► Lexus RX L long-term test
► We live with a 2019 RX450h
► Seven-seat hybrid SUV
Month 9 of our Lexus RX L long-term test: looking back at nine months’ ownership
The RX L has done plenty to cement our opinion of Lexuses – but it’s challenged a few of our preconceptions, too. The Japanese firm is hardly a newcomer to premium SUVs; it launched the original RX back in 1997, beating the Europeans to this still-mushrooming segment. Two decades later, we’ve sampled the fourth generation – and this one is the first to offer a stretched version with space for seven. Lexus’s engineers should have had time to get the formula right…
We found the extra row of occasional seats handy to have, but on the small side. The chances are that anyone wanting a proper seven-seater would consider a full MPV or much bigger 4×4; anyone shopping for an RX L will likely view the third row as useful back-up for when the grandkids visit or overflow for a pub run. They’re fine for this purpose, but we enjoyed the longer boot more than the (electrically operated) extra rear seats. It’s a huge loadbay and one that swallowed everything we ever bundled in.
Our guide to the best seven-seaters
The RX L proved roomy for passengers too, and we came to cherish the chilled-out vibe inside. Seats front and back were comfy and commodious, and the ventilated/heated front pews proved their worth in extremes of weather. The joystick-operated infotainment system grated from day one, but Lexus has subsequently committed to adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Our Premier spec came with 20-inch alloys, keyless entry and ignition, a 15-speaker Mark Levinson stereo and automated everything; only the £995 sunroof and £645 metallic paint were extra.
I’ve spoken in earlier reports about the inherent Lexus quality and nearly 9000 miles of arduous daily usage has done nothing to shake that view. It’s well built, materials are first-class and it’s mechanically as robust as you could wish for. Only a puncture required fixing, and this revealed glorious attention to detail in the spare-wheel bay, with a pair of gloves and a protective bag to prevent the boot being scuffed by the wheel.
What didn’t we like? Well, you’ll have made your own mind up about the looks. The hybrid drivetrain equally splits opinion, with some enjoying its relaxed gait and others questioning the CVT’s soaraway revs. Economy was of more interest to me, as the big Lexus struggled to average more than 30mpg in daily use, which is a hard figure to swallow for a ‘self-charging’ hybrid.
I liked the big RX, but it could be even better with an improved cabin, tidied styling and a smaller-capacity hybrid powertrain, perhaps with the addition of a plug-in to eke a few more miles from every gallon.
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L
Price £61,995 (£63,635 as tested)
Performance 3456cc hybrid V6, 259bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official), 35.8mpg (tested), 138g/km CO2
Energy cost 16.4 per mile
Miles this month 775
Total miles 8548
Count the cost: Lexus RX depreciation
Cost new £63,635
Private sale £47,032
Part-exchange £44,797
Energy cost 19.4p per mile
Cost per mile including depreciation £2.40
Month 8 living with a Lexus RX450h L: comparing it with a Land Rover Discovery seven-seater
Our Lexus RX L long-termer with Tim at the helm met up with Ben Oliver and our Land Rover Discovery. Which makes the better seven-seater?
Tim Pollard (Lexus owner): Land Rover and Lexus. More normally neighbours in our GBU pages rather than outright rivals, but I guess with the arrival of the seven-seat RX-L we can finally compare them side by side. And would you believe it, my Lexus is actually a whisker longer than your Disco at precisely five metres from tip to toe.
Ben Oliver (Land Rover keeper): I can believe it. Sorry, Tim, but I think your car just looks weird. It’s very oddly proportioned: the detailing is extreme but the low roofline and fast screen angles make it look apologetic about being an SUV. Your RX-L reminded me of Merc’s R-Class the first time I saw it, and that’s not a good thing. At least you know what the Disco is. The extra length means yours offers a bit more luggage space behind the third row of seats once erected, but so did the SsangYong Rodius.
