Lexus has always gone above and beyond European luxury class norms in pursuit of a particular kind of material richness, tactile appeal and weighty perceived quality. The new RX is evidence that the firm continues to – and with apparent success in terms of how hefty- and solid-feeling are the car’s cabin fittings, and how expensively put together they all seem.
The brand’s latest interior layout philosophy, which it calls ‘Tazuna’, aims to put all controls within easy reach of the driver; to keep their hands on the wheel, and eyes on the road, for as long as possible. It is a laudable intention, and is realised in some ways, though not all.
The car’s ‘touch tracer’ control pads on the steering wheel spokes, which we’ve praised on the current NX SUV, work particularly well, combining with the head-up display to deliver easy multi-function control of the cruise control and audio systems without taking your eyes off the road at all.
But it’s a shame the same logic hasn’t been applied to control of the RX’s new 14in touchscreen infotainment system, for which there is no separate cursor control. Everything, poking and swiping included, is done at arm’s length.
Infotainment aside, there’s a pervading sense of attention to detail about the RX’s interior – from its appealing material trim choices, right down to the clever centre armrest cubby cover (double-hinged so as to open towards either side). Finding even one cheap-feeling moulding or fitting is a tough task.
Meanwhile, although on-board space isn’t quite up there with the most commodious luxury SUVs, a boot with some 600 litres of available cargo space up to the roof, and plenty of room in row two, make the RX’s level of practicality hard to find serious fault with. Unless, of course, you need a seven-seater.
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Lexus’s latest infotainment system, Lexus Link Pro, has been developed for better connectivity and better voice control (it responds to ‘Hey Lexus’ commands and works better than some voice recognition systems). It has a 14in touchscreen control console, with permanent heater functions and a volume button beneath it. But there’s no separate cursor controller, so everything you can’t do via voice command has to be done with an outstretched hand. While a home screen with a collection of ‘most commonly used functions’ is a neat idea, changing some settings can be a frustratingly slow, complex process.
The system is fully connected and capable of over-the-air updates without any help from your smartphone. On that score, it offers inductive smartphone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity but only wired connectivity for Android handsets.
