Lexus RX 450h
HELLO
£67,100 OTR/£81,600 as tested/£524 pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Has Lexus squandered its lead in the posh hybrid SUV race?
DRIVER
Jason Barlow
INSIDE MY HEAD: LEXUS IS THE LUXURY OUTLIER THAT’S PERMA
skirting the arena occupied by the big players Audi BMW Mercedes Land/Range Rover In reality the first generation RX dates back to thus preempting the Noughties SUV boom A pioneer It was certainly the first to introduce hybrid tech to the sector upscaling parent company Toyota’s farsighted eco adventures with the original Prius
Flagship of a now heavily expanded range the RX is into its fifth regeneration Aside from the LFA and ISF V saloon Lexus has rarely fanned the flames of driving desire But having recently just scored my first speeding conviction in years taking custody of TG’s RX h feels timely This is what mindfulness on wheels looks like What’s the rush?
Ours is the h PHEV the middle model in a range that’s bookended by the h and h It’s powered by the same litre fourcylinder plugin hybrid system that you’ll find in the Toyota RAV The ICE is bolstered by an kWh battery pack and there’s an electric motor on each axle That adds up to a total power output of bhp and a mile erange High performance SUVs have always seemed singularly pointless to me even the ones that handle well So I for one appreciate the RX’s soothing demeanour and the hybrid’s efforts to deploy epower as efficiently as possible and as often as it can There’s much to learn here
As there is inside too Ours is a highspec Takumi grade car which adds adaptive suspension fancy seats and magnificent speaker Mark Levinson audio It’s also beautifully finished with Lexus’s signature attention to detail That and a strong emphasis on technology are what distinguishes this car for good and bad as we’ll discover