Lexus RX 350L 2018 Review — Long-term test #1

The Lexus RX 350L is an archetype of the Lexus brand. It is comfortable, quiet, but not especially charismatic.

And that makes the Lexus RX 350L a hard car to fault for the target buyer.

It's also a hard car to critique for the broader community. Compared with many of its rivals in the same market segment (large SUVs over $70,000), the Lexus RX 350L isn't really outstanding or egregious in any particular way.

Take the V6 powering the Lexus RX 350L for example. Its note is characteristically subdued. On light throttle openings there's a light burble, but when the throttle is wide open the sound is more muscular, as the V6 powers through the rev range.

Yet there's a lack of aural charisma that's present in the 3.7-litre V6 powering the ageing Infiniti QX70 in the same market segment, let alone the occasional petrol-engined European rival to the Lexus.

At lower speeds there's abundant performance available from the RX 350L, manifest in a linear surge starting from around 2500rpm at launch right up to redline and beyond. In higher gears the engine feels less lively hauling the RX 350L up to speed, particularly in view of its displacement.

Despite a torque peak arriving high in the rev range (from 4600rpm), there's enough lower down for towing, but the Lexus might struggle with overtaking safely when fully loaded.

The engine drives through an eight-speed Aisin automatic transmission that is not in the same league as its rival ZF product. While the Aisin unit is generally smooth in its shifting, even in Sport mode, it lacks the sort of algorithmic adaptability we've come to expect from competitors.

In Eco mode the Lexus eight-speeder provides no engine braking whatsoever, which is fine for coasting and conserving fuel, but the RX 350L will pick up too much speed downhill, even when the transmission does drop back a couple of gears. It's slow to respond on steeper grades. Even in Sport or Sport+ modes the transmission takes a while to shift down on descents – more often waiting for the driver to apply the brakes first.

On the uphill climb it’s the same story, reversed. The transmission shifts back two gears, but by the time the engine has spooled up for optimal torque in the lower gear the vehicle has already washed off 10 or 15km/h. Cruise control and weight are probably to blame in equal parts.

In sport mode the powertrain does get on the boil a bit faster, but despite the engine's willingness to rev beyond the redline calibration on the tachometer, the transmission won't shift down manually if there's even the remotest chance the engine will over-rev.

And that's in the sport mode, too. The powertrain is calibrated very conservatively in that regard. A soft chime warns you that the transmission is not going to give you the gear you want.

On a damp road in suburbia the RX 350L unexpectedly spun a front drive wheel with the wheels turned slightly. The all-wheel drive system was slow to react to sudden throttle input in this scenario.

On a 72km test loop, fuel consumption finished up at 13.4L/100km, according to the trip computer. Around town the Lexus is not that frugal, posting a final figure of 15.3L/100km, which is worse than the ADR 81/02 urban figure (and worse still than the usual combined-cycle figure). There's no idle-stop system to conserve fuel at traffic lights in the RX 350L.

The RX 350L is most at home cruising on freeways, but it is safe and consistent when cornering or under brakes.

Turn-in is slower than some of the obvious rivals in the segment, not least of all the QX70 already mentioned. At least the RX 350L holds course at the straight ahead and conveys what the front wheels are doing. There's also enough feedback in sport mode to signal that the RX retains plenty of front-end grip in corners. In the Normal and Eco modes the steering is light enough to suit the preferences of target buyers.

Keep the power applied and the Lexus will push on a bit through corners, but tackle the approach on a trailing throttle and the RX 350L promises to let go at the rear. That promise is never really fulfilled, however, with the stability control system stepping in adroitly to sort out any waywardness.

In faster corners the Lexus feels prone to body roll, but remains quite stable nonetheless. The combination of roll and push (to say nothing of the early intervention from the stability control) will generally discourage drivers from trying too hard in the RX 350L, but it does have the right level of roadholding to keep the family safe in adversity.

Braking is strong and dependable, with generally good pedal feel, although the Lexus won't quite pull up with the soft-stopping refinement of a JLR product, for instance.

The ride comfort of the RX 350L is a mixed bag. Over bumpier bitumen taken at open-road speeds the RX is composed and settled, but there's a touch of initial impact harshness at lower speeds around town. That's likely to be due to the 20-inch Dunlop tyres fitted. Other than ride comfort they're pretty good tyres, contributing to the cornering, braking and noise suppression.

On a relatively easy off-road test, the RX 350L just could not be coaxed up a grade that had been shrugged off by smaller SUVs tested in the past. This latest RX seems even less capable than a previous model tested.

The Dunlop tyres, which were reasonably effective on bitumen, felt inadequate and were let down by a combination of the vehicle's weight and so-so traction control/final drive systems. While the tyres redeemed themselves wading through a stretch of water across the track, the RX 350L struggled with approach and ramp-over angles too.

Considering its footprint, the RX 350L is surprisingly easy to park and can be slotted into tight slots with ease, thanks in part to the barrage of cameras on-board.

The RX 350L comes equipped with LED headlights featuring an adaptive lighting system and high-beam assist. At night the lights were quite effective on low beam, and responded quickly at the first sign of an oncoming car or the tail lights of a vehicle in front, variably dipping the beam from roughly 200 metres away, without leaving the Lexus driver in the dark.

Lane keep assist and pre-collision warning systems were both fitted to the RX 350L. On country roads the former struggled with finding line markings on the shoulder of the road. Similar systems from other prestige brands let the driver known when they've lost track of the line markings, but the Lexus system provided no such warning. Also, the Lexus system won't nudge the vehicle back to the correct side of the road with the same degree of determination at speeds of 60 to 80km/h. It's a little too polite.

Testing this system triggered the driver fatigue warning system, as the RX 350L was allowed to meander laterally within its lane. That was impressive.

The pre-collision warning system left it until late before warning the driver of an imminent impact – when it detected a vehicle ahead slowing for a left turn. It was a relief not to be startled and deafened by the system – and especially when appropriate, rather than a hundred metres too soon.

One niggle is the lack of outboard adjustment for the driver's side mirror. Then there's the clicking from the mirror as it tries to dip when reverse gear is selected. Adjusted to its maximum outboard limit it was 'skipping' in a vain effort to show the driver the road and guttering for safe clearance. This might have been a glitch peculiar to the test vehicle.

At its starting price, the RX 350L represents a fair amount of car for the money, but in Sports Luxury trim, and at an as-tested price of over $100,000, it prompts buyers to wonder what the opposition has to offer for around the same price.

How much does the 2018 Lexus RX 350L Luxury cost?
Price: $101,129 (retail, plus ORCs); $102,629 (as tested, plus ORCs)
Engine: 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 216kW/358Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.6L/100km (ADR Combined); 13.4L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 234g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (2015)