Yahoo Autos 2023 Lexus RX First Drive Review: Bold colors, three hybrids, irksome tech
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Every car has its color. It’s usually the one prominently photographed in press or marketing photos; the one its designers thought made the biggest impact. They’re often bold hues, though rarely popular. The original Lexus RX will forever be remembered painted Desert Bronze. It was as bold and distinctive as the vehicle itself – remember, the RX was the first real luxury crossover, arriving before the BMW X5 and at the same time Acura was trying to pawn off Isuzu Troopers. The RX would go on to be achingly bland, but in the beginning, it was radically new and different. Desert Bronze drove home that point.
As if to make a similar statement, the fifth-generation, 2023 Lexus RX arrives resplendent in Copper Crest. Despite the name, it’s more of a rose gold in person, and nothing else on the road is painted anything quite like it from the factory. It’s very of-the-moment, and in 25 years, we’ll all remember this RX in this color. Of course, the real question is whether the car itself will be worth remembering.
It's at least a better-looking vehicle than the one it replaces, applying updated Lexus styling cues more cohesively to a body that looks like it was meant for them from the beginning. The silhouette is even less SUV-like now. Although the various models’ ground clearances are all over 8 inches and the overall height only 0.4 lower than before, the new RX sure looks lower than the old one in person, and just low in general for an SUV. There’s a bit of a giant hatchback thing going on, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Key interior dimensions are virtually unchanged, if actually slightly below the previous generation. Clearly the sizable number of loyal RX customers didn’t have a beef with available space. For what it’s worth, a pair of rear passengers reported that the back seat was very comfortable with plenty of space despite a tall driver up front. Cargo capacity measures 29.6 cubic-feet with the back seat raised, which would be comparable to a Toyota Venza.
Interior quality doesn’t seem to be quite to the level of its predecessor, and the addition of a colossal screen rarely does aesthetic favors to a dashboard design. The RX is no exception, and while the new touchscreens available in 9.8- and 14-inch sizes provide improved functionality over the old Remote Touch touchpad-and-display system, that was a bar that could be cleared with a short hop. The new system still frustrates with a lack of physical shortcut buttons, excessive menu screen back-and-forths, and just too much placed within its purview. Even the driving modes are locked away within a touchscreen menu rather than the lovely rotary knobs found in previous-generation Lexus models.
The latest array of driver assistance tech is similarly updated yet ultimately frustrating. The latest Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 suite features updated and additional features, including a forward collision warning system that detects more incoming obstacles from more directions; steering assistance paired with the lane-departure warning system; and the optional Traffic Jam Assist that allows for low-speed hands-free driving in gridlock. Unfortunately, the driver inattention warning system in multiple test vehicles frequently boisterously alerted multiple drivers to pay attention to the road even though their eyes had indeed never wavered from it. That would drive you bonkers. The lane tracing assist system, which was supposedly upgraded, did a pretty inconsistent job of keeping the RX centered in its lane while using adaptive cruise control. In one modest right-hand highway sweeper, the car just ignored the lines completely and decided it should go straight into the left lane. System off.
One new “Assist” element was more impressive, the Pro-active Drive Assist that incorporates road data from the navigation system and visual data from onboard cameras to slow the vehicle when entering a corner or going downhill. We didn’t notice the cornering bit, but there was noticeable regenerative braking applied in both the RX 350h and RX 500h when descending a grade. It’s indicative of a low regen setting in an EV. In the past, you’d have to select “B” with a Toyota hybrid’s transmission selector to achieve what is effectively akin to engine braking. Now, the car does it automatically. There are differing levels of assist available, including the option to simply turn it off.
The 2023 RX is brand-new from the ground-up, adapting the same TNGA-K platform variant as every front-drive Toyota and Lexus north of a Corolla. Lexus likes to leave off the “TN” when describing it because the T stands for Toyota, but rest assured, the RX shares its mechanical DNA with a RAV4 or Sienna.
BMW shoppers may snicker at that, but ultimately, the RX enjoys the same dynamic and packaging improvements as every TNGA vehicle that’s debuted – and at this point, there have been many. It responds more sharply to inputs, shows greater composure on undulating pavement and provides a driving position that’s more sitting-in than sitting-upon. Lexus happily provided a previous-generation RX to drive back-to-back, and the new version had noticeably tauter steering, with less play on center, regardless of driving mode. Everything feels just a bit sharper.
