2024 Lexus RX350 F Sport review

09/08/2024 10:00 AM

2024 Lexus RX350 F Sport

In the Australian market, the Lexus RX is a little bit of an odd fit. With a range of four-cylinder engines and built on a front-biased all-wheel-drive platform, the RX doesn’t follow the format of rivals like the BMW X5, Genesis GV80, and Mercedes-Benz GLE, which all claim larger dimensions and more commanding engines with available six or eight-cylinder engines.

In the United States, the key market for the RX, a range of rivals from brands like Acura, Buick, and Infiniti align closer to the positioning of the RX. In Australia, the in-between large and medium segment straddling results in a family car with a premium look and feel that looks sharply priced alongside traditional rivals.

As part of a sweep of fresh SUV models for the brand, including the slightly smaller NX, much smaller LBX, and off-road-oriented GX, how does the RX fit in – and can the sporty-styled F Sport balance dynamic capability for the driver with comfort and luxury for the whole family?

How much is a Lexus RX?

The Lexus RX350 is one of six variants available in the range.

While it might look a little daunting at first glance, the RX line-up comes with a choice of four-cylinder hybrid, turbo petrol, or turbo hybrid engines, and in ‘entry level’ (but hardly basic) Luxury, sporty F Sport, prestigious Sports Luxury, and performance-oriented F Sport Performance trims.

You can’t mix and match every trim level with the available engines, though, so whereas RX350h hybrids come in Luxury and Sports Luxury guise, the turbo RX350 is available as F Sport or Sports Luxury, while the turbo hybrid RX500h sits as the flagship and is the only Lexus model so far to wear the F Sport Performance label.

Pricing starts from $90,060 for the two-wheel-drive RX350h Luxury and spans to $127,434 for the RX500h F Sport Performance. The RX350 F Sport sits mid-range, with a $100,660 starting price (all prices before on-road costs).

If you look to segment rivals, Mercedes-Benz asks just under $140,000 for entry to the GLE range, the BMW X5 starts from just below $135,000, and the recently refreshed Genesis GV80 range is priced from just under $129,000.

Less traditional rivals that overlap the RX, like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mazda CX-60, start cheaper from around $65K and $60K, but top out at around $110K and $81K respectively.

In the RX350 you get 205kW and a stout 430Nm from the turbocharged 2.4-litre petrol engine, linked to a traditional eight-speed auto and all-wheel drive.

It also comes with F Sport styling, with more aggressive front and rear bumpers, grippier sport seats with heating and ventilation, perforated leather interior accents, a range of badges and details inside and out, 21-inch black wheels, adaptive suspension, six-piston front brake calipers, three-projector bi-LED headlights, a driver’s head-up display, aluminium pedals, wireless phone charging, 21-speaker sounds system and quite a lot more.

As Lexus prefers to streamline its model range, there are not too many individual options, although a panoramic roof, or a package with the roof, a heated steering wheel and a digital rear-view mirror can be added. There’s also a choice of seven exterior colours, and black or ‘dark rose’ interior trim, though other variants offer a broader range of colour and trim combos.

How big is a Lexus RX?

While I have referred to the RX as smaller than key rivals, it’s only slightly smaller, so the difference may be hard to pick if you’re cross-shopping.

At 4890mm long, the RX is just 66mm shorter than the Genesis GV80 from nose to tail, but with a 2850mm wheelbase, it has 105mm less between the wheels – adding up to less front-to-rear room for passengers. Crucially, whereas most competitors offer the option of seven seats, the RX is strictly a five-seater, despite having been offered with seven seats in its previous generation.

The interior is roomy and comfortable. While I have no real gripes about the seating comfort and adjustability, I did find a layer of plushness that seemed to be missing. Powered front seats offer plenty of adjustment, seat heating and cooling with an auto mode that is helpful all year round, and a comfortable step-in height makes access easy.

