First Drive: 2024 Lexus RX 450h+ Luxury AWD Is in Familiar Territory

Certain makes and models know what they’re about, and have for so long that your expectations are set from the moment you open the door. Grasp the wheel of a Porsche 911, and you anticipate sports-car nirvana. Cozy into the sculpted seat of a Corvette, and you’re looking to ruin the day of the guy driving the 911. Hop into a Jeep Wrangler, and you’re scouting rocks to climb over before you’ve even started the engine.

Though the Lexus RX isn’t an enthusiast vehicle like the ones mentioned above, it too exudes a familiar confidence. Widely considered the first luxury crossover when it debuted in 1998, the RX quickly climbed the small pile of contenders to claim segment dominance. Although the challengers have grown in number, the RX remains at or near the top of the heap, year in and year out.

The current, fifth-generation RX debuted in 2023, but our first chance to sample this stalwart came recently in North Carolina. I joined the Lexus product team in Raleigh, North Carolina, for some wheel time in several models as well as a chance to check out the fruits of the automaker’s partnership with the United States Golf Association (USGA), the sanctioning body behind one of golf’s four major championships, the U.S. Open.

My tester was a 2024 RX 450h+ Luxury AWD, a plug-in hybrid version of the RX that debuted for the 2024 model year. It’s the first time that the RX has featured a plug-in variant, which makes the Lexus somewhat late to the game compared to other luxury crossovers. The added drivetrain tech (denoted by the “h+” versus just an “h” for other, non-plug-in hybrid versions) makes this trim by far the most expensive in the lineup. Our tester rang in at $76,765, with just $6685 in options. When 11 of the 15 RX variants can be had for less than $60K, The RX 450 h+ sticks out—but perhaps for the better.

Specs: 2024 Lexus RX 450h+ Luxury AWD

• Price (Base/As-Tested): $70,080/$76,765
• Powertrain: 2.5-liter N/A inline four; continuously variable transmission (CVT), plug-in hybrid with three electric motors and a 96-cell lithium-ion battery
• Output: 304 hp @ 6000 rpm (total system combined)
• Layout: All-wheel-drive, four-door, five-passenger SUV
• Fuel Economy (Manufacturer Est’d.): 36 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, 35 mpg combined
• All-Electric Range: 37 miles
• Performance: 6.2 seconds 0–60 mph; 124 mph top speed
• Competitors: BMW X5 xDrive50e, Volvo XC90 Recharge, Lincoln Nautilus, Genesis GV80

The arrival of the fifth-gen RX brought one massive advancement that touched all trims, regardless of price. The RX finally moved over to Toyota’s TNGA-K platform, the bones of which underpin everything from the Highlander and the Camry to the Lexus NX and the TX SUVs. On the RX, that means a lighter structure (by nearly 200 pounds), a lower center of gravity, a stiffer chassis, and improved overall packaging.

Along with those engineering benefits, the new platform enabled Lexus’ designers to tweak the exterior styling. The whole thing feels softer, as if the 2016–22 model was placed in a gentle river for a few years. The overhang on the front grille is the most notable tweak, and out back, a rounded light bar spans the width of the car’s caboose. Our car wore 21-inch wheels with plenty of surfacing that underplayed any sporting pretenses. Slathered in resplendent Nori Green Pearl paint, the RX is now downright attractive.

Just like the outside, the RX’s interior takes a step forward. Whereas the older version was hampered by a kitschy infotainment screen controlled via console-mounted touchpad, this new model is massively improved thanks to a thoroughly reworked dashboard with a touchscreen. We found the same to be true in the LX 600 and the GX 550 Overtrail+, but it bears repeating just how significant of a leap the new system is.

The new layout uses a larger 14-inch central display that simplifies pretty much every function—music, navigation, climate control, phone calls. Lower models get a 9.8-inch version, but the former is offered as an option beginning with the mid-range RX350 Premium FWD grade and feels worth the extra $1105. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the line, as they should be in a luxury product like this. Our tester’s optional Mark Levinson premium audio system felt worth the $1160 upcharge a few times over, bathing the cabin in rich, crisp tones regardless of what genre we dialed up.

Among the litany of tech advancements on this car, there was one that took some getting used to: “Digital Latch with Safe Exit Assist,” which will scan the passing traffic and keep the door shut if the system senses a potential collision—think a biker cruising along a line of parallel-parked cars or the classic door-bash episode that’s been played out in countless movies. The primary method to open the door from the inside is now a button, rather than a latch. The switch felt weird at first, and I immediately wondered what would happen if you were stuck with a dead battery. However, a Lexus spokesperson clarified that if you pull the button rather than push it, you can actuate a mechanical latch. I’m more inclined to just check my side mirror to ensure safe exit (and I reckon I’m not alone), but the system never held me against my will inside the car. Did a door latch need to become a button? Perhaps not, but it hardly sullied my experience of the car and only confused me for a moment.

Relative to the other trims, the 450h+ is a bit of a unicorn, and the plug-in tech is almost certainly the source of the added cost. The upcharge feels worth it. The RX’s high-capacity lithium-ion battery, unique to this trim, carries this version an EPA-estimated 37 miles using electricity alone, which is more than it probably feels like. (For context, Volvo’s XC90 Recharge plug-in hybrid is rated for 35 miles of electric range.) If you tend to use your vehicle only for a few errands and a nice dinner downtown, you could easily go a whole week without ever having to turn over the gas engine over.

Though our time behind the wheel wasn’t long, the powertrain in the RX 450h+ acquitted itself nicely. The naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder, CVT, and three electric motors—two up front and a third on the rear axle to deliver AWD capability—aren’t a particularly sexy powertrain on paper, but thanks to plenty of sound insulation, the system’s whirs and drones never intrude on the in-cabin experience.

There’s ample juice on tap to make merging and passing a cinch, even if the total system output is rated at just 304 horsepower. The system’s juggling act of regenerative braking, actual braking, and the handoff between gas and electric power happens largely in the background. This RX never really feels like a hybrid, which is kind of the point.

The 450+ does without the adaptive variable suspension that comes as part of the RX 500h AWD, the “performance” variant of this model. As it was when we tested a previous-generation, 2021 RX 450h F Sport (then the sportiest version), the standard dampers did just fine. There’s a bit of body roll if you really fumble an off-ramp, but for the most part, the RX 450h+ ambles around in a distinctly Lexus manner.

Sure, the tech suite in an Audi or a BMW may offer more technological tricks. And yes, counterparts from Porsche or Mercedes may offer choices in this segment that are more exciting to drive, and since you’re reading Hagerty, we know that matters to you. But sales figures for all of them lagged behind those of the RX even before it switched to a better platform and improved the few glaring faults from the previous generation. The plug-in hybrid RX 450h+ has the potential to capture an additional swathe of buyers, which would only extend Lexus’ lead in the segment.

Quiet competence has been a signature of Lexus for years, and with the advancements made for the fifth-generation model, the RX represents that quality better than ever. Familiar, intelligent, and subdued, this is Lexus at its most clinical—and, arguably, its most effective. For the vehicle that all but wrote the rulebook of the segment decades ago, the next few years will likely be a serene continuation of its reign.

2024 Lexus RX 450h+ Luxury AWD

Price (Base/As-Tested): $70,080/$76,765

Highs: Softened styling that better suits the RX ethos. Plug-in hybrid version offers real-world benefits that should justify the added cost. Infotainment finally adds to, rather than detracts from, the experience.

Lows: Not the most scintillating thing to drive, which will matter to some. Some of the tech may take some getting used to.

Takeaway: King of the luxury segment, for good reason.

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