What we learned after 3000 miles in a £70,000 Lexus RX PHEV

This car has a bit of an identity crisis. Ever since Toyota's luxury brand launched its Radiant Crossover (yes, really) in 1998, the Lexus RX range has stood for one thing above all else: luxury.

Yes, they went uncommonly well, and yes, they could probably get you home if the Glyndebourne car park got particularly muddy, but the main draw of these limousines on stilts was always comfort and opulence, rather than driver appeal or off-road ability.

That was only enhanced from 2005, when the RX became the first hybrid large SUV, offering the silence of electric motivation running hand in hand with its free-spinning petrol V6.

When specified, as here, with the new F Sport Design trim, however, this new fifth-generation RX has real attitude, its aggressive addenda and 21in rims suggesting something a bit racier than the Lexus norm.

Drive it only a little way, though, and it's reassuring to learn that the key strengths of the old RX are alive and well.

Unlike the 500h version that we put through the road test treatment in 2023, which features a six-speed automatic gearbox and torque-vectoring gubbins to try to give the RX a sportier drive, this 450h+ sticks with the e-CVT of old.

Now, I'm no fan of VTs in general, but here it works very well, largely thanks to the large battery pack and powerful electric motor, which masks any torque gaps.

But this car does stray from the old RX in two very important ways. First, the long-serving (and thirsty) 3.5-litre V6 has at last been ditched in favour of a more frugal 2.5-litre four; and second, unlike the conventional 350h hybrid (which is now the entry point to a three-model range), this new 450h+ is the first plug-in hybrid RX, with an 18.1kWh lithium ion battery offering a claimed 42 miles of electric-only range.

It also results in a serious slug of performance, with a large front and smaller rear electric motor boosting the 182bhp available from the petrol engine alone to a 304bhp total. That means 0-62mph in 6.5sec (compared with 7.9sec for the regular hybrid) and a 124mph maximum. Not bad for a car weighing a little over 2.1 tonnes.

The PHEV is certainly having an effect: in 2023, the RX had its biggest-ever sales performance in Europe, a market traditionally more resistant to the charms of this unashamedly US-focused SUV, with a large part of that success thanks to sales of this particular model. Lexus likes to claim that the RX was the world's first luxury SUV.

I suspect a couple of rather large names from the UK (Range Rover) and the US (Jeep Wagoneer) might have something to say about that, but it was certainly the first to use monocoque construction to give truly car-like refinement and road manners - and those qualities remain.

The 21in wheels of my test car's F-Sport Design trim introduce a certain amount of bump-thump into the cabin, but overall refinement is excellent, the cocoon-like feel aided by door seals so thick that you have to really slam them shut and windows programmed to slow their climb as they near the top of the doorframe to avoid an aggressive change of air pressure as they close.

Only the slightly raucous nature of the four-cylinder engine spoils that impression, lacking the muscle and outright smoothness of the six-pot units of rivals such as BMW's X5 Drive50e, which I greatly enjoyed running last year.

It's also outgunned on boot capacity by the X5 Drive50e and Volvo XC90 T8, both of which additionally offer a seven-seater option, but at 461 litres (or 612 litres if filled to the roof), it's still pretty large, and usefully the PHEV RX gets the same amount of space as its hybrid siblings.

Instead, the battery pack eats slightly into the fuel tank provision, which is 55 litres to the 65 litres offered by the 350h and 500h. Lexus presumably figured that the additional battery range would more than make up for that.

This car scores well as far as passengers are concerned. The 2850mm wheelbase is 60mm longer than the old RX's, meaning that rear occupants enjoy palatial comfort, regardless of how tall the driver is.

It's similarly roomy up front, with a pleasingly driver-focused dashboard layout and beautiful interior quality augmented by soft-touch materials throughout. And the generous specification leaves you wanting for very little: the only option that we chose was premium paint, in a particularly lustrous silver that sets off Lexus's 'Spindle' grille design.

Rather bluff nose aside, this is a good-looking car to my eyes, with the neatly resolved rear in particular a big step forward over the slightly ungainly old RX. And it's made all the more handsome by the sharp F-Sport Design addenda, which brings us full circle, back to the subject of driver appeal.

This is a very large car, at nearly five metres long and a shade less than two metres wide, and on country lanes in particular it feels it, causing the odd sharp intake of breath as I dive into hedges to avoid getting intimate with oncoming traffic. Sport it ain't.

Realistically, though, most of my time is spent either stuck in traffic or eating up motorway miles, and in both of these sets of circumstances, it offers a very different type of driver appeal, soothing and cosseting in a way few others can.

So while 10% of the time I might pine for a touch of agility, for the remainder I'm very happy indeed.

Update 2

I'm not generally a great believer in automotive smartphone apps, as they tend to be overcomplicated and not hugely useful, but the recent cold snap tempted me to download Lexus Link+ to try out its climate settings.

Pleasingly, it’s logical and simple to use, offering general data such as fuel and battery levels, range, any warnings from the car and the status of the doors, windows and boot, plus a neat Hybrid Coaching section to help you get the best from the hybrid drivetrain.

