Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: No data available
Clever fuel-saving technology, "green" image, Lexus reliability and quality, refinement and high equipment levels, value for money, smooth and quiet ride.
Not quite as planet-saving as the hype suggests, not particularly roomy, vague electric steering and drive-by-wire controls, shallow boot, not as dynamic to drive as many rivals. It's also neither a proper off-roader nor a strong towing vehicle.
A step in the right direction when it comes to reducing fuel consumption and emissions from large SUVs, if not a revolution in environmentally-friendly motoring. A thoroughly pleasant vehicle to spend time in, but it's rather a case of style over substance as it's not a particularly versatile 4x4.
It's a Lexus. That means a high-quality cabin, stuffed with all mod cons, and excellent levels of refinement, sound-proofing and general cosseting from the harsh outside world. All UK cars will come with multi-zone climate control, electrically-adjustable front seats with memory settings, cruise control, tinted glass and an eight-speaker sound system; SE versions add full leather upholstery, the adaptive front lighting, heated front seats, split-folding rear seats, electric tilt/reach steering wheel adjustment, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and a power-operated tailgate. The top-spec SE-L has rear parking monitor cameras, which project images of the view behind onto the display screen in the centre console, an excellent 11-speaker Mark Levinson audio system, satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and a DVD player with twin monitors.
The ride is, of course, smooth and quiet - though the RX is a little prone to pitching and wallowing if driven hard - and the front seats are armchair-like yet supportive, giving room to stretch out for even very tall drivers and front-seat passengers. It's not quite as roomy in the rear, however, and although the electric-driven rear axle doesn't need as much space under-floor as a conventional rear-wheel-drive unit, the need to accommodate the electric batteries (under the rear seats) cancels out any gains in space. Boot capacity is thus the same as in the RX300: long, quite wide but shallow in depth, and limited even further in models without the split-folding rear seats, which don't do a full flat-fold and tumble-forward anyway. The boot floor is also high, making loading of heavy objects awkward.
