Lexus RX 350 (2023) Review

The RX invented this segment and still understands it better than most. Noise suppression is excellent, the ride is soft and long legged, the seats suit a five hour drive, and the interior materials and assembly quality are a match for anything German at the price. Lexus finally abandoned the awful touchpad controller for a large, responsive touchscreen with physical climate switches beneath it, which removed the single biggest complaint about the old car.

The 2.4 litre turbo four replacing the old V6 makes 275 horsepower and is quick, but it is gruff under load and lacks the effortless smoothness the V6 had, and the hybrid version is the more coherent choice. Handling is safe and uninvolving by design. What separates it from the German field is everything that happens after purchase. Repair frequency is among the lowest recorded in the luxury segment, servicing costs a fraction of a comparable BMW or Mercedes, parts availability is excellent and residual values are the strongest in the class. If you plan to keep the car, the arithmetic here is not close.