2024 Lexus RX 450h+ Luxury

The midsize Lexus RX is the automaker’s most popular SUV, selling about 100,000 units a year. Introduced in 1998 as the RX 300, it’s also the best-selling luxury SUV of all time. Completely redesigned for 2023, the RX remains a refined, comfortable luxury vehicle with high build quality and decent handling. We tested the top-of-the-line RX 450h+ plug-in hybrid. The RX is nicely styled inside and out, with an upscale, elegant look—nothing out of place, no superfluous design details. The cabin is spacious, with plenty of room for passengers and cargo. Fit, finish, and materials quality are, as you’d expect, first rate. Luxury features include a panoramic moonroof, heated and ventilated leather seating, a wood- and leather-trimmed heated steering wheel with memory, and 21-inch alloy wheels. The 450h+ has plenty of power, thanks to its 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and dual electric motors. Ride quality is good, and the plug-in hybrid battery adds 37 miles of all-electric driving to an already efficient hybrid powertrain (35 mpg in combined city-highway driving). Lexus’ complete suite of advanced safety features, Safety System+ 3.0, is standard, as is AWD. Just a couple of the RX’s features get a thumbs down: confusing unmarked steering-wheel controls; a nonintuitive and distracting infotainment system (most commands are touch-screen based), and restricted rear vision because of a wide rear roof pillar.