Lexus has laid out key controls within easy ergonomic reach of the driver. You can trace an arc from the engine start-stop button up high to the gear selector on the console, with easy-reach access to the climate-control temperature dial, and 360-degree camera shortcut button in between.

Interior quality feels solid and well made. A mix of leather, soft-textured plastics, and suede-look covers key touchpoints and adds some visual flavour. Every button you press and cover you open has a nice feel and weight to it. The efforts to impart a quality look and feel show, but at the same time, the RX feels just a touch behind the lavish interiors of rivals – particularly the thoroughly impressive GV80, which places a stronger emphasis on design, textures, and plushness.

Rear-seat space is versatile. You get decent width and a generous measure of leg room, though head room can be tight for taller occupants. The rear seats can be reclined for extra comfort on long journeys, but the seat base is fixed, so you can’t move child seats closer for little ones (or further away as they grow up).

Rear passengers get access to air vents in the back of the centre console, rear-row climate controls, and sun blinds on the doors. The RX350 F Sport goes without rear-seat heating and powered rear-seat adjustment, but the Sports Luxury grade adds these features.

The F Sport does still come with a long list of interior features, like three-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, a driver’s head-up display, easy access for the driver’s seat and steering wheel, eight-way power-adjustable front seats with driver’s memory, wireless phone charging, and more.

Boot space clocks in at 612 litres, slightly under the 650L and 630L of the X5 and GLE respectively – accessed via a powered tailgate with hands-free opening. It’s a large and useable space, with a low loading lip, a cargo blind, seat-fold buttons and bag hooks in the sides, and tie-down points at floor level. There’s no dual-level floor, and the underfloor storage is already dedicated to the space-saver spare wheel and associated tool kit.

Does the Lexus RX have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

Lexus has had a serious tilt at upgrading the infotainment in the RX range. If you drive an older model, you’ll know that some user interfaces could be a bit tricky to master. For this generation, a massive 14-inch touchscreen display is standard across all models, with a bright, clear display and a range of voice commands.

Satellite navigation, AM, FM and DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth, wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay are standard. Lexus has gone for a very pared-back and simple interface, but options for users to customise the screen (both contents and colour schemes) are limited.

The RX350 comes with a pair of USB-C ports up front, and two more for back-seat passengers, plus a lidded wireless charge pad for a single phone.

Climate controls are always displayed on screen. Most of the interface is via the touchscreen, but temp adjustment is handled via dials. My one minor gripe is that some climate controls disappear when using the factory navigation, but the system is smart enough to be left in auto mode (with auto settings for seat and steering wheel climate too) so you may never need to go near these controls at all.

Rather than a full-width digital instrument display, the RX350 gets a relatively small digital instrument cluster flanked by illuminated indicators for fuel and temperature. The centre portion of the display can show a handful of trip computer functions, but the display isn’t as configurable as those found in rivals – and even trails the humble Toyota RAV4 for display real estate.

A head-up display (HUD) is standard, and is honestly more useful that the digital cluster for key info like speed and driver assist systems. I couldn’t catch it out in evening glare or bright days. It’s easy to read and puts info right where you need it.

For me, the touch-pad steering wheel controls for infotainment and cruise control are a major functional flaw. In theory, you should be able to lightly press a button to preview its function in the head-up display, and then fully press to execute that function, but often it fails to respond resulting in multiple presses for what should be a simple function.

The system also locks out commands, so with cruise control set, you can’t change the trip meter. It’s a big UI blot compared to the improvements made to the infotainment system. The return of physical buttons would be most welcome here.

Lexus provides three years of complimentary access to Lexus Connected Services, which allows a paired smartphone to check details like fuel level and vehicle location, review details of recent trips, send navigation destinations to the car remotely, set up guest driver profiles, and more.

Is the Lexus RX a safe car?

The Lexus RX range received a five-star ANCAP safety score when tested in 2022. The rating applies to all variants, regardless of engine or drivetrain.