Apparently, I have ‘room for improvement’ – no surprise there. But the main event is the remote control for the climate. You can set any temperature from 18-29deg C and ask it to start on demand, and it will give you a countdown to when it’s expected to reach your chosen level.

Alternatively, you can tell it to start automatically at a set time, either as a one-off use or on repeat. You can even programme it to follow different schedules on weekdays and at the weekend.

My wife wasn’t best pleased when I enjoyed a morning cuppa while she went out to chip the ice from her frozen Mini and saw that the RX’s windows were all clear, and inside it looked cosy and inviting. In truth, the heating system as a whole is worthy of mention, too.

Since setting it to my comfy level (21deg C) shortly after collecting the car, I’ve hardly had to touch the controls.

Despite it being very large inside, the RX heats up remarkably quickly, and the heated/ventilated seats and heated steering wheel are both set to ‘auto’, which means that they turn themselves on and off with a near-telepathic intuition.

I also love that the only two settings I do vary regularly – turning on the heated rear screen/heated mirrors and windscreen demist – are both available via buttons, so I don’t have to wade through touchscreen menus.

This always feels like a car that has been designed with the driver’s comfort and convenience in mind. And you can’t talk about comfort without mentioning the phenomenal seats, which are supportive and cosseting in equal measure.

There has been some complaint from my (clearly very spoiled) daughter that the seats in the rear aren’t heated as well, and I was surprised to discover that to get them, you have to upgrade to the £6000-pricier Takumi trim level.

You do have to search quite hard to find a gap in the spec sheet of this F Sport Design car, though. The dipped-beam headlights could be a bit better, but other than that it’s the consummate winter car: grippy, safe and secure-feeling, even if you do sense its considerable weight when hitting an icy patch.

The outside world is near-silenced, but the doors do require a good slam to shut properly, and even after a few months my wife continues to complain about the needless complexity of the electric door buttons, bemoaning: “What’s wrong with a proper door handle?” I’m used to them now, but for some reason, I keep forgetting to lock the car when I’ve been out for a short trip.

Fortunately, that’s another useful element of the Lexus Link+ app: it sends me a notification to let me know if there’s a window or door open or a door unlocked, and I can then lock it from my phone. A comforting safety net for if I ever have to rush for a plane or train.

Update 3

Our expectations of what a luxury car should offer have evolved since Toyota’s upmarket Lexus brand was launched in 1989.

The original LS 400 was exceptionally comfortable and refined, but it was resolutely an executive express: all work and no play. It was brilliant at it, though, and Lexus soon became a fixture of the motoring landscape.

These days we demand that our luxury cars are a little less one-dimensional. They must be as adept at family life – the school run, muddy weekend dog walk, tip run or holiday road trip – as they are at the commute or a motorway blast to a meeting.

All of which explains the rise and rise of the luxury SUV. The RX has delivered even better than expected in this respect: this is a seriously practical car, not least because it’s so big.

Accommodation for my dog is palatial (even if he has to mind his head on the supports for the luggage cover), and with the seats lowered I managed to squeeze in an entire double mattress (unfolded) for its send-off at the tip.

Dropping the rear bench is easy thanks to a couple of electric releases beside the tailgate (also electric, opening via a ‘virtual pedal’), but you do have to put them back manually.

The boot is nice and square and feels larger than its claimed 461-litre capacity. It proved ideal when a colleague begged a borrow for a house move, shuttling several loads swiftly and securely on icy roads during a cold snap.

I do have the odd complaint: unless the rear seats are fully reclined (something my youngest daughter appreciates), there is a gap between the seatback and the loadbay cover that leaves your shopping exposed; and for a reason I have yet to fathom, sometimes the one-touch boot-close-and-lock button refuses to obey, emitting an angry beeping in response.

Admittedly, that is a rather first-world problem… I’m struggling to think of a better companion for the now regular motorway schlep, fully laden, to take my daughter to and from university: she has to empty her room at the end of each term, so it’s always a large load.

The RX swallows the lot without even dropping the rear seats, so the whole family can come along to wave her off.

Once packed, the rest of the car’s impressive armoury comes to the fore: the seats are fantastically comfortable, and the drivetrain is refined (unless you’re really thrashing the four-pot turbo engine) and surprisingly frugal for such a large car, its hybrid system working well even when your pre trip charge has been exhausted.

Add in effortless power and pace and it makes for a remarkably relaxed way to cover large distances with four people and lots of kit. It’s probably the complete modern luxury car – just a shame its driver isn’t quite so on the ball.

I didn’t realise Oxford’s low-emission zone was actually a zero-emission zone, and the £2 it would have cost me to enter the city centre in the Lexus was multiplied many times over when a fine landed on my doormat. Lesson learned, I guess.

Final update

A little over 20 years ago, I was sent to cover the launch of the second-generation Lexus RX for Autocar. At the time it was not much more than a quirky niche player over here yet, thanks to the US market’s voracious appetite for it, the world’s best-selling SUV.