Tim: So we’re agreed on one thing: each thinks the other’s car looks a bit strange. I’m still finding Disco 5 one odd-looking 4×4, one that’s taken a step backwards relative to its simple, stylish predecessor. The expanse of metalwork above the rear wheel is especially ugly. Fortunately, you don’t see that from inside. You sit really high up in the Land Rover. It’s a great view out, isn’t it?
Ben: It’s throne-like, and exactly why punters like big SUVs. The Lexus just doesn’t provide that. And for me, the view inside isn’t great in either case. The LR’s infotainment system feels about eight years old by comparison with those from German rivals, but the RX’s is even worse. It just seems willfully counter-intuitive and the graphics are plain ugly. Please, car makers, don’t try to be smart or different. Just give us a big touchscreen. I’ll admit your cabin is far better screwed together, though…
Tim: Aye, the Lexus has build quality off pat. The RX feels made to last, even if its digital screen and joystick controller are woeful. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will arrive this year, though. And I’m not sure Land Rover can as quickly issue a fix for the creaks and groans of a car whose build integrity trails the Lexus’s by a country mile. That shimmying double sunroof does make the Disco extra light and airy, and the cabin feels truly vast.
Ben: To be fair, I don’t think the Lexus’s third row was intended to be occupied by two tall, middle-aged men with fast-declining flexibility. Although it’s a long car, your RX’s sloping, crossover rear end eats into third-row headroom and overall boot space. The need to make SUVs more ‘aero’ to hit emissions regs means the squared-off tail of Discos past won’t be seen again, sadly, but my Disco 5 at least resists the trend better than most rivals, this one included. How did it feel stepping back into an old-school diesel SUV after your fancy petrol hybrid, and your time in a Tesla?
Tim: It felt a bit dirty, flipping from a succession of electrified cars into a diesel Disco. It’s an anti-zeitgeist powertrain, but the utility on offer knocks spots off my hybrid RX, electric Tesla and plug-in i3. Toyota’s refusal to embrace diesel was a good call, wasn’t it?
Ben: Maybe, but the hybrid drivetrain just doesn’t feel right in something that pretends to be an SUV. I know the electric motors help, but that petrol engine makes its (fairly thin) peak torque at 4600rpm and the CVT transmission means you’re too often aware of how hard it’s working. But I do admire Lexus for sticking to its principles. I think you absolutely nailed it in your first report on this car, when you wrote about how Lexus is at its best when it is distinctive – rejecting pointless ‘sportiness’ in its non-sports cars, for instance. What makes it stand out from the other premium makers is, chiefly, incredible quality, polarising design and its hybrid drivetrains. It’s the right strategy for a smaller brand: make something that a lot of people won’t get on with, but sufficient customers adore. Trouble is, I think I fall into the former category when you apply that design and drivetrain to an SUV, particularly a big one.
Tim: Yes, I think we’ve ascertained that my Lexus and your Land Rover are chalk and cheese in the automotive firmament. I reckon the Goldilocks blend of both would be enticing: the go-anywhere clout, roomy third-row seats and commanding driving position of the Disco, with the build quality, attention to detail and hybrid creds of the RX. But app-controlled, fold-down seats? They’re just another thing to go wrong, and emblematic of what’s wrong with automation-obsessed modern car design.
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L
Price £61,995 (£63,635 as tested)
Performance 3456cc V6 hybrid, 259bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official), 30.1mpg (tested), 138g/km CO2
Energy cost 19.3p per mile
Miles this month 1333
Total miles 7773
Month 7 living with a Lexus RX450h L: punctures and details
This month we pore over the details of our seven-seater Lexus RX – and we’ve suffered our first-ever puncture…
Nailing it
Would you believe it, I’ve never had a puncture in 27 years of driving… until now. The shoulder of the driver’s-side rear tyre picked up a nail and so we slung the space saver on. This changed the aesthetic most amusingly, we thought. A new Bridgestone Dueler cost £174.
