in material things is far more important to them than spending hundreds of thousands more dollars.
Tell me about your opponent? On the surface, Toyota Alphard and Wilfa are both competitors of Lexus LM, but the price difference of hundreds of thousands of naked cars, and the price difference of more than one million after the price increase makes the competition between them not so real. Those who sell LM will most likely be biased against Alpha.
Let’s make a bold prediction. If the supply of Lexus LM is guaranteed after it goes on the market, there is a high probability that Alpha will become the second best model for wealthy people. It will suddenly fall to the bottom of the contempt chain, and its value will be will shrink significantly.
Since the wealthy people don’t want it anymore, the time when we can buy Alfa at a reasonable price may not be far away.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.