2024 Lexus RX 450h+ PHEV Review: The Best Lexus You Can Buy?
The RX has been nothing short of a huge success for Lexus for years now leading the segment in sales pretty handedly and the hybrid version well it’s historically made up about half of those annual totals and now Lexus is betting big on a plug-in version that builds on
All the good stuff there with the added bonus of 60 km of all electric range importantly though it makes this the most expensive model in the Lexus RX lineup which begs a pretty simple question should you spend big on this pH have or save yourself a bit of money and
Stick with a conventional Hybrid for more Expert Car reviews don’t forget to share our Channel And subscribe so you can catch some of this and maybe even a little of that okay so here’s the thing the RX it’s always been like the hybrid leader of this segment but interestingly there’s never been a plug-in hybrid
Before now I don’t think it’s a coincidence considering the BMW X5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE class are both offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains so this is I don’t know a bit of a defending its territory Lexus knew it was time to add a plug-in to compete with both of those offerings big
Difference both of those use turbocharged engines in the case of the X5 it is an inline six-cylinder in the case of the GLE class it is a four-cylinder but either way those things they use those turbo Motors as well as conventional automatic transmissions this setup here it’s a continuously variable automatic and a
Naturally as expirated 4cylinder and in typical Toyota and Lexus fashion it sounds a little undignified when you get your foot into it not as bad as some other applications but definitely not quite as Hardy as you might want in a luxury vehicle hybrid or otherwise but I’m going to tell you
Right now as far as the C of your pants test goes this thing is more than quick enough that’s because it makes 304 net horsepower between the gas and electric motors again a lot less especially than the X5 that thing makes a ton more output but it doesn’t really feel like
This is a huge step behind and more importantly this thing is far more efficient now there is an important note on that front this thing uses the same 18.1 KW hour battery pack as the plug-in hybrid NX it’s got 60 kilom of range which is a little bit less than the BMW
X5 X drive 50e and quite a a bit less than the GLE 450e both of those plug-in hybrids that last one it has 77 kilm of all electric range so a bit more now I don’t necessarily think you’re going to notice if you’re just using this thing I don’t know to commute
To work on nothing but electrons but that is a bit of an advantage but then this counters with just a way more efficient operation overall it barely burns more gas than the Lexus RX 350h so the entry level hybrid version of this SUV there’s also a 500h that’s more of a
Performance Hybrid but that thing burns more gas this thing is good for 6.7 L per 100 km combined which is more than 3 l less than both the BMW X5 and Mercedes GL class plugin hybrids that is significant that is the type of saving you are going to notice within your
First tank of gas and then if you want to charge the battery well it takes 2 and 1/2 hours and that means you could drive to work plug in and be fully charged again before lunchtime that’s exactly what you want to see in a plug-in hybrid like this because it
Means you can really take advantage of all the benefits of this plug-in powertrain some of them that take longer to charge well you charge you get to work and then you got to wait until you get home because you’re not going to get a full charge and then as far as the
Hybrid operation goes well they burn more gas even examples like the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid that thing isn’t all that efficient once the battery is drained but in typical Toyota and Lexus fashion this thing is still great on gas even when you don’t have the battery fully charged up I absolutely love that
Even this morning I didn’t charge I showed up to this shoot with 45 km of electric range we’ve been cruising around doing doing our thing doing all that filming on nothing but battery power earlier because you guys know I hate idling unnecessarily even when it’s cold like this I feel bad for video
Producer extraordinaire will Johnson but hey what can I say I am a friend of the environment but considering we’ve been out here for a few hours now I still have 33 km of electric range in this battery pack that is outstanding now when you line up all
Three the Lexus BMW and Mercedes plug-in hybrids pricing not all that different this one’s right around 87 Grand before Freight and tax both of those are just over $90,000 but very important to point out here that this thing comes fully decked out it’s got this executive package that’s optional with the
350h it has everything you could ask for and more if you take a look at that X5 there are lots of expensive upgrades that you are going to want to add especially to get it up to the same standards as this and speaking of Standards I’d usually say that Lexus
Products they’re a short step behind BMW and Mercedes when it comes to interior materials the quality just not quite on the same level but that is not the case here this stuff is fantastic this leather this suede it feels great it looks great this wouldn’t be out of
Place in either of those entries and that is very good news if you are looking at this Lexus because it feels like it’s worth the nearly 90 grand you were going to pay for it before tax the only options some dealer installed accessories and paint like this one I’m
Driving I don’t know 500 bucks will get you a cool shade of paint like this cloudburst gray that’s not too bad in my opinion and then when you take a look at this interior this color combination is just perfect it makes this feel really luxurious it looks really good it’s sort
Of understated and cool so is this cabin overall now this RX was newly introduced in 2023 it got rid of a bunch of physical controls it’s got this massive touchcreen it’s got widescreen Apple carplay and Android auto both of those are Wireless it’s got these dedicated touch controls for the climate system