Boots and buttons
Are you a fan of electric tailgates? I’m not. They’re slower than doing it manually and the Lexus’s emits a beep every time you prod the button. And because you then have to wait four seconds while it opens/closes, that electro-beep annoys you all the more.
Chill-out mode
The mode controller between the front seats flips you from Eco through Normal and up to Sport. Honest answer? We nearly always leave it in Normal – this is definitively not an athletic car. But we do use EV mode, for creeping out of the driveway on dawn raids. Stealthy…
Chiselled and pointy
I’m not going to tell you what to think of the RX’s styling, as you have your own eyes and design radar. I find it intriguing how Marmite it’s proving: the angular lines and spindle grille really do divide opinion. I’m growing to rather like it.
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L
Price £61,995 (£63,635 as tested)
Performance 3456cc V6 hybrid, 259bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official), 29.9mpg (tested), 138g/km CO2
Energy cost 19.5p per mile
Miles this month 1016
Total miles 6440
Month 6 of our Lexus RX L long-term test: the grippy question of that wooden steering wheel
One of the most striking features of the Lexus RX L when you climb (yes, this is a tall car) into the cabin is the split wood/leather steering wheel. It’s quite unusual and very Lexusy.
I’m not convinced I’d choose one over an all-hide rim, but it’s impeccably made; not something that can be said of every wheel we grip. It’s tactile and smooth and different all at once. It’s also heated, which warms the chills of the lacquered wood very quickly and I was surprised to find myself doing this even on a morning in early summer.
In other news, we’ve just achieved a best economy figure of nearly 37mpg. That’s reassuring after some twenty-something drinking binges in recent weeks.
By Tim Pollard
More Lexus reviews by CAR magazine
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L Premier
Price £61,995 (£63,635 as tested)
Performance 3456cc V6 hybrid, 259bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph
Efficiency 47.1mpg (official), 36.5mpg (tested), 138g/km CO2
Energy cost 14.9 per mile
Miles this month 611
Total miles 5424
Month 5 living with a Lexus RX L: readers meet the seven-seater
Our Lexus RX L is the company’s first seven-seater in Europe, and word is slowly spreading. It’s telling that none of our reader panel had heard of it, though. We gathered together three likely prospects to judge the large SUV on its own merits – a couple of potential in-market seven-seat SUV buyers plus an owner of a Lexus GS450h, who’s already converted to the Lexus lexicon. Would our panel see eye to eye? Or would it be polite, premium fisticuffs at dawn? Only one way to find out…
Meet the readers
The BMW X3 owner
Richard Luff owns a premium crossover already, but is looking to upsize to a full seven-seater for the school run and growing family duties.
The big 4×4 fan
Lucy Cardew is Richard’s wife and keen on the Land Rover Discovery and Volvo XC90 as their preferred choice of seven-seat SUV. The RX L wasn’t on her radar until today.
The Lexus fan
Ian Hamilton is a long-time Lexus owner, tech specialist and CAR magazine reader – giving him a unique perspective on our RX daily driver.
Up close with the RX L
Richard, who works for one of the UK’s biggest payment card companies, has never really considered a Lexus before and was intrigued to see what it would offer over his BMW X3. With the elder of his two daughters just entering the teenage years, extra space and practicality are rising to the top of the priority list – and the RX has a mixed response here.
‘The girls would really like the heated seats, sunblinds and two USB charging ports in the middle row,’ he muses. ‘This stuff keeps the peace on longer journeys.’ Space in the third row leaves him disappointed, though, and this is a man who’s currently test-driving the Volvo XC90 and Discovery.
‘I’m just not sure the Lexus is big enough back there for doing school runs and lifts for family and friends,’ says Richard. ‘We need a really big boot and, while this is quite large, it’s not as spacious as the luggage compartment in the Volvo or Land Rover. I felt the XC90 would take anything we threw at it – bags, kids, dog, bikes, tents – for a long summer holiday across France. I can’t say the same about the RX L.’ The Volvo has most boot space with all three rows in use; the Land Rover is biggest when rows two and three are flat.