While it has since gained traction in the UK, it has lost that title to its little brother, the Toyota RAV4 – a car that donated much of its drivetrain to this, the fifth-generation RX, in a search for greater efficiency (presumably in terms of parts commonality as well as fuel consumption).

That means the sweet 3.5-litre V6 of old has been replaced by a 2.5-litre four-banger, but to (more than) make up for it, the RX 450h+ is a plug-in hybrid that offers more power and torque from its electric motors than from its petrol engine, in total mustering a useful 305bhp.

In daily use, particularly around town, that results in a car that feels effortlessly potent, with the muscular torque of the motors meaning you avoid the wearing droning so common among CVT-equipped cars.

On a longer journey, however, when the battery’s charge has been exhausted, you can feel the lack of torque – on petrol alone, there’s a fairly lightweight 167lb – and it’s vocal (albeit not unpleasant) when called upon. Still, Toyota’s vast experience in self-charging hybrids means that it’s quick to generate enough power for the next overtake.

Once charged of a morning, it defaults to EV mode, and for such a big car with a relatively small motor, it is reasonably efficient. In warmer weather, it averaged 2.5mpkWh, dropping to 2.3mpkWh when really chilly, so even in winter it’s possible to get close to the official claim of 42 miles.

It’s enough for my commute, and having a charger at home makes it ideal, but most of the time I’ve tended to switch to hybrid mode in order to prolong battery life.

With a pretty meagre 55-litre fuel tank, the range on petrol alone isn’t huge; it still prioritises electric power at low speeds, but moves over to the engine more readily at the kind of pace that is going to sap battery life.

Although rapid, the RX is definitely more comfortable cruising than really pressing on. Sport mode makes it livelier, but this isn’t a sporty machine. The steering is fluid and well weighted and it covers ground at a deceptive rate with decent body control, but the poor lock and the sense of well over two tonnes changing direction mean it isn’t something you could call agile.

Yet there are few better cars for a long journey, especially if you have dogs or lots of bags. Not only is the RX exquisitely comfortable, with fantastic seats, superb refinement, intuitive controls and efficient heating, but it’s also practical, with a large boot and thoughtful detailing such as a bin for the charging leads beneath the boot floor.

There’s also the subconscious pleasure of its build quality, which feels superb and comparable to premium rivals in areas such as the lovely so -touch headliner.

Initially, I found myself irritated by the seemingly incessant beeping from the speed warnings and the driver attention monitor, but bearing in mind that I got caught speeding a er turning off the former and am no longer hearing the latter (so must be paying more attention), I can’t complain.

Other minor debits include headlights that aren’t as bright as I would have liked on dipped beam and further beeping when I tried to lock the car before the boot had fully latched, while my family – even after three months with the car – continued to complain about the doors.

As the seals are thick (part of the reason for that refinement), they don’t always shut on first close, but the real source of irritation was the electronic door releases in place of a traditional handle.

At least we haven’t had the problem suffered by reader Bob Toon, who got locked in his RX for over an hour and had to smash the window to get out.

Ken Richards has had a much more positive experience with a near-twin for my car, averaging 73mpg over his first 7000 miles, doing most of his driving in EV mode. “The car is immensely comfortable, faultless and simply wafts along,” he says, “and the customer care offered by the dealer [Lexus Edinburgh] is outstanding.”

I’m pretty much on the same page. Back in 2003, I concluded that it was difficult to see past the contemporary BMW X5 if you were after a luxury SUV.

Fast forward 22 years and I’ve been fortunate enough to run an X5 xDrive50e and this RX in quick succession, so does that still ring true? Yes and no: the BMW remains the benchmark if you want your SUV to be fun to drive, but the Lexus feels better built, is more efficient, and is better value, spec for spec.

I think the (slightly more mature) me of 2025 would find it a much more difficult decision.

Lexus RX 450H+ F Sport Design specification

Prices: List price new £69,995 List price now £70,795 Price as tested £70,245 Options: Sonic Platinum special metallic paint £250

Fuel consumption and range: Claimed economy 256.8mpg Fuel tank 55 litres Test average 47.8mpg Test best 95.5mpg Test worst 27.1mpg Real-world range 699 miles

Tech highlights: 0-62mph 6.5sec Top speed 113mph Engine 4 cyls in line, 2487cc, turbocharged, petrol, plus electric motor Max power 182bhp at 6000rpm (engine), 180bhp (front motor), 53bhp (rear motor), 305bhp (combined) Max torque 167lb ft at 3200-3700rpm (engine), 199lb ft (front motor), 89lb ft (rear motor) Transmission e-CVT, 4WD Boot capacity 461 litres Wheels 8.0Jx21in, alloy Tyres 235/50 R21, Bridgestone Alenza Kerb weight 2240kg

Service and running costs: Contract hire rate £600.62 CO2 25g/km Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £285.72 Electricity costs £166.80 Running costs inc fuel £452.52 Cost per mile 14 pence Faults None

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