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CAVehicle Reviews
2008 Lexus RX
Smooth, luxurious crossover SUV. edited by New Car Test Drive
Driving Impressions
The Lexus RX 350 is smooth in just about any situation. It travels over rough, broken, pavement without jostling whoever is inside, but it does not float. Its fully independent suspension is well damped, helping keep the tires pressed to the pavement, so the driver feels confidant that the RX will respond properly to quick turns on the steering wheel. The steering is light and accurate and the RX feels poised when cornering.
The 3.5-liter V6 takes the RX beyond snappy to a feeling of real power without sacrificing the trademark smoothness. Indeed, this V6 is so powerful that it responds aggressively, even abruptly, to anything more than a bit of gas. It takes a bit of practice to adjust to the throttle response. The aluminum V6 features the latest control technology, including Lexus's Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence system (VVT-i), which balances high-rev horsepower with good torque at all engine speeds and low emissions.
The five-speed automatic makes good use of the power from the RX 350's engine. It quickly kicks down a gear or two when the driver dips the accelerator, and holds that gear all the way to the redline when the pedal is floored, before shifting up smoothly and smartly. With more gears than a traditional four-speed automatic, the five-speed keeps the engine purring in the fat part of the power band. A low first gear offers quicker response off the line, useful when you need to merge into traffic from a standing start. Fifth gear, meanwhile, provides lower engine speeds when cruising, which translates into less engine noise and better gas mileage.
In terms of acceleration performance, the RX 350 and RX 400h are closely matched. The RX 350 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds with front-wheel drive, or 7.4 seconds with all-wheel drive. The RX 400h does 0-60 in 7.5 seconds with front-wheel drive, 7.3 seconds for all-wheel drive.
Driving the RX 400h isn't a lot different than driving the RX 350. It's smooth and responsive, yet there are some obvious distinctions apparent the moment it starts up. Twist the key and the dash lights up but there's no sound of an engine starting, only silence. Slide the transmission lever to drive and you can pull silently away on electric power. This is not intuitive because we're all accustomed to hearing and feeling an engine running before shifting into drive. Shifting into drive without sound or vibration can feel strange. You get used to it, though, and we enjoy running in electric-only mode.
At low speeds, the RX 400h is perfectly content to operate in electric-only mode. It's quiet, and you begin to hear things that are normally drowned out by an engine. We found this interesting and enjoyable. It will run in this silent mode in stop-and-go commuter traffic, eliminating the noise and pollution that the cars around you are putting out. The RX 400h maneuvers silently through crowded parking lots as well, where pedestrians often will not hear you coming and therefore won't always get out of the way. You learn to be patient and need to exercise extra care. Toyota's hybrid system is an electric motor assisted by a gas engine, while some of the other hybrid systems are oriented around a gasoline engine assisted by an electric motor.
The front-wheel-drive version features a single electric motor in front; the all-wheel-drive model uses one motor in front and one in the rear. The V6 engine starts whenever it's needed to supplement the electric motor. Step hard on the gas pedal and the V6 will usually kick in quickly and seamlessly. In all cases the response is immediate acceleration, and plenty of it. The 400h is impressively quick, particularly when overtaking a slower vehicle between 30 and 60 mph.
The RX 400h enjoys a 10 mpg edge in fuel efficiency over the RX 350 in the EPA's City cycle, earning 28/25 mpg City/Highway with front-wheel drive. That might look odd at first, as we rarely see EPA ratings wi
