I dislike the top of the grill and beluga bump so much only because the rest of the design is so good. If they had been able to cut 3-4" off the front overhang and went with a different/more traditional design for the top of the grill, I might be thinking about an RX 500h to replace the GX. They cut 2.5" off the rear... did nobody think to cut as much off the front end? So strange to me. I also think the floating C/D pillar can die now - it's a mid-2010s design cue that is going to age poorly, IMO. The video screenshot that surfaced earlier in the thread with a glare making the D pillar look painted showed how good it would look without the floating roof IMO.
The interior is probably Lexus' best right now. So much technology packed into it, and yet the design is very clean, simple and elegant. I'm a huge fan. This is what the LX interior should have looked like.
Last point is engines. I am disappointed that they are basically the exact same as the NX for a larger and more expensive vehicle, outside of the 500h. NX 350 has been called "adequate" in most reviews and while I don't think the RX buyer is one to be stomping on the gas between stoplights, a $65-70k vehicle with the same engine lineup as a $42k one would give me pause. I think the 350 and 350h are probably fine for standard, premium and premium+ grades, but if you start moving up to F SPORT handling and Luxury packages with more weight (more equipment), we are still talking about 4k lbs vehicle with 275 horsepower. Granted, NX is also about 4k lbs now, so I guess performance between them should be quite comparable. The fact that 2.4T RX 350 only picks up 1MPG over the V6 RX 350 (which also weighs more) is a testament to how good the GR V6 really is.
RX 500h is so impressive - I'm glad they did it. I would like to see an RX 500h with the Luxury package as an option too, or maybe an ultra luxury package if Lexus sees fit.
