Lexus RX350h Long-Term Review: The Good AND The Bad After 6 Months of Testing

After six months and around 8000 kilometres of custodianship, Deputy Editor Curt Dupriez bids farewell to the Lexus RX350h Luxury long termer with around 15,000km on the odometer.

While pricing rose - from $92,000 in 2023 to $95,660 for MY24 - during our time with the affectionately nicknamed ‘Chief’, so too did Chasing Cars’ regard for this fifth-generation RX large SUV and the compelling combination that is the ‘base’ Luxury grade with all-wheel drive.

What did we love? What did we dislike? Were there any issues or surprises along the way?

And crucially, is the Japanese marque’s staple five-seat family hauler worth recommending, particularly given the model year-to-year pricing creep? Keep watching to find out.

Time codes:
0:00 - Intro
0:14 - Why do we test long term?
0:42 - Spoiler alert!
1:00 - Fifth-gen RX
1:08 - MY24 lineup pricing
1:30 - Styling
2:00 - Design
2:30 - Still rock solid
3:00 - Cabin
3:23 - Hazel trim
4:22 - Lack of annoyances
4:29 - Seating
5:19 - 14-inch media system
6:04 - Plenty to love
6:28 - Row two
7:20 - Boot space
7:36 - On road
7:52 - Long-term fuel usage
8:24 - Hybrid drive
9:26 - Powertrain
9:52 - Quicker than expected
10:45 - All-wheel drive
11:27 - On-road manners
11:57 - Ride comfort
12:36 - Gripes
13:25 - Ownership
14:00 - Faultless and dependable
14:12 - Final six-month verdict
15:03 - Still loving this grade?

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[Thulebeez]

I think these long term reviews actual paint a better picture of the ownership experience. Great car Lexus

[Mark-dehj]

Nice review of a great looking car. You're my favorite reviewer on Chasing Cars as you give real practical information that shoppers like myself are looking for.

[vrsr]

Just completed round trip to Melb from Syd in my Ti-L X-Trail e-power and return was 6.7l/100km real world. Display showed it as 6.0l/100 so Nissans mathmeticians may need to revisit their formulations again! Comfort and feature wise its a few notches ahead of the RAV4 hybrid cruiser but not sure how it compares to the RX350h as whist i have the means, I could not bring myself to spend that much on a car.
The Melb trip was effortless for the 9 hours each way with active cruise on and I’m sure economy would have been even better with less weight in the boot, no passengers and if cars could keep to the limit as my ACC would slow down as it approached the car in front only to accelerate more aggressively as I changed lanes.
One thing that was noticeable was that the engine was on for almost the entire 18+ hours of driving and only vey rarely did it run on battery only but I guess that’s expected with the small battery trying to keep the car at 110km/h.

Having now done just over 8000km in 9 months of which 5000km has been all Sydney suburban driving, the real world economy is sitting at 6.63l/100km which for only .4l/100km worse than the R350h, makes its a great value proposition given that the top of line X-Trail e power is just over $60k on road vs this $100k + car.
And 0-100km/h in just on 7 seconds is also fun from a car thats close enough to 2 tonnes.

Would like to see a mid/long term review of the e power as I think it will continue to take sales off Toyota,

[Miroslaw-rsip]

I own a year 2020 RX450h and love it, it has a V6 3.5 Ltr engine which is fantastic! The new models have a 4 cylinder turbo engine that requires Premium fuel. I had a RX350h for a day and didn’t like it, I worked in automotive engineering so I have some understanding of powertrains and prefer the V6 engine in my car.

[richardsingh]

I have a 2023 RX Premium Plus that we purchased brand new. Since we purchased it, there is an odor or burnt coolant coming from the drivers side compartment of the engine bay. We took the car back to Lexus three times and they said they cannot replicate the issue even though the Service advisor smelled the odor and admitted smelling the odor but refuse to list it on the work order. Going through lemon law process, V6 was the better engine by far.

[swedishbob_]

I do prefer the big L badge on the rear rather than the L E X U S

[Lesfac]

I have a 2022 450h F Sport. I hope Lexus have fixed the things that irritate me on the latest model.
Like
Cruise control. After actively slowing down to a reduced speed it allows the car to over speed downhill
The audio does not mute for sat nav announcements
The infotainment voice control is maddening.
The phone system would not recognise any caller until I changed every number in my phone to include the country code
I think I had the right to expect more from Lexus
I have never seen any reviewer mention these things.
I will say it is very nice to drive but the irritations spoil the ownership experience

[sandan]

Toyota does not care about the customers. I bought a 2024 Lexus Luxury Edition and like many other owners received only one complete fob and one with just a mechanical key and no fob. This unacceptable practice and been going on since 2020 and many have yet to receive a fob. They have many excuses but the pandemic is long over so chip shortage is just another worthless excuse. Please go to the Lexus forum and see for yourself. I bought a Honda and lo and behold I received two fobs and much better customer service. When my four-year warranty is up I will probably buy an Acura top trim level. Toyota has gotten arrogant and complacent with their customers and this is more proof if you ever needed any. IMHO

[k.j.hulander]

I still think the old (4th gen) RX F-sport is better looking, at least in the front and from the side. I also cannot understand why they moved from a very button-heavy dashboard to such an ascetic one. Surely a physical drive-mode selector could have fit in somewhere? Considering the old gen RX hybrid has the bulletproof V6 and returns similar fuel economy, I’d go with that one until this new gen gets refreshed. The mid-life facelift of the 4th gen really worked wonders and very small changes could make this new RX so much more attractive. I just hope the RX remains as popular despite the questionable choices for this new model. Great review. Thanks!

[kubanskiloewe]

ok, my predecessor 3.5ltr V6 Hybrid needs1-2lt more /100km but after test driving the new RX350H i was happy to hear the nice deep low rpm growl of the V6 again ! Only the suspension is more sporty in the new one which i also have no need for since our roads get worse with every year. Big Display ?...no need for such things either; when driving we should focus on traffic !

[GEE]

Again Lexus built quality and robust engine . Brilliant cars I think 👌

[guppy]

You spent HOURS trying to find the sound balance controls? Wow it’s a pretty simple system I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before 😂

[aussie]

Exterior looks good but not sure why the exhaust pipe hangs down and can be seen from the rear. Interior is good though I don’t like the steering wheel controls and the gloss plastic around the instrument cluster, both which are bothersome to me in the RX and NX. I chose a top spec CX5 turbo instead.

[kimnewcom]

Is RX really a mid sized SUV? It looks really small. Almost the same size as RAV4 or Crv

[lexithelexus]

really cool my car almost half 100K ! will also make a video on it soon

[danielbest]

Any ideas for how to get a spare tire installed?

[johnm]

We have the 2023 NX350h and are disappointed with the dumb software compared to our Volvo. But the economy is excellent.

[michaelfredmon]

Probably a great review butI have difficulty understanding his report monologue

[emadalruwishan]

I leased RX350h 23YM Ultra Luxury for a year and I am suffering from powertrain! It’s bit slow and throttle respond is bad! Where I live they sell it @ 85k US $! So buying it wasn’t an option but leasing it for 9500$ a year is a bargain I managed to get.
Why they dumped V6 engine for 2.5 Hybrid junk engine? Just to make more money
I would buy GV80 over this car just for the engine

[johns]

Have a 8y RX and the electronics are all going haywire. New RX looks odd, hate the grill. Looking at the genesis GV80.