Which is great that they’re on the screen all the time but they’re not easy to use at a glance the way physical controls are and even these dials for the temperature control they’re not super notchy so you can’t really tell how many clicks of the dial you’ve
Turned in either direction that I don’t love but some other stuff in here does make up for it a big one that I really love is this little shortcut button here that you can pull up some kind of quick access features so if you want to change
The drive mode even the head-up display you can do that here I really like that because you’re not fumbling through a bunch of pages to get to those kind of important features that I very much enjoy I also like the buttons down here around the gear selector one thing I
Don’t like so much the default setting is to run in electric mode first but I like to run it in hybrid and a couple times I forgot to switch it over so that’s a bit of a nuisance but it’s something that doesn’t take too long to
Get used to so that is really cool this thing’s also got tons of space I can sit in the back no problem head room’s a little tight with this sunroof but I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable that’s always been the case with the RX and it’s very nice to see it carry over into
This plugin that has that big battery pack under the back seat I also have to give lexus’s Engineers a huge shout out here I was convinced that this thing was riding on the optional adaptive dampers that are usually reserved for the f- sport packages that Lexus offers that’s
Not the case here it’s just conventional coil springs in the back this thing is so smooth so buttery it does a great job absorbing bumps and keeping the body reasonably well controlled of course this thing is heavy but it doesn’t really feel like it from behind the
Wheel I do wish it had just a bit more steering feel but it does firm up pretty nicely once you get above about 60 kilm an hour this thing is quiet it’s Supple it’s great it is very luxurious from behind the wheel again that’s what you want to see especially when you’re
Forking out this kind of dough for a five passenger family hauler and then you know getting back to that executive package well it means this thing’s got heated and ventilated front and rear seats a pretty awesome stereo all the features you could ask for well almost couple important ones missing actually
Four of them proper door handles I really don’t understand why Lexus went to these push button door releases in here I know jod went on about it in her RX review it’s just dumb it’s Reinventing the wheel for no apparent reason especially because you can still pull these so I don’t understand what
The logic was this is sort of your I don’t know get out if you really need to you can pull this door handle if the electronic releases stop working but then why even go to the electronic releases in the first place doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me anyways
Everything else you’d expect including a full advanced Safety Suite it’s got a ton of features although I will say pretty sensitive with this weird right left cross traffic alert sort of thing that seems to warn you every time you’re pulling out of a driveway if there’s traffic coming even if you’re not moving
Not a danger thing and here’s the problem I find that in talking to people over the years when vehicles have these very sensitive Safety Systems they say oh yeah I just shut those off just too much of an annoyance and I get that but it also defeats the purpose of having
Those systems in the first place those are supposed to keep you and your family as well as other Road users safe but if they’re so sensitive that you’re turning them off well that is a fail I’d really like to see this system dialed back just
A little bit but at the same time it is nice to have and when it’s working properly it does have your back and that’s exactly what you want to see to recap I like the outstanding materials inside the Lexus RX 450h plus the Supple ride quality and its
Competitive pricing next to Rivals like the BMW x5x drive 50e and Mercedes GL 450e I don’t like the door release buttons it has instead of proper pull handles or that it doesn’t have as much range as that Mercedes okay so all that brings us back to my question off the top should you
Shell out for this thing or should you stick with the conventional version and save yourself a bit of money in the process and the reality is there is nothing wrong with either but if you don’t mind spending a bit more and you can be diligent about plugging in as
Often as possible there’s really no downside here because this thing is about as efficient as the 350h with the added bonus of enough all electric range to cover most short drives if you are shopping for that entrylevel hybrid with this pricey executive package do yourself a favor and drive this one
First yes it’s still going to cost you about 10 grand more but for that extra money you’re getting what just might be the best vehicle in the Lexus lineup
There’s no question the Lexus RX has been a runaway success since it launched some 25 years ago. Not only has it gone on to lead its segment in sales rather handedly, but the RX has long existed as the only conventional hybrid its size on the premium market.
With competitors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz fielding plug-in hybrid (PHEV) entries of their own, however, the 2024 Lexus RX 450h+ arrives as a range-topping trim that mixes familiarity with emissions-free range.
AutoTrader.ca Road Test Editor Dan Ilika reviews Lexus’ mid-size plug-in hybrid crossover. Is 60 km of all-electric range enough for your day-to-day driving?
Read the full review on AutoTrader.ca:
https://www.autotrader.ca/editorial/20240110/2024-lexus-rx-450h-phev-review-and-video/
00:00 Intro
01:11 Hybrid or plug-in hybrid?
01:55 Powertrain and Performance
02:38 Fuel economy and Battery charging
05:25 Pricing and Value
06:58 Infotainment and User-friendliness
08:16 Cabin space and Comfort
09:27 Push-button door handles, why?
11:10 Pros and Cons
11:32 Conclusion
