2010 Lexus RX350 / RX450h Hybrid

2010 Lexus RX350 / RX450h Hybrid 2010 Lexus RX350 / RX450h Hybrid
First Drive Review

It can easily be argued that companies that play it safe probably have the greatest chances of surviving the malaise currently afflicting the automotive industry. And it can be argued that Toyota Motor Corporation and its Lexus luxury division have played the game as safely as any other company in the world. Case in point: the Lexus RX, both the bestselling luxury crossover and the bestselling of all Lexus models. It’s a cash cow for the brand, and when time comes to redo it, Lexus knows not to mess with a good thing.

So it’s no surprise that the third-generation RX350 and its hybrid sibling are largely the same as they’ve always been—pleasant and inoffensive, two veritable shades of beige, despite being completely redesigned.

Evolving Little Is Evolving Intelligently

Enthusiasts and journalists have been largely ambivalent toward the RX’s styling, but customers clearly see the crossover as a thing of beauty, or at least something beautiful enough to spend at least 38 grand on, plus options. (Pricing for the new model had not been released at the time of this writing.) So it seems wise to adhere to the design vocabulary that has worked so well for the RX in the past, including its long beak, clean-shaven chin, bubbled hatch, hunched roofline, and awkward-looking wheelbase.

The RX has grown in pretty much every dimension—1.6 inches in length and width, 0.2 inch in height, 1.0 inch in wheelbase—and every body component is new, but the overall proportions and conservative styling statement are little changed. The RX’s styling is awash with numerous L-finesse styling elements, including more expressive lighting elements (with available multielement LED headlamps on the hybrid), a sculpted hood, a swoopier roofline, and wider-looking, sculpted body sides. The wheel arches have grown to accommodate up to 19-inch wheels and tires, the sexiest of which are found on the hybrid with the Sport package, and that model was also the best one to drive. Hybrid models feature blue outlines on the L badge and blue-tinted lighting elements.

One of the common L-finesse design themes, as found all over recent Lexus models such as the LS and IS sedans, is an “arrow” motif. It’s basically a sharp angle framing a radiused corner, usually with chrome involved. Here, it dresses up the RX’s exterior in various places, and one particularly clever application is the way the rear-window wiper is concealed by the rear spoiler.

Just Two Rows, Still

Happily, Lexus saw fit to keep the RX a two-row vehicle (Could it be that the three-row-is-the-new-two-row trend is coming to an end? We hope so) with sliding and reclining 40/20/40 second-row seats and a cargo area that is five percent larger than before, thanks to an unequal-length control-arm rear suspension.

The interior themes remain conservative yet pleasing to the eye—parchment with brown walnut, or gray tones with charcoal maple—and the seats have been redesigned to spoil backs and backsides better than an army of Swedish masseuses, complementing the RX’s excellent driving position. The leather feels softer than ever, especially the new optional semi-aniline variety, and space for four adults is more than acceptable.