Better news on the way the Lexus drives. ‘When I heard it was five metres long, I feared it might feel like a boat to drive, but it isn’t daunting at all. The steering is really good: I like how light it is at parking speeds, but then it weights up nicely, and the ride is comfortable. I find it a very relaxing car to drive.’
He notices that the fuel gauge is nestling at half full, and is surprised the trip computer range reads only 166 miles. ‘I’m used to diesels going over 500 miles on a tank, so that’s not great,’ he reflects. Our range has never shown more than 370 miles when brimmed with petrol.
The longer Richard spends in the RX, the more he recognises its ace cards: its quality and engineering integrity. ‘It’s beautifully built throughout. You just know you could buy a Lexus and it’ll go on for years and years without breaking down.’
Ian has owned his Lexus GS450h since 2007 and is a big brand advocate. ‘Only two things have ever gone wrong: the auxiliary 12-volt battery failed after five years – it was out of warranty, but they replaced it for free anyway. And then the parking brake caliper stuck on, but that was my fault for leaving the handbrake on for extended periods while I was away; it was very cheap to fix.
‘Lexus dealers are amazing. Usually when you buy a car you’re given the special treatment at the point of sale, but when it comes to aftercare you’re just part of the money-making system. Not at Lexus: they seem to know you and give really good service at all times.’
It’s not just the sensible stuff, though – tech fan Ian likes the gadgets onboard, too. ‘These air-conditioned seats are a godsend in the hot summer months,’ he says. ‘And they are super-comfortable. I often do long drives from the Midlands to the Lake District and the seats in my GS mean you step out feeling like you’ve just popped to the shops. These RX seats feel just as supportive.
‘It feels very like my GS in here. I like the cabin and it all seems familiar.’ He points to a very Japanese chromed styling flourish, kinking up the centre console from gearlever to air vents. ‘This is modelled on Japanese water-
garden features. I like that artistry.’
Ian’s something of an apostle for the Lexus brand and recently persuaded his nephew, a head teacher, to buy the next crossover down the range. ‘Interestingly, the NX doesn’t seem a huge amount smaller inside,’ he notes. ‘Although you can’t have that pop-up row of seats in the back, I think on balance, I prefer my nephew’s NX.’
Lucy has never driven a hybrid before and finds our RX L easy to drive, with impressive refinement and a seamless transition from electric to petrol power. ‘The brakes are a bit grabby at low speed, though – and they make a weird noise when we set off. But once up to speed, it drives very nicely. It’s comfortable and quiet and there’s decent acceleration too.’
Things take a turn for the worse when we stop to play with the infotainment (what CAR already considers to be the RX’s bête noire). Husband Richard has just taken 49 seconds to find BBC Radio 6 Music and a full 94 seconds to enter an address to the navigation using the awkward joystick. ‘It’s overly complicated and way too fiddly when driving,’ she complains. It’s no better when we try the voice recognition and her instruction to ‘take me home’ speed-dials Tim Holmes, former Ford PR chief.
Lucy also comments that the head-up display is hard to see in bright sunlight and is astonished to find a CD player in 2019.
She doesn’t find the rearmost seats nearly big enough, either, although she likes the third-row heating controls and electric seatback operation. Test-driving the seventh seat, she observes: ‘My head brushes the roof and my legs have nowhere to go. It’s cramped.’
‘I love the flat floor in the second row, though. More cars should have this. It makes it so much easier to fit three passengers in the middle row. While there are some things I really like on the Lexus RX, it doesn’t do enough to make it onto my seven-seater shopping list, I’m afraid.’