Broken into individual scores, the RX scored 90 per cent for adult occupant protection and 89 per cent for child occupant protection. Vulnerable road user protection (pedestrians and cyclists) scored 89 per cent, and the safety assist systems rate at 93 per cent.

The RX350 comes with eight airbags, with dual front, front-seat side, curtain, and driver’s knee airbags – plus a centre airbag between front seat occupants to reduce the risk of head-clash injuries.

What safety technology does the Lexus RX have?

The RX offers a full suite of safety systems, but better still, a well-executed driver assist array that offers intervention when you need it without feeling clumsy or counterintuitive.

The basics you’d expect of a luxury SUV in 2024 are present including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and intersection intervention, blind-spot monitoring both on the road and when parked to prevent opening a door into oncoming traffic, lane-keep assist and lane centring, and speed sign recognition that can be set to link to the adaptive cruise control to automatically adopt speeds.

For me, the highlight of this tech is the fluent and ‘human’ way it drives. Adaptive cruise control is situation-aware enough to not stab the brakes if a car slots in ahead of you and accelerates back up to speed swiftly but smoothly. The lane centring will allow you to move withing a lane, without tugging at the wheel, but will intervene when you stray too far.

Even the driver monitoring camera allows you time to check your mirrors or glance away for the moment it takes to adjust the climate control. Some systems chastise you the second you check your blind spot, but Lexus seems to understand that driving is more than just looking dead-ahead. It’s worth pointing out that taller drivers in the Drive office experienced more frequent warnings from this system, so your stature may have an impact.

The only real criticism is that setting or changing the cruise is done via the touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons, and can be finicky to engage or cancel.

How much does the Lexus RX cost to run?

Lexus offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty across its entire current model line-up, matching the bulk of the prestige market. As something of an ace up its sleeve, Lexus also has an owners’ program called Encore, which adds in three years’ access to event invites, fuel discounts, access to service loan cars, and Lexus DriveCare roadside assistance that features breakdown assistance, flat-tyre assistance and towing if required.

Regardless of the engine type, all Lexus RX models share the same service costs and intervals. Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever is first), covered by a five-year capped-price service program priced at $695 per service. That’s a hefty $3475 to the end of five years, similar to what you’d pay for an X5 ($3450 over five years), but a long way under the cost of a GLE ($7585 over five years). Genesis one-ups Lexus with complimentary servicing on the GV80 range up to five years.

Our regular insurer provided a comprehensive insurance quote of $2938 per year. This is based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Is the Lexus RX fuel-efficient?

For the ultimate in efficiency, the hybrid RX range would be your best bet, but the more sports positioning of the turbocharged RX350 means that as much as efficiency still matters, performance takes a step up in the only non-hybrid variant in the range, along with consumption.

To be fair, Lexus still quotes a very reasonable 8.7 litres per 100 kilometres as its official consumption figure. Not bad for such a large and lavish family SUV. In the real world, my average was a little higher at 9.7L/100km. If you’re shopping within the range, the RX350h has a claim of 5.4L/100km, or the more powerful (but also hybrid) RX500h splits the difference at 6.5L/100km.

In urban-only driving, the trip computer shot past the 12L/100km mark quite easily, but in stop-start traffic this is to be expected. There is an engine idle-stop system to shut down the engine when stopped, and it works well and restarts the engine quickly and smoothly.

The RX350 specifies the use of 95-octane premium unleaded. At its consumption claim, the 67.5-litre fuel tank is good for around 775km of touring range between fills, but as tested still has a respectable range of 695km.

What is the Lexus RX like to drive?

Despite the ever-so-slightly performance-skewed F Sport package, the Lexus RX350 is more about comfort and quiet, rather than being a true sports SUV. That’s no slight against it, however. It’s all the better for its balanced approach.

Rather than being firm riding, with on-edge handling, the RX350 F Sport is a little keener than a non-F Sport version, but not too much. The refinement and poise that Lexus has built a reputation for are very easy to find here.

