New Lexus LM Luxury MPV heading for the UK to challenge the Mercedes V-Class

The new Lexus LM MPV is revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show, a luxury people carrier heading for the UK to challenge the Mercedes V-Class.

Lexus has built its brand in the UK on saloons and SUVs, but elsewhere on the planet there are more Lexus models available, including the Lexus LM People Carrier.

Now, as a new Lexus LM is revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show, Lexus plans to offer it in the UK and Europe as a challenger to the popular  ‘posh’ mode of multi-occupant shuttling – the Mercedes V-Class.

The new Lexus LM is 5.1 meters long with a 3-metre wheelbase, offering accommodation for up to seven but with a luxury four-seat option for the most special of passengers, with sliding side doors for easy entry into the commodious cabin and a massive Lexus grille at the front.

Inside there’s stuff like a Mark Levinson Sound system, a 48″ widescreen monitor on the partition between front and rear, fold-out tables, a fridge, wireless phone charging, reading lights and voice control from the back seats.

Comfort and quiet are the name of the game for passengers, so don’t expect anything other than hushed and adequate performance from the 2.5-litre ‘Self-Charging’ Hybrid under the bonnet, good for 247bhp and with its electrical help able to crawl around the urban jungle in silence (well, some of the time). It’s possible, as Lexus is badging this the LM 350h, that we might have a PHEV version to come.

The new Lexus LM will go on sale in the UK in the autumn, and we’d expect prices to start around the £70k mark