The automotive history books are littered with cars endowed with the silliest of names.
The list is seemingly endless, but standouts include such stunners as the Mitsubishi Lettuce and Honda Life Dunk.
How about the Mazda Scrum Wagon, or Nissan’s Friend-Me? Then there was the compact pick-up from China called the Great Wall Wingle.
While not in the same league, Lexus has come up with an amusing title for the latest version of its flagship hybrid SUV, the LX 700h. It’s called the F Sport Handling.
It’s amusing in that here is an XXL-sized truck with old-school body-on-frame design, that weighs roughly the same as a Brink’s armored truck. Sporty handling is not one of its many qualities.
But ignore the silly badge and what you have here is a big, luxury three-row family hauler with bold, macho looks, and one of the best hybrid powerplants on offer.
The LX itself debuted for the 2022 model year as the LX 600, essentially as a gussied-up version of Toyota’s mighty Land Cruiser 4×4. So it’s got some years on its design.
For 2025, Lexus added this 700h version featuring a hybridized version of the velvety-smooth 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 that comes with the LX 600.
It’s a clever design with a beefy electric motor integrated between the V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. Juiced by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack squeezed under the load platform, it cranks out an impressive 457-hp and stump-pulling 583 lb-ft of torque.
That’s 48 more horseys and 104 more torques compared to the non-hybrid 600. Enough to scoot this roughly 6,300-pound whopper from standstill to 60mph in 6.4 seconds – that’s half a second quicker than the 600.
What’s a smidge disappointing is that despite that racy F Sport Handling title, you don’t get any increase in power, or performance compared to other 700h models.
What you do get for the lofty $118,450 sticker is so-called F Sport tuned suspension, a Torsen limited-slip differential and dark gray 22-inch F Sport forged alloys. Plus a more aggressive-looking front end with a truly massive shiny-black honeycomb grill and side intakes big enough to ingest small animals.
Climb aboard – thankfully made easier by big side running boards – and F Sportiness comes courtesy of our tester’s retina-searing Circuit Red leather interior, aluminum pedals, paddle shifters and center console trim, and a thick-rimmed F Sport steering wheel.
Despite the new-for-’25 12.3-inch touchscreen display on top of the dash and redesigned electronic shifter, it all feels just a little old school with its multitude of buttons and switches.
It’s all super-comfy and spacious, with body-hugging front seats and roomy second-row seats. That tiny third row however, is only suited for kids, and even they’ll complain.
Load-carrying is also compromised with that big battery pack mounted under the cargo bay. It cuts the load-carrying space from the LX 600’s 46 cubic feet to just 31.
But hybrid power is worth it for the extra zest it gives the big LX. Off the line, and especially with Sport S mode selected, it surges away like a Delta jet on take off. Mid-range thrust for passing, or freeway merging, is strong and confidence-inspiring.
It’s not like a typical hybrid however. You can’t select an EV-only mode for city stop-start driving. And the fuel economy benefits are minuscule – EPA estimated show 19 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 20 mpg combined. That’s just a 1 mpg improvement in the combined number over the non-hybrid 600.
While the F Sport Handling’s handling could never be described as sporty, there’s less body roll in tight curves and a firmer, tighter ride. Nimble however, it’s not.
Sadly, at this price point, there are too many more modern, more dynamic rivals on offer. Like Cadillac’s latest Escalade, Infiniti’s redesigned QX80, and Lincoln’s new Navigator. Not to mention Euro rivals like BMW’s X7, Mercedes’ GLS and Land Rover’s Range Rover.
For Lexus lovers however, that F Sport badge and hybrid power will be more than enough to add excitement.
