Site icon Gay Car Boys

Lexus RX 350 AWD Delivers the Goodies, Plus More – Review

gaycarboys - Alan Zurvas

2023 Lexus RX 500h F Sport Performance

When Lexus started making RX models, they were rebadged Toyotas, literally. While it is still true that for many Toyotas, there is a matching Lexus, RX is more than a homely handmaiden in a pretty frock.

How are the looks?

Whether the grille is yours to love or not, no one can argue the Lexus cred carves big fat notches up on the headboard.

The LED Bladescan headlights look the business, with the name casting a veil of evil mystery over an otherwise chic people-moving SUV. They perform miraculous maneuverers as on-comers appear. No one is dazzled as the Bladescan LEDs do their Tron-like inspection of the environment ahead, and no matter how often you see it, is mesmerising. The light liquifies, oozing around the car ahead while, making sure everything else is lit by small suns.

The top model is now 124 grand after the range scored bucks off with reductions in government charges. Our RX 350 Sport Luxury sits near the top of the tree, and with both Enhancement Packs, misses very little that the range topping RX 500h has. (F-Sport and Sport Luxury seem to have very little separating them.)

RX’s floating roof is something you love or hate, and although I’m used to it now, still think it looks odd. The 21” wheels look great in black, but the first gutter rash is going to hurt.

Video Review: 2024 Lexus RX 350 AWD Delivers the Goodies, Plus Some – Full Review GayCarBoys – Alan Zurvas 

Video Review: OneCarStereo Wireless CarPlay “Smart AI Box” Review Part 1: Unboxing and first test – GayCarBoys review – Alan Zurvas 

Video Review: Why My 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is the Best Gay Car Mini Review  

#jeepaustralia, #jeep, #jeepwrangler, #wranglerrubicon, #alanzurvas, #gaycar, #gaycarboys  #shorts

ABOVE: 2023 Pics

The comfort is first class.

Inside is the place to be, even in the 3rd row (if you’re small).

The 3rd row has a decent raft of amenities including powered adjustment that will gracefully lower the seats into the floor.

The 2nd row has a semi-chauffeur position on the passenger side. The front seat can be powered fore, leaving a space big enough to really get comfortable. The front seat as a couple of seatback buttons so the driver or person behind can move the front passenger’s seat without having to lean over to the far side.

The Kluger-sized SUV already has a lot of room, but RX 350 feels better laid out.

Although black-spec leather is a bit been-there-done-that, it will stay cleaner than any other colour. Seats have heating/cooling for the outboard 2nd rowers, a 3rd zone of climate, and several USB outlets including USB-C. The USB-C changeover is picking up pace and can’t come quick enough for me. The back doors are nice and long, with a big opening a plus for taller folk.

The front riders are spoilt rotten.

I’m going to be Debbie Downer for a moment; the smallish 7” driver’s LCD looks naff. Although the HUD is at least 12” wide, the 7” driver readout looks ridiculous sitting next to an enormous 14” infotainment system .

The various trim levels add and delete the strangest of things, so it is easiest just to pick a few must haves, and go for that.

All RX’s get the naff gear shifter from the defunct Prius. Just, why?

Taking a moment to go the full Angela Landsbury on the infotainment system can be so rewarding. You find all sorts of fabulous options, and while the menus aren’t exactly intuitive, is fun finding what you want knowing you can’t break anything.

The trim all-round is mint, absolutely mint. There are tasteful nods to heritage models, while maintaining a strict keep-it-tasteful rule. Driving into a tunnel makes the interior dim to a classy club-like ambience, although that 14” display adds an odd sense of sports bar, for better or for worse.

The Oily Bits:

There are 3 drivetrains in 2 or AWD. Our all-petrol model has 2 hybrid sisters, one of whom has a decent 273kw, something only V8s once managed. The hybrid AWDs have small electric motors on the back axle, whereas the RX350 has a more conventional setup.

Lexus RX 350 drives like a moment of hush in a classical concert.

The cabin is so quiet. Only the RX 500h has active noise control, but wafting along in regal bliss would cause even the pickiest of punters to ponder a meditative pose in the RX 350.

Steering, brakes and ride, are superb. Drive modes and adaptive suspension get the most out of the drive experience, yet I felt a yearning for the wonderfully smooth old V6 if only for the sound. The figures speak volumes the turbo 4’s have more power, a lot more torque, better fuel economy, and better performance. Perhaps the halcyon days of motoring are here and now.

