Instead of bending to the industry and creating another SUV, Lexus’s new flagship limo-of-sorts is a proper MPV. Nice!

The second-generation Lexus LM will be launched in over 60 countries worldwide, including for the first time in Europe and Lexus’s home market of Japan. According to Lexus, the car is seen as “reinterpreting chauffeur-driven personal mobility”.

I mean, it only takes a few glances into the rear cabin to know they mean business. Just look at all that space in the back – this is why an MPV is superior size-wise compared to a conventional luxury SUV. 

Lexus will offer two seating configurations for the LM. You can either have a fairly standard-looking seven-seater or splash the cash and double down on the luxurious four-seater. The latter is decked with fully-reclining captain’s chairs in the back and more legroom than first-class seats.

Oh, you wanted entertainment? Well, the four-seater variant also comes with a suite of amenities, with its piece-de-resistance being a 48-inch HD television for rear occupants. Other trinkets include a fridge, fold-out tables, a 23-speaker Mark Levinson surround sound system and a dimmable partition between the driver and passengers. You know, if you didn’t want your chauffeur spying in on your conversation.

Oh, and there’s a feature dubbed Climate Concierge which uses infrared sensors to scan the temperature of the rear passengers and adjusts the air conditioning automatically. Instead of, you know, adjusting it yourself.

But, should you want to do just that, there are five selectable Climate Concierge modes – Relax, Dream, Focus, Energise and My Original. I’m assuming Energise is the full-blast option? All modes are bestowed with Toyota/Lexus’s ‘nanoe-X’ technology too, which ‘adds microscopic water particles which can inhibit viruses, bacteria and allergens. It supposedly also provides a moisturising effect on human skin and hair. Interesting.

“This is not a repurposed van – the LM is in every regard a dedicated passenger vehicle, in its own right,” Lexus stated. This is very good news indeed.

Powering the new LM is either a 2.4-litre inline 4-cylinder turbo hybrid with eAxle, or a 2.5-litre inline 4-cylinder hybrid with either front-wheel drive or an E-Four all-wheel drive setup. There’s also adaptive suspension, aluminium body panels to reduce weight and ‘noise-reducing wheels and tyres’.

The rims in question can either be 17-inch or 19-inch forged alloys, and there’s active noise cancellation in the cabin to really drown out the outside world.

The outside is the most underwhelming bit of the Lexus LM, looking similar to the standard crop of MPVs that ply our roads every day. Of course, there’s no need to look at the outside of the LM while you’re enjoying its many internal luxuries, so that shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most.

Will it come to Singapore? We’re not sure, but hopefully one of the 60 countries listed in Lexus’ global campaign includes our sunny little enclave.

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The car offers a first glimpse into Volkswagen’s future EV that will arrive in Europe come 2025. It is rumoured to start with a base price under $26,400.

Even though it is just a concept, looking at the photos it’s pretty obvious that this has already evolved to be more of a pre-production study rather than just a concept car that will never see the light of day.

Looks very similar to a Golf right? Hopefully, this doesn’t suffer the same fate as that of the ill-fated ID. Life, which was promptly shunned by the head honchos in Wolfsburg.

The Volkswagen ID. 2all is poised to be a very significant car for Volkswagen for two obvious reasons. The first is the projected price, which will open up a massive market for prospective EV owners. The other is the ID. 2all’s underpinning, based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB Entry platform. This means the production model will become the German marque’s first FWD MEB model.

And it has the specs to back it up as well

Rumoured specs of the Volkswagen ID. 2all include 166 kW (222 bhp), or about the same amount of power as you get in a base VW Golf GTI. Plus, with its EV drivetrain, it will probably accelerate quicker too from 0 to 100km/h. Neat.

While Volkswagen did not reveal the battery capacity, its targeted range is up to 450 kilometres (WLTP). Fast DC charging would enable a 10 to 80 per cent charge in just 20 minutes, while the option of charging up to 11 kW is available for AC stations. 

The styling is also a design study into Volkswagen’s new design language, based on the three pillars of ‘stability, likeability and excitement’.

Styling highlights include a LED full-width light bar, bulged wheel arches filled with frankly massive 20-inch wheels running 225/40 R20 tyres, hidden rear door handles, and a new C-pillar design which harkens back to the first Golf.

Smaller than a golf on the outside, bigger on the inside

The interior also has a sleek and simple design, with an uncluttered dashboard culminating in a bridge-type centre console. two big displays sit front and centre, including a 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 10.9-inch digital cluster. A large panoramic sunroof dominates the roofline as well.

Other trinkets include a head-up display, a separate air conditioning control panel under the main screen (thank you!), and two large inductive charging interfaces for smartphones on the centre console.

New power seats with massage functionality are a welcome addition, with numerous USB-C interfaces spread throughout the cabin. If you wanted even more charging functionality, a fully usable 230V socket is included too, to power larger devices.

Thanks to the efficient packaging of the MEB Entry platform, the Volkswagen ID. 2all offers significantly more interior space than a traditional ICE Golf. Boot space is ample at 490 litres, and this increases to a cavernous 1330 litres with the rear seats folded (40:60 split). 

On top of that, the ID. 2all has a hidden stowage area under the rear seat with a capacity of 50 litres. This lockable compartment can accommodate larger devices such as laptops and tablets.

Overall, the ID. 2all is an exciting new proposition, and we cannot wait for what else Volkswagen has in store for the future.

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