Lexus RX450h - Deserving of Attention

But it’s all so utterly perfectly assembled and silken in refinement and operation that you don’t want to get out. There is masses of space and storage and that seemingly random spray of switches is surprisingly ergonomic.
And the build quality is peerless. Did you know that Lexus uses waterfalls in its Kyushu factory to catch dust particles 20 microns across, because they can cause ‘scratches’ in the body panels before they’re painted? Or that it is trying to cut noise in the factory so the technicians can concentrate harder on your car? So whatever you think of the driveline powering all this, it’s unlikely to ever let you down. The 3456cc, 24-valve V6 petrol engine makes 246bhp on its own. It powers the front axle only, helped by a 165bhp electric motor. Another 67bhp electric motor powers the rear axle, making the RX450h effectively front-wheel drive until full acceleration is needed or the stability control senses slippage. The lack of real four-wheel drive is unlikely to bother RX buyers; it was never really intended for off-roading.
Shutting the engine off when stationary in traffic is a hybrid’s simplest trick but genuinely good for the atmosphere, the wallet and the soul. Whether you can drive silently with the petrol engine stopped and using only the electric motors depends on how much energy the regenerative brakes have recovered for the batteries. Lexus claims you can do up to three kilometres at up to 40kph, and the reaction of pedestrians as you sigh by in near-silence in your weird-looking white car is worth the price on its own.