The key selling point for Toyota’s fully redesigned second generation Lexus RX450h SUV is a 23% fall in CO2 emissions from its predecessor’s 192g/km to just 148g/km; paying CO2 tax at B or C-segment hatchback level for a medium-large, fully-loaded SUV is not at all bad.
Throw in a 10% increase in engine power – thanks to a new, more efficient Atkinson-cycle 3.5-litre V6 that delivers claimed best-in-class fuel consumption of 44.8 mpg on the ‘official’ EU combined test cycle – and it’s clear that Lexus salespeople will be highlighting the economic proposition of their new model to prospective buyers when sales start later this month.
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Especially here in the UK, where CO2 emissions are being used as a big stick by the Brown Labour government to force us errant motorists out of high-emission ‘gas guzzlers’.
We pay annual ‘vehicle excise duty’ (aka ‘road tax’) on a sliding scale based on CO2 emissions, and those who have the temerity to drive a company car are also walloped with ‘benefit in kind’ (BIK) tax on a similar CO2 emissions-based scale.
And CO2 emissions are also used to determine how much the taxman will allow the fleet-owning company which bought the vehicle in the first place to write off each year.
Little wonder, then, that Lexus GB’s presentation at the new model’s European media launch in Budapest went large on the economics. Broadly they are these: opt for a new RX450h and the private buyer will pay just GBP105 in annual road tax, compared with around GBP200, and up to GBP400 for some, mostly diesel, rivals.
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By GlobalDataIf one’s company is paying for the vehicle, annual tax savings are around GBP1,500 versus the old 192g RX400h; GBP2,800 compared with BMW’s X5 3.0d SE (214g CO2) and over GBP3,100 versus the Mercedes ML320CDi SE, Lexus claimed.
Most European markets will get just the 450h hybrid; a few, mostly in the east, including Russia and Ukraine, will also be offered the petrol-powered RX350 already on sale in the US and Australia.
This, incidentally, is also destined to be the first RX line to be sold through Lexus dealers in Japan (where the brand was only finally launched a few years ago); the two previous-generation RX lines were badged ‘Toyota Harrier’.
Apart from a full exterior and interior restyle and the new engine, the latest RX line also has redesigned rear suspension with double wishbones replacing struts to liberate more rear loadspace (no bulky strut towers) plus the option of a new electric ‘active stabiliser system’, achieving a claimed 40% reduction in body roll, and air suspension – though the combination of both is not possible here in Europe.
The hybrid version’s electric motors are unchanged but the hybrid system control box is completely new and notably smaller and lighter and oversees new ‘eco, ‘ev’ and ‘snow’ driving modes claimed to improve hybrid system fuel efficiency and driving performance.
Although the ‘official’ EC combined fuel consumption is 44.8mpg, just-auto and a driving colleague saw up to 9.7litres/100km on the trip computer in a couple of hours of city, motorway and country road driving – said colleague, from fleet and consumer publications, reckoned that worked out at the mid-30s in mpg.
Later, on a Lexus-defined ‘economy route’, we got consumption down as low as 6.1 l/100km at one stage as we inched – on the electric motors alone by that point – through Budapest in gridlocked late afternoon, pre-public-holiday traffic but the battery was eventually depleted and the petrol engine had to kick in again, and the display had climbed up to 6.7 l/100km (still well into the 40s mpg) by the time we reached the centrally located hotel – a nonetheless very credible performance for an SUV of this size.
Lexus claims a 30% improvement in cold weather fuel efficiency, achieving this with a clever heat exchanger that uses exhaust gas heat to help warm up the coolant following a cold start.
Like its predecessor, the latest 450h is a full series/parallel hybrid, capable of operation in both petrol and electric modes alone, or using a combination of both. This, Toyota said, combines the fuel efficiency and reduced emissions benefits of a series hybrid with the acceleration benefits of a parallel hybrid.
Total power output is 295bhp, enabling a top speed of 124mph and zero to 62mph (100km/h) acceleration in 7.8 seconds.
The new 3.5-litre DOHC petrol engine is based on that used in the RX350, but has been adapted specifically for use in the hybrid powertrain. It produces 246bhp at 6,000rpm and 317Nm of torque at 4,800rpm, and features three Lexus hybrid ‘firsts’ to optimise the fuel efficiency: Atkinson cycle, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and the aforementioned exhaust heat recovery (EHR).
The new RX is 15mm longer, 40mm wider and 10mm higher on a wheelbase 25mm longer than its predecessor’s.
The reduction of panel gaps and the management of airflow under the vehicle combine with several multi-function aerodynamic elements to minimise turbulence and give the RX 450h a class leading drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.32.
The key interior change is the replacement of the old touch screen navigator/audio/vehicle systems interface with a new computer mouse-like controller in the centre console Lexus calls ‘remote touch’ on all but base models. It takes some familiarity, but audio/navigation/etc control soon becomes easy and it is more intuitive, with less confusing menus than the BMW and Audi systems this writer has sampled. The navi system includes a hard disk drive also used for music system track storage.
The top SEL Premium version also comes with a new head-up display which includes speed, navigation and audio readouts but Lexus has cleverly adopted the aircraft cockpit approach of only displaying what is needed, when needed, thus reducing driver ‘information overload’. The crystal-clear, white display is top-notch, too.
Standard equipment for the UK is lavish: all models have leather, electric seats, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth, nine-speaker sound, CD changer, HID headlights, rear parking monitor and automatic wipers with satnav the main option. Pricier versions add goodies like power tailgate, navigator, better audio, heated/vented front seats, DVD changer, sunroof, and head-up display.
Safety technology includes 10 airbags range-wide plus pre-crash safety and adaptive cruise control systems on the top version in the GBPGBP41,600 to GBP55,505 range.
Toyota GB said around 200,000 RXs have found homes in Europe with 75% of these being the hybrid introduced about four years ago with the second generation model line. The hybrid accounts for about 69% of global sales and 95% in western Europe; hence the decision to go hybrid-only in markets like the UK. The company also claims a 64% owner loyalty rate versus 51% for rivals, of which BMW and Mercedes are key.
Families are expected to account for 67% of sales. The line will be launched across Europe from mid-May to mid-summer; UK buyers can order now for July-onwards deliveries.
Graeme Roberts
