LEXUS RX SUV

offers three types of electrified powertrain but one type of motive character

The Lexus RX SUV is a quiet, understated seller in the UK and this "95% new" version looks like it'll pick up from where the last one leaves off when it goes on sale in early 2023.

It's based on an uprated version of Lexus's GA-K platform, which underpins the smaller NX SUV, and it remains the same size as the outgoing RX, at 4.89m long, albeit with wider front and rear tracks and a 60mm-longer wheelbase, which increases interior space.

With more torsional rigidity because of some strengthening at the rear of the chassis, it has a new multi-link rear suspension system and, like the NX, MacPherson struts at the front.

The new RX comes in three different flavours, each electrified to an extent, but all quite differently.

The most straightforward is the RX 350h, which has a 2.5-litre four-cylinder inline engine mated to Toyota/Lexus's trusty hybrid system, which uses two motor generators and the petrol engine mated via a planetary gearset so that the engine and one drive motor can spin at whatever speed the electronics dictate, regardless of the wheel speed. (It's incredibly hard to explain until you see a model of it.) In this guise, the petrol engine makes 188bhp and the front electric motor 180bhp, but there's also a 54bhp motor for the rear axle.

The hybrid uses an NiMH battery of undisclosed size. All up, the maximum power is 247bhp and its rivals are typically smallish-dieselengined alternatives.