The 8-speed automatic is so silky, that changes are neither felt nor heard unless the loafer has been mercilessly mashed into the carpet.

READERS COMMENT:

on the subject of Lexus taxis: (see video comments)

The company uses exclusive Lexus cars and to kill the time I ask every new drivers how they find the car. I find the cars so beautifully built, finished and comfortable and every driver loves them. They are so trouble free. One cabby said “how many kms did I think it had covered”? I guessed 100 thousand from the ride and appearance and he laughed and said it had just been in for its four hundred thousand kilometre service. It was still like new and apart from fluid changes it only needed new front brake pads. In the past year I have had at least 26 Lexus trips (almost all SUVs) and the cars all felt and looked like new.

Our Trip

We headed north, as per usual, late on Thursday evening.

A few hours on the most awful roads New South Wales neglect can throw at us, only made us marvel at the Lexus engineering. Loaded with 4 boys and the associated detritus, the RX 350 felt poised and capable.

There was a sense that we asked no more than 50% of its ability to be brought to bear.

While the highway tests the Lexus’ ability to cross continents in a single, comfortable, bound, it is the Hunter’s desiccated arteries that really make the driver and machine prepare for the worst. A particularly potholed portion put pain on us all. The RX350 AWD humped and thumped, rocked and rolled, and ducked and dived, yet never turned so much as a hair.

We were very glad of the extra grip in some of the hairier sections, but preferred paved roads, preventing possible pits in otherwise pristine paint.

Streaming music was a little sketchy, with Australia’s regions still shamefully mismanaged on the communications front. 1 bar does not a concert make.

Our fuel consumption was a little above expectation, something we put down to enthusiastic mountain climbing, and cornering beyond the norm. 10L/100k, with a mix of highway work, dropped to 8.9L/100k after the trip.

What the Boys thought:

 Ethan

RX 350 is a tough old bird.

It gets the job done with passengers cocooned in proper premium digs. Despite the power figures, 205kw/430Nm feels leisurely, but as the Lexus isn’t a sports car we forgave it its foibles.

I’m not in love with the looks, it just isn’t my thing, but the interior is fabulous. It is restrained, comfortable, and very well appointed, and for car costing over the hundy, would want to be.

Nicco

I love me a big ol’ Lexus.

I love the smug badge, obvious excess, and wonton willingness to please. Gay guys would only ever use the 3rd row for borrowed rugrats. Kids are great, but being gay means never having to take kids home unless you can return to sender when visiting time is over.

We have our needs met at the Cottages without having to pack War and Peace, but the boot still manages to be fully stocked with bottles of booze, hampers, and favourite pillows.

RX 350 AWD has a solidity and the permanence of a mountain forged by nature’s whim. While you might be tempted to test it past its use case, the Lexus’ calming effect has you driving Zen-like, regardless of what’s going on outside.

Luke:

Alan is off, sick as a dog, again.

We are dutifully making copious notes of the goods, the bads, and the uglies, but only the former column has anything substantial in it.

RX 350 does everything is says it will, and does it with a smile. It shrugs off the filthiest of weather, and never seems to mind manhandling through corners it wasn’t meant for.

The RX 350’s AWD system is probably better than the e:AWD system in the hybrids, but I’d like to give the 273kw hybrid a steer none the less.

Travis

Gay couples could do worse than have an RX350 on the drive.

I love gadgets, but after several tries, couldn’t get the park assistant to work. Other than that, wireless CarPlay was flawless.

The drive was incredibly smooth, but I disliked the tiny driver’s screen that simply does not belong in a car of this calibre. It looked cheap and nasty.

The accommodation is extremely comfortable, and I now covet cooled seats.

Conclusion:

Although Lexus RX 350 Sport Luxury AWD has many competitors, it has the edge in the add-on services, concierge facilities, and the ability to swap into other Lexus models as desired. While there are conditions attached, the Encore services go well beyond what most brands offer.

There is an app of course, and a warranty and roadside assistance that instil a comforting feeling of security.

Price: $104,370 + EP2 $3,900 (*incorrect price shown in video main credits – price reductions shown on 2023 video price matrix are correct)

Engine: 4 Cyl Turbo, Euro 6b

Power: 205kw/430Nm

Econ: 8.7L/100k

Trans: 8-speed Auto

More LEXUS at GayCarBoys

Exit mobile version