MotorMouths

No other manufacturer produces a luxury hybrid of the Lexus RXh’s caliber. And numbers don’t lie: the RX does too many things well to assume that this vehicle won’t be on most SUV hybrid shoppers’ lists.

The Lexus 450h is a well-built, quiet, comfortable vehicle. It’s the perfect SUV for those who like what the RX line has to offerBut at $60,000, it’s awfully pricy.

Unfortunately, instead of nearly 30 mpg, I averaged only 24.2 mpg over the course of a week in a 2010 RX 450h. Is that worth the extra five grand tacked onto the base price? Not in my book.

The RX 450h really can do everything that I would need to do and I’m sure it could do the same for you. Does this make it the One? Well, I also like to drive and I’d like to be somewhat more involved in the process.

Once I’d spent some time with the 2010 RX 450h, I realized there’s a multitude of minor changes and upgrades that make a huge difference in Lexus’s redesigned hybrid crossover.

If it’s a more reasonably sized luxury crossover that you’re after and you don’t mind spending to get fuel economy, then the Lexus Hybrid RX has it all. This is an impressively engineered vehicle, especially for those who have already discovered its gasoline-powered sibling.

The 2010 Lexus RX 450h is a better vehicle than the RX 400h. It’s a bit more fuel-efficient, a touch smoother and more refined. It feels more like a normal luxury crossover SUV.

The Lexus RX450h doesn’t want you to think, it doesn’t beg you to be involved with the driving experience, it just wants you to feel comfortable. If the hybrid badge and better mpg warms your cockles, then go for it.

More refined and more efficient in every way, the new Lexus RX 450h offers a unique blend of luxury, leading-edge technology, performance, fuel economy and green attributes. It’s still peerless.

The Lexus RX 450H Hybrid leaves me with some questions. Mainly, is it worth the extra money to save fuel and pollute less when you pay a lot more up front and wind up with drivability issues?

The Lexus RX Hybrid is a supremely comfortable place in which to wait out the inevitable spots of congestion, the knowledge that the engine is switched off, silent, and contributing precisely zero CO2 to the world around you a small salve on the conscience.

Let’s face it, in either gas-only or hybrid guise the RX is a lot of car, or SUV, or crossover, even for the price. It’s a fine family vehicle for long trips. It looks good, it’s solidly built with a fine reliability record, it drives surprisingly well for a vehicle its size.