The RX line-up from Lexus has proven to be extremely popular with Canadian luxury SUV buyers over the past few years. That's not surprising, as this fine offering from Toyota's up-scale division, has scooped several J.D. Power awards for quality. This should make all
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
Canadians smile. Why, because the RX is actually built at Toyota's award-winning plant in Cambridge, Ontario. In fact, they have been produced there since 2003, when that facility became the first and only plant outside of Japan to be given a mandate to build Lexus vehicles.
The 2007 version, the
RX 350, still resembles last year's model, but there have been a few changes made to the vehicle for this year. The most obvious, is the new 3.5 Litre DOHC V6 engine which is much more powerful than the previous engine. This new addition produces 270 hp at 6200 rpm. All this power is then fed through a 5 speed automatic transmission with an integrated transfer case, and a viscous coupling-controlled, limited slip differential. All of this makes this full-time 4WD SUV quite the performer.
The RX 350 also boasts a Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system which includes Traction control (TRAC). Basically, this system uses sensors to
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
detect oversteer and understeer whilst cornering, and then uses a combination of the throttle and brakes to maintain stability. Speaking of brakes, the RX 350 comes with four wheel disc brakes, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist, so stopping the vehicle is relatively easy.
All this tech stuff is great and worked very well whilst I was driving it, and as we all know, the words Lexus and Reliability tend to go hand in hand, so I imagine that it will keep on working fine.
This is, however, only part of the reason why so many people seem to like this Lexus charmer. Safety features also tend to be high on the wish list of Lexus shoppers and the company doesn't disappoint. It appears to have
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
every airbag and safety system known to man, right down to some especially designed for the driver's knee area.
Another big part is the quality and feel of the Lexus interior. I have to say that I was suitably impressed, especially with the fit and finish. I loved the attention to detail, like the way the centre console glides opens with a gentle touch of a button. I also like the automatic cargo cover, which retracts when the rear hatch is opened. I did however have a slight problem with the power mirror adjustment, as I couldn't find the switch at first. Stupid me, it was obvious, it was right in front of my eyes. Except it wasn't, because the designers at Lexus had decided to put it in its very own, tidy little compartment, and even put a door on it. Nice, but OTT or what?
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
I was also a little taken back by the goodies on offer. Maybe it was because my tester was their base model, the Leather Package (MSRP $51,550). Of course, it could have been the fact that I had just jumped out of a new Mazda Crossover, which although nearly 10K cheaper, did have "all the toys". I thought, wait a minute! Where's my Sat Nav system? And who stole my back-up camera? They even forgot to cut a hole in the roof. You see, to get these sort of things, you need to dig a little deeper into your pocket and move up through the Luxury Package, the Premium Package, and even as far as the Ultra Premium Package for the Sat Nav system and Camera. By this time, you're talking over 64K.
