Dan Neil has reviewed the Lexus RX 450h for the Los Angeles Times:
Lexus has poured an astonishing amount of design and technology into the cabin, and both come together in the car’s unique asymmetric console, a flourishing loop of brightwork in the center of the dash that integrates the LCD display and climate and audio controls. This is part of what Lexus calls its L-Finesse design language — stronger visual gestures with more organic detailing. The RX450h looks pretty good inside and out, but I’m loath to praise any styling vocabulary with such a ridiculous name.
I also notice that there is a fairly unprogressive plateau in the braking. Ordinarily, the car uses only regenerative braking — not hydraulics — to slow down. Electric brakes, in other words. But if you hit the brake pedal a little harder than usual, the full force of the hydraulics come online and everything in the car winds up on the windshield.
As for handling, even with the Sport suspension package, the RX450h rolls like a tugboat off Cape Hatteras. This is a tall, heavy vehicle, with the suspension dial set on “Xanax.” No corner carving here.
A good review, Neil seems impressed. This is the first time I’ve seen the RX’s upgraded handling/suspension being criticized — Edmunds’ review in particular was very complimentary — but then that was the RX 350, and there’s bound to be a difference considering.
[Souce: Los Angeles Times]