Lexus RX 350 Sports Luxury 2009 Review

Lexus RX350 Sports Luxury 

Road Test

Where does the Lexus RX 350 Sports Luxury fit in the luxury SUV segment?

The Lexus is a hard car to peg. It's more expensive than Volvo's (larger) XC90 Executive with a V8 engine, but does offer added features like a sunroof and alarm, to name two. It's shorter than larger luxury SUVs, such as the aforementioned XC90 or the BMW X5, which Lexus regards as a benchmark for the latest generation RX.  And it's longer than the Audi Q5 and the Volvo XC60, but rides on a shorter wheelbase, explaining the 'competitive' legroom in the rear when compared with the two Euros.

That shorter wheelbase also contributes to a tighter turning circle than for the smaller vehicles, so the Lexus is an SUV arguably more at home in the city than any of the vehicles mentioned so far. Indeed, it might be argued that the Lexus is an SUV for those who want the boot space of an X5 and the manoeuvrability of a Q5 -- with the Q5's reduced rear-seat legroom as a trade-off. 

The Lexus begins to find its feet when it comes to such things as the level of comfort and ergonomic design. This new generation of RX (see our launch review here for more information), introduces the Lexus Remote Touch system, an alternative to the BMW iDrive and other similar infotainment control systems.

LRT is more intuitive and faster to operate than almost any other current similar system. Lexus has sensibly configured the single point controller like a conventional desktop computer mouse (more here) for immediate familiarity.

In our launch review, we lamented that setting a new destination in the satnav while on the move is impossible, but the system will allow you to select an existing destination while the car is in motion, so this reviewer commends Lexus for that and accepts that in the interests of safety it's probably best to pull over and enter a new destination.

So, some of the Lexus's best features are disparagingly known in the trade as gadgets -- but they're good gadgets; things that actually work and come with logical drill-down access that doesn't call for the driver to stop by the side of the road and read some voluminous tome for half an hour.

The head-up display was bright enough to overcome glare from early-morning sun and provided not only the vehicle's speed, but satnav directions and even music file information from the audio system. Lexus has provided the means to adjust the HUD display height for drivers who are taller or shorter than the norm -- and you can adjust the brightness as well.

We liked the powered tailgate (although it is a bit slow at times and we can see impatient drivers raising it manually rather than waiting). There was also the way the driver's seat moves into position as soon as you fasten the seatbelt, to provide another example.

And there was keyless start with a button to fire the engine, plus the night screen in the centre fascia, changing to reverse-video lighting at night or if the vehicle passes underneath a bridge or enters a multi-storey carpark.

The major instruments were large and legibly presented with pleasant backlighting and the seats are as comfortable as Lexus seats should be. With fast and intuitively easy powered seat adjustment, it was easy and quick to find a suitable driving position.

Inside the RX looks like Lexus has channelled Volvo. The trim (leather, fabrics and woodgrain) are of a Volvo-standard quality and the layout is at once stylish and user-friendly beyond the imagination of competitive-model designers.

The active cruise control system fitted to the RX worked quite well, but only as low as 40km/h before it sounded a warning to the driver -- flashing up an alarm and leaving it to the driver to sort out any proximity problems. It's not as ultimately capable as the system recently tried in the Volkswagen Passat CC TDI.

As far as comfort and convenience features go, it was surprising to discover that the RX 350 Sports Luxury, with the optional Mark Levinson audio system, came without a USB connection for auxiliary music source connections. The system will read MP3 files on a CD however.

Passengers will generally find access to the RX is pretty straightforward, thanks to the car's high H-point, but the slope of the roofline over the rear doors is a little low and adults will need to take care when entering the rear seat that they don't knock their heads on the roof.

On the road, the RX 350 Sports Luxury impressed with its sense of solidity and refinement, although for the money, Audi's Q5 is a hard car to pass by on the strength of low NVH and good dynamics. While the RX 350 is a quiet car by any standard, it's not as quiet as the top-spec Q5 with the 3.0-litre TDI V6.

We can't say for sure that the Audi is necessarily better offroad than the RX -- but Volvo's XC60 definitely is. However, that statement has to be admitted in the context that the RX could be a much more capable device with better tyres.

The RX 350's approach, departure and breakover angles seem to be at least as good as those of the XC60's, but the Lexus failed to make the grade offroad -- literally. One ascent that had not defeated Volvo's XC60 and even Volkswagen's smaller Tiguan proved insurmountable for the Lexus.

That's largely a consequence of the tyres fitted. They're quiet and ride well, but there's insufficient grip for even the most basic offroad work -- and that was with the centre diff locked as well!

The V6 powerplant was ready and willing, as was the six-speed automatic transmission, but the car couldn't overcome weight and lack of traction. As we said in the launch review, this is not really a car intended for harder offroading.

The engine is plainly a V6, but muted and pleasant sounding. It offered more power from any engine speed above 4000rpm and worked well with the autobox.

Step-off from a standing start was pretty assertive. As mentioned in our previous review, the power trails off a little after the initial launch from a standing start. It's when you're contemplating an overtaking manoeuvre that you start to harbour doubts the RX will do the trick.

Fuel consumption for the week was 12.7L/100km, which we believe is a figure a lot of RX owners will see, unless they only use the vehicle on the open road, in which case the fuel consumption will obviously reduce.

Roadholding on the road was commendable and turn-in was on a par with other similarly upper-middle-class SUVs, but for liveliness and communication, the Volvo's XC60 is better still. The ride in the Lexus was surprisingly firm, but body control was good and the tyres masked the firmness of the ride at a secondary level.

During night driving the adaptive headlights performed admirably -- better than we recall from the IS F driven recently and on a par with similar systems from Audi and BMW.

Lexus has paid careful attention to the details in the design of the new RX -- particularly for a right-hand drive market like Australia. In doing so, they've fashioned a car that is comfortable and utterly easy to operate.

Though the RX is a more expensive proposition than before, combine the above with  ease of use with comfort, refinement, solidity and practicality, and it looks set to extend the reputation and market appeal of its forebears.

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