2024 Lexus RX500h

The first luxury crossover – the Lexus RX – is now one of many. When it first came out – way back in 1998 – it was not just new. It was radically different from the cars then being sold by the other luxury brands.

It sold so well the others scrambled to sell copies of their own.

Today, every luxury brand sells crossovers – and some luxury brands (like Lincoln) no longer sell cars at all.

So what do you sell today – when everyone else is selling something similar?

What It Is

The RX is a mid-sized/five-passenger luxury crossover and the grandfather of all the other luxury crossovers that have flattered Lexus by imitating its look and layout.

The current model no longer offers the V6 that used to be standard in the RX – but it does offer something else.

Somethings else, to be precise.

You can pick an RX (the $48,600 RX350) with a turbocharged four cylinder engine that makes a bit less power than the previously available V6 – or you can pick an RX (the $50,750 RX350h) with a turbocharged four paired with a mild hybrid system that goes much farther per gallon than the previous RX350 with the V6.

Or you can pick a plug-in hybrid version of this Lexus – the $69,230 RX450h – that has more power than the old V6 RX that also can be driven close to 40 miles without burning any gas at all. This model also doesn’t have to be plugged in when it runs low on charge – unlike an electric-only vehicle.

The fourth iteration of the RX is the $62,750 500h. It’s a performance hybrid that has more power (366 horsepower) than any previous RX even though it’s also powered by a turbocharged four. It gets better gas mileage than the turbo-four-only RX350 – which burns more gas because it lacks the hybrid-assist.

What’s New For 2024

The plug-in RX450h is new for this model year. Cloudhouse Gray has been added to the available color palette.

What’s Good

Multiple drivetrain choices.

Rear seats can be reclined.

12 speaker premium audio system and three-zone climate control are standard in base RX350.

What’s Not So Good

No more standard V6.

Standard 2.4 liter four only returns slightly better gas mileage than previously standard V6 – and is down 15 horsepower vs. the previous V6.

No third row option.

Under The Hood

The previous RX – going all the way back to the first RX of the late 1990s – came standard with a V6. It was one of the most desirable attributes of the RX, not simply because it was a V6 but because it was one of the best V6 engines available – as established by its track record for reliability and durability as well as its smoothness.

So how come the new RX no longer comes with that V6?

For the same reason that the new Camry sedan, the new Tacoma pick-up, the 4Runner and other Toyota/Lexus models have given them up. That reason being the need for Toyota/Lexus to squeeze ever-higher gas mileage numbers out of ever-smaller engines, to placate the feds. And also because – in theory – a smaller engine emits less gas, specifically carbon dioxide, the gas that doesn’t have anything to do with air pollution.

In practice, the reduction of these “emissions” doesn’t amount to much – because in order to produce power comparable to a six cylinder engine, a turbocharged four cylinder engine relies on boost – the forcing of more air (and the spraying of more fuel) into the smaller engine’s cylinders. When not under boost, the smaller engine is more “efficient.” And “emits” less C02.

But – Catch 22 – it is almost impossible to drive a vehicle so equipped without relying on boost to get it going – without driving it very slowly. In which case, why bother with making it powerful in the first place? Why not just get everyone to drive something under-engined and slow? The answer of course, is that most people – especially people who spend Lexus money on a vehicle – don’t want to drove a slow, underpowered vehicle.

It’s all a big game – and everyone loses.

But on paper, there’s a gain – or rather, a reduction. And that’s why no more V6 for the RX.

The RX’s new standard engine is a turbocharged 2.4 liter four cylinder engine that makes 275 horsepower – 15 down from the previously standard 3.5 liter V6’s 290 horsepower – but your consolation prize is 22 MPG in city driving and 29 MPG on the highway, vs. 20 city and 27 on the highway from the no-longer-available V6.

There are some alternatives – just none with six cylinders.

The first is a hybrid set-up (in the RX350h) that combines a slightly larger 2.5 liter engine with a battery/motor, the latter driving the rear wheels. This combo makes less power (246 horsepower) but the gas mileage goes up significantly – to 37 city, 34 highway. And so does the range – which increases to 636 miles in city driving and 584 on the highway.

Interestingly, this hybrid uses a nickel metal hydride battery rather than lithium ion. The former are desirable because the chemistry is more stable. It’s probably part of the reason why Toyota/Lexus hybrid batteries have a reputation for safety and longevity, too.

Next-up is a plug-in hybrid set-up that increases the powertrain’s total output to 304 horsepower. This version of the RX – the 450h – can also be driven for about 37 miles on battery power alone (assuming you start with a full charged battery).

Finally, there’s the performance-hybrid RX500h. This one has the most horsepower (366) Lexus has ever offered in the RX, which enables it to hustle to 60 MPH in just over 5 seconds – making it the quickest-ever RX. It also gets slightly better gas mileage – 27 city, 28 highway – than the base RX350.

