Albuquerque Journal

CHART TOPPER

The Lexus RX 350’s popularity is a testament to its goodness

- BY KEN WALSTON DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR KEN WALSTON

Lexus’ RX 350, the best selling luxury SUV in the United States, is blissfully quiet on the highway, with a supple ride in keeping with its pedigree.

Lexus’ RX 350 is the best-selling luxury SUV in the United States.

For 2015, Toyota’s high-end division has changed very little in its segment-leading midsizer, and with good reason: Why mess with success?

Indeed, a revamped RX won’t appear until the 2017 model year. Meantimes, the current vehicle has pretty much everything necessary to remain king of the hill until then.

What has kept the RX so popular? Obviously, there’s a heaping helping of luxury. Interior materials are all topnotch, meticulous­ly assembled with obvious care.

The roster of standard equipment is lengthy; but if you demand more, there’s also a long menu of options with which to personaliz­e your luxo-ute.

Like most Lexus vehicles, the RX is blissfully quiet on the highway, with a supple ride quality in keeping with its pedigree. Handling is solid, but not particular­ly sporty.

Power is provided by a turbine-smooth 3.5-liter, twin-cam V-6 mated to an six-speed automatic transmissi­on that delivers virtually impercepti­ble shifts. But again, the all-wheel-drive drivetrain delivers little excitement, just perfectly adequate, balanced performanc­e.

There’s a generous allotment of space inside the cabin, and plenty of cargo space for five. But if it’s third-row seating you need, look elsewhere. There’s also somewhat of a shortage of handy cubbies up front for sunglasses and the like.

Comfortabl­e and supportive front buckets feature 10-way power adjustabil­ity, making it a cinch to find a perfect driving position. The 40-20-40 split-rear bench seat, too, reclines and slides fore and aft.

Clear gauges are a snap to read at a glance, augmented by an optional (a rather pricey $1,200) head’s-up feature that projects miles per hour and other, minor data onto the windshield.

The center console is a well-organized melange of knobs and buttons, with a large multifunct­ion screen centered up high for audio, nav and other displays, controlled by a small joy stick.

It’s difficult to find fault with anything about the RX 350. Yes, it could be more involving for the driver, and yes, it’s so common you’ll see yourself coming and going. But that’s just a testament to how well Lexus hit the bull’s-eye.

It’ll be a hard act to follow come 2017.

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