When you think of luxury cars, what pops into your mind? Perhaps you think of Germans with micrometers measuring every single inch to their very high standards of the Mercedes they are building. Maybe you think of the British sculpting the works of art they call Jaguars. I bet you never associated the Japanese with luxury cars though. When I think Japanese, I think Nissan skyline, Subaru STI, and Mitsubishi EVO. These cars are loaded with High-tech gadgety goodness and are very, very fast. But those Japanese can do luxury and they do it well. Lexus's parent company is Toyota and as we know those Toyota's last forever, this reliability also trickels down to Lexus too.
Now, you might not get the soul, passion and racing haritage like you get in a Jaguar or BMW but if you go with Lexus you get a very well built vehical for the best price on the market.
This is the same story for the 2009 Lexus RX350 too. I have done a lot of vehical testing in the entry level luxury SUV market and Lexus stands out on top. The RX350 has an interior that is put together very well. The plastics and leather are of top-notch quality. The seats are very comfortable too. The RX350 is packed with so many gadgets and gizmos it makes a NASA space shuttle look primitive.
Under the hood you get a V6 that runs on premium fuel, if you complain about the higher cost of premium fuel you probably should not be looking for a luxury vehicle. Or at least buy an American "luxury" vehicle with their Tonka truck plastic interiors and pop can in the door build quality. Oops, off track. Your not going to get outstanding gas mileage with the RX350's V6 but it is still good. If your a "vegitablelist" who wants to save the planet you might want to look into the RX400h, which is the same vehicle except it is a hybrid but it is more expensive.
So the RX350 is built good, has many gizmo goodies, and what else?
Well... the ride is boringly good. The suspension smooths out the rode like it is supposed to do in a cushy luxury car. If you want a sporty handling SUV you might want to take a look at the BMW X3. You'll pay through the nose if you go with the X3 though. The X3's base price is more than the RX350's and you get a lot less then the Lexus too. More on that a bit later.
Do you remember the Jeep Commander that I reviewed awhile back? That is what I would call a big SUV. Guess what? The Lexus has more cargo room inside, even though it doesn't look like it.
I believe Jeep has 74 Cu ft and the Lexus has 80. So the Lexus has plenty roomy inside for those very long road trips. When your kids are hootin' and banging their heads against the windows, you won't mind so much because the Lexus will be their to sooth the tension that is building inside your head. The RX350 is a really nice place to be in. It's like a day on the beach, in Hawaii, with your favorite drink in hand, with bikini-wearing ladies walking all around. The Lexus makes you go," aaaaaahhh."
The major selling point of the Lexus RX350 is that it's the cheapest. Well, that really isn't correct. I should say the RX350 is the priced the best. Mercedes Benz has the cheapest SUV, the GLK, but it is smaller and you get less on it. If you get the based price (37-38K) Lexus RX350 the only thing you don't get is navigation. Oh, dear how can you survive without it? If you look at any other high-end manufacturer base price you don't get anything. No leather, no electronic goodies, nothing. You'll find out that once you start loading the others SUV's with goodies the price goes sky-high, well above the RX350's "all ready loaded with goodies" price.
Go with the RX350 people. Just because it is the best value doesn't mean it is junk or has no do-hickys on it. The Lexus has bulletproof reliability, great build quality, and is pretty much fully loaded at it's base price.
Lexus RX350 official website
(Again I am sorry for the Wikipedia photo at the top of this post. I am ashamed)
SIDE NOTE:
Some other options in the same segment.
1)Land Rover LR2 (great build quality, more off road-able, second best value for your money)
2) BMW X3 (more fun to drive but horribly over priced)
3) Mercedes Benz GLK (Starts at 35K without any goodies, it's a Benz)
4) Volkswagen's top of the line Tiguan (see previous review) or a base model Touareg.
Although a Touareg is one notch above this segment.
5) You also might want to look into Acura's and Nissan's range of SUVs too.
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