Enlarge / It's a somewhat pricey plug-in hybrid, but it's also quite competent. Jonathan Gitlin reader comments 24 Arguably, some of Lexus' greatest innovations have been in its product strategy as much as any technology to emerge from its R&D labs. When it launched in 1989, it was with the idea that a car could combine Japanese reliability with the luxury and power expected from a big German sedan.
A few years later the RX basically invented the crossover category with SUV-like looks but with fewer of the handling compromises. I'll be frank—I haven't always jelled with those crossovers. During the last couple of years we tested both the RX 500h F Sport , which I didn't find that sporty or particularly efficient, and the battery-electric RZ 450e , which left me very cold.
Third time is evidently the charm, because I got on much better with the topic of today's review, the RX 450h+ Luxury, to give it its full name. This is Lexus' plug-in hybrid version—the 500h carries a much smaller battery that only recharges as the car drives. In fact, it's the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as that found in the smaller, cheaper NX crossover, combining a 2.
5 L four-cylinder gasoline engine and a pair of electric motors fed by an 18.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Total power output is 304 hp (227 kW), but Lexus has declined to publish a combined torque figure or any outputs for the electric motors.
Enlarge / The RX is 192.5 inches (4,890 mm) long, 75.6 inches (1,920 mm) wide, and 67.
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