Rather bluff nose aside, this is a good-looking car to my eyes, with the neatly resolved rear in particular a big step forward over the slightly ungainly old RX. And it’s made all the more handsome by the sharp F-Sport Design addenda, which brings us full circle, back to the subject of driver appeal.
This is a very large car, at nearly five metres long and a shade less than two metres wide, and on country lanes in particular it feels it, causing the odd sharp intake of breath as I dive into hedges to avoid getting intimate with oncoming traffic. Sport it ain’t.
Realistically, though, most of my time is spent either stuck in traffic or eating up motorway miles, and in both of these sets of circumstances, it offers a very different type of driver appeal, soothing and cosseting in a way few others can.
So while 10% of the time I might pine for a touch of agility, for the remainder I’m very happy indeed.
Update 2
I’m not generally a great believer in automotive smartphone apps, as they tend to be overcomplicated and not hugely useful, but the recent cold snap tempted me to download Lexus Link+ to try out its climate settings.
Pleasingly, it’s logical and simple to use, offering general data such as fuel and battery levels, range, any warnings from the car and the status of the doors, windows and boot, plus a neat Hybrid Coaching section to help you get the best from the hybrid drivetrain.
Apparently, I have ‘room for improvement’ – no surprise there. But the main event is the remote control for the climate. You can set any temperature from 18-29deg C and ask it to start on demand, and it will give you a countdown to when it’s expected to reach your chosen level.
Alternatively, you can tell it to start automatically at a set time, either as a one-off use or on repeat. You can even programme it to follow different schedules on weekdays and at the weekend.
My wife wasn’t best pleased when I enjoyed a morning cuppa while she went out to chip the ice from her frozen Mini and saw that the RX’s windows were all clear, and inside it looked cosy and inviting. In truth, the heating system as a whole is worthy of mention, too.