Irrespective of trim/powertrain, every RX is rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs.

The upside is you don’t have to spend extra on a higher trim to get the maximum rated towing capacity. The downside is that even the very powerful RX500h isn’t rated to pull more than the base RX350 – and several of the RX’s rivals, such as the Acura MDX, can tow as much as 5,000 lbs. when equipped with their optional (six cylinder) engines.

On The Road

Lexus has done a thorough job making the new four feel (and even sound) like the V6 you used to get in the RX. It pulls with the authority of more than just four cylinders, which in a way is exactly what you’ve got here in that the turbo stuffs as much (or more) air into those four cylinder as six would be able to inhale, by themselves. And the power – the torque – is at hand sooner, which is the chief boon to this layout, as opposed to the nominal increase in posted gas mileage numbers.

The 2.4 liter four in the base RX350 may be down 15 horses vs. the previous V6. But it’s up – to 317 ft.-lbs. of torque (at 1,700 RPM) vs. just 268 ft.-lbs. (at 4,700 RPM) out of the previous 3.5 liter V6.

That translates into a stronger feel in the low and mid-range, where most people do most of their driving. Only when you floor it – and hold it – at high speeds, such as when you’re already doing 70 and want to pass someone quickly, does the 2.4 liter engine feel (and sound) a little winded. Lexus addresses the sound of being winded in the RX500h by augmenting the sound of the 2.4 liter four, which sounds larger than it is when you floor it.

This one also has the power to accompany the sound.

Regardless, it’s what hasn’t changed that’s most important – to people who love the RX. This Lexus is as soft as ever, if not more so. Even the 500h, which comes standard with the F Sport upgrades that include a set of very tall (21 inch) wheels – which you’d think would impart a stiff  and unforgiving (as of potholes) ride.

They don’t. Because they’re not shod with rubber band-thin “sport” tires, as is usually the case with tires this tall.

What you do get is sharpened up steering response, which is an attribute almost everyone likes when it doesn’t come at the cost of a harsh and unforgiving ride. Even the sport buckets that are part of the F Sport package are more supportive than cinching.

The center-console-mounted toggle-style gear selector lacks physical feedback and (given it’s an entirely electronic input device) Lexus might as well have used buttons for Park, Reverse and Drive. This could have freed-up some more on space on the center console to allow for larger cupholders.

But – overall – the latest RX remains a lot like the old RX in spirit if not mechanically.

At The Curb

When the RX made its debut some 26 years ago, it looked like nothing else. Now everything else looks like the RX.

That is flattering – to Lexus – but it also means the latest RX doesn’t stand apart from the crowd as the original RX did. It is a victim, in a way, of its own brilliance. Were Lexus to significantly alter the shape of the RX, then the RX would no longer offer the packaging attributes that have made crossovers as popular as they have become.

So, the RX’s visual distinctiveness is mostly viewed from head-on, as is true of other crossovers. And that may explain why the current RX has a much more visually aggressive face than the original RX. It’s hard to miss the big “L” for Lexus badge in the center of the huge, trapezoidal grille that has become the trademark “Lexus” grille.

Inside, there’s a new, all-flatscreen instrument cluster, along with the now ubiquitous LCD screen for the secondary systems. It’s interesting to note that the original ’98 RX300 was one of the very first new vehicles to come with an LCD display and now – of course – everyone has one of those, too. Premium trims get a larger (14 inch) screen that’s easily twice the size of the ’98’s screen.

Tesla-style button-push door “pulls” unlock the door without needing to pull (or grab-handle) anything and an available low-speed self-driving system – Lexus Traffic Jam Assist – are among the modern ease-of-use upgrades meant to set the RX apart from other crossovers that look like the RX but don’t offer such features.

One thing the RX no longer offers is a third-row seating option, which some of the others in this class – including the Acura MDX – do offer. The italics to make a point of the fact that – for awhile – Lexus did offer a three-row version of the RX (the RX350L) but it didn’t sell very well because (apparently) people who like the RX don’t mind that it doesn’t offer as much utility as some of the others in the class, like the MDX.

What matters, to the people who buy the RX, is that it isn’t an MDX. Or anything other than an RX.

The Rest

Though Lexus has throughly updated the RX’s tech, the RX still has some old school tech to go along with it, including a 12V power point just ahead of the gear selector and alongside the modern USB/power points (both types). This is a small but big thing, if you have an accessory that uses a 12V pigtail plug – which you wouldn’t otherwise be able to use.

The base RX350 can be had with a digital key that enables you to use your smartphone to unlock and start the car. But you have to buy one of the more expensive trims to be able to order the well-worth-ordering 21 speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system.

Sadly, there’s no longer a CD slot – because everything’s digital now.

The Bottom Line

The V6 is gone but everything else that has made the RX the leader in its class for more than a quarter century remains.

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