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L Premier
Price £61,995
As tested £63,635
Engine 3456cc 24v V6, 259bhp @ 6000rpm, 247lb ft @ 4600rpm, plus 165bhp/247lb ft (front) and 68bhp/103lb ft (rear) electric motors
Transmission CVT, all-wheel drive
Performance 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph, 138g/km CO2
Miles this month 1135
Total 4813
Our mpg 25.4
Official mpg 47.1
Energy cost 22.9p
Month 4 living with a Lexus RX L: a ha’porth of tar required
There’s an elephant in the room when we discuss the Lexus RX at our desks. It’s hard to talk about the big SUV without conversation quickly turning to that dreaded infotainment system. It’s horrible.
We each drive upwards of 100 cars a year in our line of work and are exposed to different technologies and interfaces every day. We live and breathe these comparisons – and only criticise where it feels justified. And not one of us gets on with Lexus Remote Touch.
I reckon there’s a cultural divide at play here. Have you travelled to Japan in recent years? Experienced the fizzing, flashing energy of Tokyo and its neon-bathed Akihabara electronics district? It lends a little perspective to the Japanese digital mindset – there’s a different appreciation of HMI in Asia, it seems. I can believe the typical Japanese consumer interacts with digital touchpoints in a different way to western norms.
How else to describe the clunky joystick and buttons to operate the RX’s pointer? It buzzes and judders with haptic feedback (which you can vary) but it’s a tricky thing to operate with your left hand when on the move. Then there’s the labyrinthine menu structure and arcane, cluttered graphics. I’ve yet to find a member of the CAR team who doesn’t view the Lexus’s infotainment, mapping and UX as a generation or two out of date.
What about voice control? Well, we’ve tried that and the audio recognition is just as bad. It’s much, much worse than the class best – and by that we probably mean Mercedes’ MBUX system. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto available, either. It’s a real shame, because I struggle to think of many other aspects of the RX L that we don’t like. We’ll cover more of the positives (and there are plenty) next month.
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L Premier
Price £61,995
As tested £63,635
Engine 3456cc 24v V6, 259bhp @ 6000rpm, 247lb ft @ 4600rpm, plus 165bhp/247lb ft (front) and 68bhp/103lb ft (rear) electric motors
Transmission CVT, all-wheel drive
Performance 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph, 138g/km CO2
Miles this month 1014
Total 3678
Our mpg 29.9
Official mpg 47.1
Energy cost 19.5p
Quick update: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are coming!
Lexus has revealed the latest version of Lexus RX, and although the changes are only minor, it fixes one major gripe with our current car. Our RX might have a cracking sound system and gorgeous swathe of screen, but actually getting the infotainment to work for us is pretty excruciating. Lexus’s menus aren’t all that intuitive, and when combined with the dated UI and one of the trickiest controls we’ve ever used, it’s all a bit too frustrating. You could argue it’s dangerous too; the more time you spend messing with it, the less of your concentration goes on the road.
The fact Lexus is now introducing Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support to the RX is good news, then – and so is the fact it’s turning that large screen into a touchscreen. Anything but that weird slidey, clickey contraption on our long-termer. Sure, the introduction of third-party support is a neat sidestep rather than a outright solution to the RX’s dodge infotainment – but we’d still rather have it in our car than the current system.
By Curtis Moldrich
Month three living with a Lexus RX450h L: relegated to the back
The whole raison d’être of our Lexus RX L is the 11cm stretch that’s squeezed in an extra row of seats. But what are chairs six and seven like to use? With just the two kids, I don’t use the third row often, but it’s been pressed into action for a couple of school runs and drives back from the pub.
These are not supersized, front-row cinematic thrones – think instead pop-up occasional cheap seats out back. They’re nowhere near as spacious as those in the Land Rover Discovery, but they’re beautifully engineered, rising at the touch of a button in the boot; pre-teens will be just fine. And when stowed, this loadbay is HUGE, at 966 litres.
