Tag Archives: Lexus RX 450h+

2026 Lexus RX 450h+

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This is what “continuous improvement” means. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

The Lexus RX has been exceedingly popular since it launched in the US in March 1998. Arguably it created the luxury crossover segment. It was followed in time by vehicles including the BMW X5 (1999), the Acura MDX (2000), and Volvo XC90 (2002).

But year after year, the Lexus has been the top seller among all Lexus models, as well as having greater sales than those other crossover models.

This seems to have led some critics to maintain that the RX is somehow boring, perhaps because of its success.

Which is somewhat bizarre logic: Because it has such great appeal, it must not be as good as vehicles with less appeal.

Yes, those other models may have better performance or more capacity or something, but it is the package that people buy, and evidently the RX package has, from the first generation, been one with the greatest appeal.

It is now on its fifth generation. It is still settling the pace.

US sales through the first half of 2026:

  • RX:        59,904
  • X5:        41,554
  • MDX:    24,102
  • XC90:   22,538

“Oh, but it is too this, that or the other thing.”

Maybe.

But it is also clearly successful. All the more so when you realize that this generation RX was introduced in the market in the fall of 2022 and here we are four years later and it still has considerable appeal.

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Lexus RX 450h+. A stylish plug-in hybrid. (Image: Lexus)

The RX 450h+ is a plug-in hybrid.

Said simply, it is a gas-electric hybrid. It is an AWD vehicle. So there is a permanent magnet synchronous motor in the front, a permanent magnet synchronous motor in the rear, and a gasoline-powered 2.5-liter four cylinder engine under the hood. All-in the system produces 304 hp.

But the “plug-in” part goes to the fact that, yes, there is a plug, which can be used to charge the lithium-ion battery. Note the “can.” It isn’t a requirement, though not taking advantage of this would be silly (you can use a regular home outlet, though there are other, more powerful options for charging).

What that fully charged battery means is that the RX 450h+ operates like a full-on electric vehicle for as many as 38 miles.

And when that runs out—and you won’t notice it when it does, unless you keep a keen eye on your gauge cluster—the vehicle operates like a hybrid, which means it is fuel efficient (and lest you think fuel efficiency = sluggishness, Lexus says it goes 0 to 60 mph in an estimated 6.2 seconds, which is probably true because they probably had a lawyer or two assessing the claim).

While the fuel economy measure is 85 MPGe, let’s face it: that’s fairly meaningless.

Know that I was getting 35.7 mpg after the electric miles were long gone.

And realize that this is a vehicle that seats five in comfort. It is a midsize crossover, measuring 192.5 inches long, 75.6 inches wide, 67.3 inches high, and having a 112.2-inch wheelbase.

That “in comfort” part is the essence, I’d argue, of Lexus.

Whether it is feeling the suppleness of the semi-aniline leather on the seats or simply looking at the ash bamboo trim in the cabin, this tells you that this is authentic.

Yes, there is a 14-inch touchscreen display and a 12.3-inch multi-information display (a.k.a., “gauge cluster”), but there are also knobs (e.g., temperature control, volume), so it isn’t all swiping (though you could should you be so inclined).

When the Lexus brand was launched in 1989 it used the tagline “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection.” That was phased out in 2013. (It is currently “Experience Amazing.”)

Still, it is evident that the designers and engineers at Lexus know that working to achieve the utmost in quality and flawlessness is something they have to work at every day.

Whether or not that results in something “amazing” is certainly something that’s a personal assessment.

But unquestionably, whether predicated on sales or getting behind the wheel, the RX seems to be getting better and better.

2024 Lexus RX 450h+

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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.

Lexus RX 450h+ plug-in hybrid. (Image Lexus)

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.