LEXUS LM 350H AWD TAKUMI

Newcomer is much more than just a van with seats. Limousines beware...

- MATT SAUNDERS

TESTED 15.1.24, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ON SALE NOW

If the sight of the new Lexus LM makes you wonder why anyone would spend six figures on a Ivan-shaped "luxury mover", it's probably because you're simply not "hyper-affluent" enough. For a few minutes at least, just try to be a bit Bezos.

Imagine that you travel almost everywhere by private jet - except when you're travelling by road. You're used to top-level luxuries in every corner of your life and time to yourself is among those that you value the highest (bless).

So what you experience inside a 'limousine' is far more important than how it looks, how it drives or what it says about you. Would you not prefer one that you can step in and out of even more easily than a black cab? One with enough room inside for you to genuinely repose? One with blinds and cabin dividers that enable you to shut out the world, as well as the driver up front? One with seats and tables like your Gulfstream - but with the digital technology to beat it?

The 200 or so deposits that Lexus UK took for this car after opening the order book last year suggest that you just might.