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L Premier
Price £61,995
As tested £63,635
Engine 3456cc 24v V6, 259bhp @ 6000rpm, 247lb ft @ 4600rpm, plus 165bhp/247lb ft (front) and 68bhp/103lb ft (rear) electric motors
Transmission CVT, all-wheel drive
Performance 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph, 138g/km CO2
Miles this month 1092
Total 2664
Our mpg 29.0
Official mpg 47.1
Energy cost 20.4p
Month 2 of our Lexus RX450h L long-term test: a laidback kinda SUV
One month in and the Lexus and I are getting along just fine. After flirting on the launch in Switzerland, I was glad that the RX L lived up to my expectations on our second date in the UK. Everything was just how I remembered it.
Driving the seven-seater is a lesson in calm, Lexussy transport: this is a car in which to cruise and glide, eggshells on the accelerator, schmoozing one’s way about daily duty with a hushed, hybrid serenity. Piloted thus, the RX is truly relaxing, with a comfy plump to its ride and a relaxed gait.
This is getting the relationship off to a good start. Lexuses are at their best as waftmobiles and I find this one supremely relaxing every time I sink into the soft, ventilated armchairs and seek solace in the double-glazed cocoon.
Get busy with the throttle and the age-old CVT thrash becomes apparent, but with a 3.5-litre V6 under the bonnet, at least it sounds richer than a four-cylinder Prius whine. The RX L is a remarkably quick car for a 2.2-tonne SUV as a result, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on fuel economy (25.4mpg so far) as this upsizing seems to go against the miniaturising trend.
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450h L Premier
Price £61,995
As tested £63,635
Engine 3456cc 24v V6, 259bhp @ 6000rpm, 247lb ft @ 4600rpm, plus 165bhp/247lb ft (front) and 68bhp/103lb ft (rear) electric motors
Transmission CVT, all-wheel drive
Performance 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph, 138g/km CO2
Miles this month 1220
Total 1572
Our mpg 25.4
Official mpg 47.1
Fuel this month £283.31
Extra costs None
Diary update: How the Lexus RX L performs in winter
The UK has enjoyed a suprisingly mild winter, with only occasional cold snaps and little sign of 2018’s Beast From The East returning (to the clement East Midlands, at least). But we’ve had enough sub-zero days and nights for us to have tested the Lexus RX L’s cold-weather skills in earnest.
The warm-up routine starts when you approach the car. At nighttime, the door handles’ puddle lamps detect the key and switch on remotely as you’re about 5m from the car, bathing the ground around in soft, diffuse light. A nice, welcoming touch. Keyless entry lets you slide in to the comfy leather seats, whose three-stage heating works a dream. Toasty bums all round – for those in the front at least (there are no rear-seat furnaces here, much to my children’s chagrin).
Tellingly, there are no namby-pamby armrest heaters, like on my last daily driver, Audi’s equally long-wheelbase A8. Do I miss sizzling elbows? No I do not. The Lexus’s steering wheel is heated too, though only the leather pads at 3 and 9 o’clock – leading to a rather strange, bipartite hot/cold matrix as you swivel the wheel when manoeuvring. It’s a bit odd and still surprises me after four months together, the contrast between lava leather and chilled wood.
There’s no heated windscreen here, sadly, but the fans warm up quickly and demisting takes just a few minutes. It’s funny how quickly we’re getting used to app-controlled in-car heaters on electrified cars, but there are no such tricks here.
The Lexus’s wipers work with well-programmed, properly engineered sweeping efficiency, clearing rain, splatter and ice with ease. Note also how the rear blade is a proper size, unlike the miniaturised wiper adorning a Lexus CT’s rump. Have you seen the hatchback’s wiper? Check it out next time you see one and marvel at its diminutive reach.
Although we’ve had very little snow that’s settled, we’ve had enough icy mornings to test the RX’s traction out. Even on those big 20-inch Bridgestone tyres, the Lexus seven-seater has put nary a foot wrong.
