Thanks for your comprehensive review, you are going far deeper these 5 minutes test drive usually found on many web sites…
One question still puzzles me about this new 450h. I own a Gen 3 RX 450h for a few months now and if I am perfectly happy with the high level of comfort and luxury equipment, I am still a bit frustrating by the driving experience. Before this car, I used to drive 6 cylinders, 3 liters turbo diesel engine (BMW 530d and lastly Audi A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI). Those engines are full of torque at very low engine speed, on the Audi, the STronic was shifting to the upper gear as low as 1500rpm, and the acceleration/thrust was already impressive, with nearly no pressure on the accelerator. These cars can be driven on the torque of the engine, and I really like this behavior, giving the impression that the car is reacting with no effort.
On the 3RX, if you step gently on the accelerator, you get a gentle acceleration… As you increase the pressure on the accelerator, the engine rpm is almost directly linked to the accelerator course, with an immediate rise. And the acceleration is also linked to the rpm. So the only way to get a decent acceleration is to strongly push the accelerator, resulting in high engine speed. And even if the sound of the 6 cylinders is very nice, I still have the impression at this time that the engine strains. Of course, if you go full throttle, the thrust is almost immediate and the acceleration is really amazing for a 2.2 ton vehicle, but this is not my daily driving style… I feel this behavior appropriate in a sport car, but not in line with the spirit of the RX.
If you look at the overall power available in the electric motors, I would have think that the immediate torque provided by these motors should have been more noticeable, even for low accelerator solicitation. I already test drive pure electric cars and the immediate thrust is impressive, even with much less powerful engine than the RX. I drove recently CT200h and NX300h and I found them more demonstrative than my 3RX when driven quietly.
Has these aspect been improved on the RX4 450h, do you feel more torque at low rpm ? I read somewhere that Lexus said they increased the electric motors response, but I haven’t found a single word on it in any test drive report.
Sorry for my English, this is not my native language, I am writing from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean…