So the other week I was chatting with a colleague and we agreed that by far the easiest cars to write about are those that are either deeply dire or utterly excellent.
The Lexus RX450h falls firmly in the latter category, which means that penning this piece is no effort at all, and if I had just one word to précis it, I’d settle for “elegant”.
In an increasingly eco-conscious age, where so many other SUVs seem like stupid, crass things designed with the sole aim of assuaging some fundamental inadequacy on the part of the owner, the RX450h stands aloof.
Its biggest USP – or Unique Selling Point, to use an irritating piece of marketing-speak – is that it’s a hybrid. In other words, it combines petrol and battery power to provide economy, ultra-low emissions and, rather surprisingly for a green machine, an awful lot of urge.
Lexus, which is Toyota’s luxury division as you probably know, claims a combined fuel consumption of just 6.3 litres per 100km. I didn’t achieve this figure, but then I didn’t use the RX in electric-motor-only mode around town. (In default mode it starts in silence, on battery power only, while the petrol motor kicks in once on the move, and at times it uses both battery and electric power.)
No matter. The Lexus is a sublimely serene and smooth drive, able to surge to 100km/h from rest in well under eight seconds, topping out at 200km/h.
And while that might sound modest in an age of super-SUVs capable of insane velocities, it’s only an academic figure, as this machine will sit at way over the national limit in almost sepulchral silence.
Providing its muscle is a superbly smooth 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, that makes 183kW and 317Nm of torque. It’s augmented by two electric motors at the front and back, generating 123kW and 50kW and, more importantly, 335Nm and 139Nm. And being electric motors, all that torque is available from rest.
An ECVT gearbox adds to what is one of the most restful, relaxed driving experiences I’ve yet encountered, while being a Lexus, as well as the top-dog in a four-model range, the RX450h LXE is astoundingly well kitted.
Standard features include absolutely electric everything, as well as 10 airbags, Traction Control (TRC) and Vehicle Stability Control (TRC).
You also get to recline in front seats that not only have 10-way electric adjustment, but heaters and coolers, while yet another nice touch is the heads-up display, whereby a digital readout of your speed floats in a ghostly manner on the windscreen. It also works for the satellite navigation, and you can switch it off it you want.
My favourite feature on the RX450h LXE, though, was surely the Mark Levinson sound system with its 15 speakers. Now while I’ve heard louder, I don’t recall ever encountering such crystal clarity. At least not in a car.
And playing my favourite Johnny Cash songs, which I’ve heard hundreds of times on lesser systems, was like hearing them for the first time ever. That all sounds wonderful, I hear you saying, but how much?
Try R805 100. Hardly a bargain, to be sure, and it’s not really even going to be much good as a proper off-road vehicle, being one of those SUVs that is distinctly biased towards tar. But it is a Lexus. And besides a four-year/100 000km full service plan, and a three-year/100 000km warranty, that hybrid battery has a life expectancy of over 10 years.
It’s also one of the most quietly elegant, effortless, understated machines I’ve encountered in any price bracket.
Drive this car and you’ll never feel like new money. And you’ll never feel like you’re trying too hard.
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