The hybrid’s power delivery and character encourage smooth driving at the best of times and not once have we seen the traction control flicker. It’s surefooted, safe and cocooning transport at this slip-slidey, grimy time of year. Lexus 1, winter 0.
By Tim Pollard
Month 1 of our Lexus RX450h L long-term test: the introduction
The new Lexus RX L ticks lots of in-vogue boxes: from its crossover silhouette to its seven-seat multi-practical package; from the design-chic Lexus premium badge to its bang-on-trend electrified hybrid powertrain. It’s a wonder you don’t see more Lexus petrol-electric cars on the road (brand sales were 13 times smaller than BMW’s or Mercedes’ last year), as it seems to answer a lot of questions that modern car buyers ask of a vehicle.
I’ve been one of those drivers who got away. I’ve never lived with a Lexus for an extended period in 21 years of road testing. Now’s the time to put that right. Having attended the global launch of the newly stretched RX450h L in Switzerland last summer, I was rather taken by the peculiarly styled SUV. I know its limitations (what on first acquaintance seems like a hopeless infotainment system not designed for Western European fingers or sensibilities), but was still won over by a deeper, more fundamental quality.
I like this. While other manufacturers chase sporting dynamism over all else, following faddish trends or pursuing pointless Nordschleife lap times, I’ve long admired Lexus’s devotion to a simpler objective: to build distinctive cars of the utmost quality, powered by unerringly modish petrol-electric hybrid powertrains with pampering interiors and a focus on outright quality – of cabin materials, mechanical and electronic reliability and dealer service.
Isn’t that a laudable objective? It’s barely changed in the brand’s three decades on this planet and I must confess to worrying a little whenever new managers come along and profess a desire to add sporting intent to the Lexus lexicon. Cars like the fizzy LC coupe and LFA supercar are all well and good, but this sensible RX is surely where the brand’s centre of gravity lies.
The RX L’s additional 110mm length is enough to make this the brand’s first seven-seater in Europe. We’ll be testing that third row of seats with family duties and school runs, while the enlarged boot stretches to a cavernous 966 litres in five-seater mode (or 495 with seven seats in place). It’s a huge space. As a dad of two with a new dog, I like this.
Ours comes in Premier spec, which means it’s absolutely loaded. Only two options are fitted (metallic paint and electric sunroof), taking the price to £63,635. The bronzed Sonic Titanium paintwork is so far doing a fantastic job of looking bright and resisting the winter smear. Whatever your take on the chiselled, pointy styling, it’s certainly distinctive.
The best hybrid cars: our guide to the finest plug-ins and PHEVs you can buy
First impressions are that this will be a comfy, reliable, pampering and roomy six months. Isn’t that what family transport should be? But there are a lot of questions to be answered – which is exactly what the CAR long-term test procedure is designed for. Can a petrol-electric hybrid SUV prove economical in the real world (Lexus quotes 47.1mpg combined economy and 138g/km of CO2)? Is there enough dynamism to go with the luxury and practicality? Can I possibly learn to live with – let alone like – the joystick-operated infotainment? In short, should you consider a Lexus ahead of similar products from the Germans or Brits?
I suspect 2019 is going to be rather relaxing, laid-back and Lexusy. I find this strangely calming. My blood pressure is receding even as I write about it.
By Tim Pollard
Logbook: Lexus RX450hL Premier
Price £61,995
As tested £63,635
Engine 3456cc 24v V6 petrol, 259bhp @ 6000rpm, 247lb ft @ 4600rpm, plus 165bhp/247lb ft (front) and 68bhp/103lb ft (rear) electric motors
Transmission CVT, all-wheel drive
Performance 8.0sec 0-62mph, 112mph, 138g/km CO2
Miles this month 120
Total 352
Our mpg tbc
Official mpg 47.1
Fuel this month n/a
Extra costs None
More Lexus reviews by CAR magazine