Lexus Rx350
The Lexus RX350 is a vehicle that's hard to understand. It’s supposed to be an SUV, but no one will ever go off road in it. It’s supposed to be comfortable, and it is, but not as comfortable as a standard car. It’s also supposed to be quick and it is, but in that particularly and rather eerily silent way that all Lexus models accelerate. There's one understandable reason it sells, and that’s more to do with having the driver’s seat high up in the air so you can see over other cars.
But one thing does amaze about this Lexus RX350 Limited – the last time there were this many gadgets crammed into a machine it was on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Climate control air con? Of course. Heated front seats? Naturally. Sat Nav? Reversing camera? Wood on everything that isn’t leather? Bluetooth? Power operated front seats? Enough airbags to disguise the vehicle as a hot air balloon, and enough traction, stability and traction control acronyms to obliterate a game of scrabble? It’s all there.
There’s even the traditional Lexus ‘fold up and away' steering wheel and ‘slide back seat’ feature when you turn the engine off. This journalist used to think that was quite an old man’s feature, but now it feels a bit like getting in and out of the Batmobile, especially when you get in and everything electrically powers itself into operating position.
The Lexus RX350 Limited also gets radar guided cruise control, which keeps the Lexus a set distance behind the vehicle in front, except of course that it doesn’t. This radar system was first experienced in the LS430 luxury sedan when it was launched and the system acts just the same. The radar senses the car in front, applies the brakes, slowing the Lexus down, and then the cruise control accelerates so slowly that the vehicle plays catch-up with the car in front. By the time it is back in position the brakes come on again and the entire process repeats. Surely it’s not too much to ask for a system that only slows the Lexus a little and keeps an actual consistent distance from the vehicle in front.
But other than that, the RX350 drives just as you would expect it too. It’s comfortable, quiet, quick, and handles very much like a car. All par for the course for a modern SUV. Owners certainly wouldn’t take it off road though - the optional side bars fitted to the test vehicle ensured a ground clearance that I swear is lower than that of a Ferrari.
But at the end of the day the NZ$110,990 RX350 Limited is just another option for someone after an SUV in the 100k+ price bracket. You’ll either love the styling or hate it. You’ll either like all the electronics or get confused by all the technology. But a nice Lexus GS300 would fit the role even better.
