2017 Lexus LX 570: Car Seat Check

CARS.COM — With seating for eight, the 2017 Lexus LX 570 can easily handle hauling families, whether large or small. With its wide second-row bench, the LX 570 fits three car seats. The third-row bench is also wide, but with its 50/50 split, the unlucky person sitting in the middle seat will be straddling the seat split. Our test SUV had leather seats and power-folding second and third rows.

More Car Seat Checks

How many car seats fit in the second row? Three

How many car seats fit in the third row? Two

What We Like

• The LX 570 has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the second row’s outboard seats. The anchors sit under leather flaps that are Velcroed into place. The anchors are easy to access. There are three tether anchors on the second row’s seatbacks, with the outboard seats’ anchors near the top of the seatbacks. For the middle seat, the tether anchor is at the base of the seatback.
• The rear- and forward-facing convertibles fit well and installed easily in the second row.
• The rear-facing infant seat installed easily into the second row, but we had to move the front passenger seat forward to fit it. Our 5-foot-8 tester had enough legroom to sit comfortably.
• The second-row bench fits three car seats across it.
• The booster seat fit well in the wide seats in both the second and third rows.
• With the tug of a lever, the second-row seats power-fold and tumble forward to create a wide path to the third row. The running boards on the LX are a must-have — they make climbing into the SUV a lot easier — and there’s an extra step to get into the cabin that’s lined with hard plastic. It’s also helpful for climbing into this behemoth. Be warned, though, that the step-in height is still substantial.

What We Don’t Like

• The third row doesn’t have any lower Latch anchors or tether anchors, which means a forward-facing convertible can’t be installed back there.
• The second-row seat belt buckle behind the driver’s seat is floppy and on a short stalk – it fell behind our booster seat. The other two seats in the second row have stable buckles, but they’re on hinges and can fold into the bottom cushion. None of these seat belt buckles will be easy for kids to use independently.
• The third row’s seat belt buckles are nestled in the seat cushions, making them difficult to grasp by kids.

Grading Scale

A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.  

B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.

C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.

D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.

F: Does not fit or is unsafe.

About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks

Editors Jennifer Geiger, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.

We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.

Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.