Not only is the new LX570 luxury SUV one of the most technically sophisticated SUVs ever built, it’s also one of the most powerful, quiet and well-appointed to come from any automaker.

This new luxury cruiser has the same 5.7-liter 4-cam, 4-valve V-8 engine as Toyota’s Land Cruiser SUV and Tundra pickup truck, a full liter larger in displacement than the previous engine in the LX470, and, at 383 hp, an amazing 115-hp stronger than the old engine, with about the same fuel economy. Lexus says the hefty LX570 will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in little more than seven seconds flat. The engine is backed by the quick-shifting Lexus 6-speed overdrive automatic with full manual shifting capability.

Although the LX570 looks very similar to the LX470, the body is completely new, with a pointier, more aero-friendly nose, contemporary up-and-down adjustable headlamps that turn left and right to light corners. Its drag coeffiecient has also improved from 0.39 down to 0.35, better than some sedans.

The all-new LX570 shares many of its underpinnings and systems with the similar Toyota Land Cruiser, but carries even more standard equipment and more high-end gear, like full leather upholstery, beautiful genuine wood trim, a beefier entertainment system, a hard-drive satellite navigation system, and a more sophisticated chassis and suspension system. It seats up to eight, with new power folding rear seats, sliding second-row seats for additional legroom, side-or front-facing third-row seats, and a power liftgate for easy access to the cargo compartment. Later in the year, Lexus will make remote-starting available on the 570.

The LX570 rides on an independent front and rear suspension with coil springs, continuously adjustable shock absorbers and three-position ride height that can be adjusted on the fly. It offers the occasional off-roader 8.9 inches of ground clearance, lots of suspension travel, and a very plush ride.

One of the technologies introduced on the LX570 is Crawl Control, which takes hill descent control several steps further. With the rollover sensing system turned off and 4-Wheel-Low range engaged in the two-speed transfer case, the driver can then activate the Crawl Control system by choosing from one of three speeds the system will allow. Attempting to go above those speeds will result in the system applying the brakes and cutting throttle. The vehicle will maintain in the preset speed (1, 2, or 3 mph) going downhill or uphill, in Drive or Reverse, and will stop working whenever the brake or throttle pedal is touched, but comes right back on whenever the pedal is released. Only a tiny handful of LX570 owners will ever take them off-road, but when they do, they will enjoy a level of control never before available in an SUV.

The new LX is about 240 pounds heavier than the outgoing version, and a lot of that extra weight is in the brand new heavy-duty fully boxed frame rails, the 4-inch longer and wider body, and a set of underbody sound-deadening panels in the wheel wells and on the floor pan. At freeway speeds, you can whisper from the front seat and be heard in the third seat, it’s so quiet in there.

The quiet, luxurious surrounding and appointments go hand in hand with an utterly replete safety package, including all-wheel drive, ABS, traction control, yaw control, rollover mitigation, and an industry-leading 10 air bags, including front, side, three-row roof and front compartment knee bags. If you ever did hit anything with it at high speed, it would probably bounce off, since it’s such a big, strong tank of an SUV. For now, this is the best there is in luxury SUVs. Lexus indicates the price will be in the neighborhood of $68,000, comparable to the LX470’s price, but that’s not official yet. —Jim McCraw