The 2.4-litre turbocharged engine under the bonnet is a replacement for the 3.5-litre non-turbo V6 in the previous RX. The old engine was a touch more powerful with 221kW compared to the 205kW available now, but the new four-cylinder boasts 430Nm of torque from as low as 1700rpm up to 3600rpm, compared to the V6’s 370Nm that didn’t come into full force until 4600–4700rpm.

In a vehicle that’s more likely to be ambling around suburban streets or loping along the freeway, access to that punch-pulling power is key. The new engine may not have the character of the old, but it feels like it can do more without breaking a sweat. A claimed 7.6-second 0–100km/h time is respectable, and 0.4sec quicker than before, but the real beauty lies in being able to zip around town smoothly and quietly when needed.

To me, the big Lexus is nicely balanced. The steering is accurate without being nervous, but settled on the open road. There’s a hint of firm-ish control from the suspension, but the default attitude is absorbency. There are very few bumps and dips that unsettle the big Lexus. It gives you the feel of imperfections as they pass under the wheels, but erases the negative (and literal) impact from them.

Overall noise impression is good, and like I mentioned earlier, the seats are comfy, but don’t have the kind of sink-in sofa plushness you might be looking for.

Enthusiasts may want to look away, but despite the clearly-marked Sport branding, the RX350 F Sport is more the automotive equivalent of a brisk stroll, rather than a tennis Grand Slam.

The eight-speed automatic is a conventional torque-converter-type transmission, rather than a continuously variable auto like Lexus’s hybrid range. It benefits from being smooth and easy to manage at parking speeds, without droning or feeling ‘stretchy’ when driving enthusiastically.

The on-demand all-wheel-drive system does betray some front-wheel bias in demanding conditions, but in general driving it’s hard to pick. Power to the rear wheels is quick enough to keep traction stable on loose surfaces, but the dynamics of key rivals are sharper.

Can a Lexus RX tow?

Despite being classified as a large SUV in Australia, the towing capacity of the RX range is a bit more medium SUV-esque. All models in the RX range, including the RX350, have a maximum towing capacity of 1500kg braked or 750kg unbraked.

You can hitch more behind rivals, with most offering around 2700kg of capacity. If towing was a priority, you may be better off considering one of the more heavy-duty models in the Lexus range, like the upcoming GX range, which will allow you to tow up to 3500kg.

Should I buy a Lexus RX?

Lexus has delivered to all the brand benchmarks the brand has become known for with the RX350. Here you have a spacious family SUV, with a hint of styling flair, that aims high when it comes to features and refinement – and subsequently hits that mark dead-on.

The breadth of the RX range means that if you want a leaner-running car to keep a lid on fuel costs, or a more overtly sporting model, the range has you covered. For something more ‘traditional’, though, the turbocharged RX350 is the one.

Effortless in almost any situation, packed with expected tech, and limited in terms of options – to the benefit of a well-padded equipment list. The Lexus RX350 absolutely warrants a look if you’re in the market for a prestige SUV.

How do I buy a Lexus RX? The next steps.

If you think a Lexus RX could be right for you, it pays to drive both hybrid and turbo versions to see which suits your style. There’s more oomph in the turbocharged RX350 than there is in the hybrid RX350h – but urban dwellers are sure to appreciate the greater distance between fuel stops in the hybrid model.

The striking F Sport design is an excellent choice, though, but if you prefer luxury accoutrements, the Sports Luxury grade could be the one for you.

Lexus retains a traditional dealer model, so instead of test-driving at a ‘gallery’ or display activation and buying online, your purchase process will be via a salesperson at one of the 30-odd metro-based Lexus dealers around the country.

To jump-start your search, you can browse new and used Lexus vehicles for sale at Drive Marketplace, and connect with our team of dealer partners.

You can learn more about the Lexus RX and the full range of Lexus models with Drive’slatest Lexus news.

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