2012 Lexus RX 270 And RX 450h F Sport Launch Review
2012 LEXUS RX REVIEW
LEXUS RX 270
Vehicle style: Medium premium SUV
Engine: 2.7 litre DOHC four cylinder petrol
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power/torque: 138kW/252Nm
Fuel consumption (listed combined): 9.7 l/100km
LEXUS RX 450h F Sport
Vehicle style: Large premium SUV
Engine: 3.5 litre Atkinson cycle V6 with parallel hybrid drive
Transmission: six-step CVT automatic
Power/torque (combined output): 220kW/317Nm
Fuel consumption (listed combined): 6.3 l/100km
OVERVIEW
There's more than a new 'spindle' grille and sharpened on-road dynamics to the new Lexus RX range.
Sure, there's a bit more edge to the styling, and pricing has been raked over - you now get more for less across the range - but no big news there.
The real story with the launch of the new RX range is a new entry-point 2WD model, the 2.7 litre four-cylinder RX 270.
Nudging the till at $69,900 RRP, it comes in at a whopping $12,000 less than the previous RX entry-model.
Cheaper it is, not cheap (we're still talking premium buying), but it's in no way underdone, neither inside nor on road, and it's got some real surprises up its sleeve.
With the RX 270, Lexus now has a three-model RX range. There's 'junior', the RX 270; next up is the RX 350 that slips under the bar at $77,900, and above that the range-topping $82,900 RX 450h.
Each, while they look the same, are vastly different down below.
We drove both the RX 270 and RX 450h F Sport at launch in and around the ACT. (A report on the RX 350 will need to wait for the moment.)
Both are impressive cars for all the reasons Lexus impresses - my gosh it can build a quality car - and also for two less-expected reasons, the superior ride and handling they offer.
On road, the new RX range is surprisingly good, effortlessly comfortable, and imperiously untroubled by rough Australian secondary roads.
The Interior
Lexus builds a simply beautiful interior. The quality of the trim, fit and finish, the soft-feel dash and real-wood highlights, the brushed metal facings - all are as good as faultless.
Seats are sumptuously trimmed, neither too soft nor too hard, and well-shaped for comfortable long-distance driving.
Front seats feature eight-way electric adjustment, complemented by an electrically-adjusted reach and rake multi-function leather-wrapped steering wheel. (The all-new wheel, incidentally, is sized just right with a super feel and clear controls.)
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