A plug-in hybrid version of the CUV that just keeps getting better

By Gary S. Vasilash

Lexus has been putting the RX on the road since 1998. Arguably, this was the first-available luxury crossover. Inarguably it has been a stalwart in the Lexus lineup.

Through the third quarter of 2024 the RX has been sold 83,341 times in the U.S. And to put that number in context, know that during the same period Lincoln—which now is an all-crossover brand (though the Navigator has a body-on-frame architecture, so it is a bona-fide SUV)—had sales of 74,530.

One model outsold four.

The RX is now in its fifth generation.

I am more than passingly familiar with all of them.

And I make that observation for one reason:

It could be thought at Lexus HQ “We’ve been building the RX for more than 25 years, the consumers keep buying them, so let’s not spend too much time worrying about it because it is in a solid place that it is not likely to lose.”

Consequently, while the RX would be good, it would be good with an accompanying shrug.

Yet this RX simply exceeds expectations in its attention to detail and execution.

While this might seem to be a trivial example (trivial unless you drive one of these vehicles regularly, at which point the trivial can make a major difference), note how the bottom of the doors are curved and robustly sealed over the rockers. This not only helps provide a stout structure but it attenuates noise intrusion, especially road noise (as that is the closest thing down there).

It helps provide vault-like silence. Which is what one wants in a luxury vehicle, right?

The interior—from semi-aniline leather and materials including open-pore wood, to the audiophile Mark Levinson system—combines function with comfort with useability (e.g., if you want to adjust the temperature there is a knob at hand and if you want to activate the heated and cooled front seats, then buttons are available).

The powertrain consists of a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine that is supplemented by permanent magnet motors front and rear (which provides the vehicle with all-wheel drive capability). The total system horsepower is 304, which does the job for a vehicle that has a curb weight of 4,810 pounds and measures 192.52 inches long, 75.59 inches wide, 67.32 inches high, and has a wheelbase of 112.2 inches.

Of course, the reason one buys a plug-in hybrid (there are RX versions that are straight ICE as well as two non-plug-in hybrid variants) is for the fuel efficiency that is provided.

In the case of the RX 450h+ there is the ability to drive up to 35 miles on electric power only. (The vehicle can be charged on a typical 120-V outlet in about 11.5 hours or, when a 240-V system is used with the standard 6.6 kW onboard charger it is done in about 2.5 hours.)

Then when operating as a hybrid alone, it has an estimated combined miles per gallon rating of 35 mpg, so with its 14.53-gallon fuel tank it provides a range of over 500 miles.

(Note: the vehicle has an 83 MPGe rating. I will not try to explain it and I think it is something that the EPA needs to do away with on the sticker because it simply doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to the consumer who isn’t an electrical engineer.)

Here’s something interesting about Lexus: in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. ALG Residual Value Awards—which determine the value that a vehicle holds following a three-year period of ownership—Lexus took the top spot in the premium brand segment for the fourth year in a row.

And among the vehicles on the most-recent list: the RX.

Enjoy it today. Appreciate it tomorrow.