2024 Lexus RX 450h+ Review | The Alphabet Soup Name Means: This Is The Lexus To Buy 

Nobody is talking about that seamlessly integrated front grille? I find it very elegant. Out of all the Lexus crossovers, the RX does it for me. Love the design.👌

My RX450h+ gets 54.5 mpg or 2.3 m/kwh depending on whether I run the engine or use the battery and consistently gets 35 miles of battery range which covers 90% of my commuting needs. Love the quiet smooth drive of this RX. My only complaint is the fact that a spare tire is not available, Lexus provides a fix-a-flat kit. I decided to buy a compact spare on-line that gives me more confidence for longer trips. Over the last year, my wife's 2023 NX450h+ got 62.4 mpg or 2.7 m/kwh depending on whether the engine or battery was used and gets 43 miles of battery range. The NX comes with run-flat tires, but still gives a quiet smooth ride even with run-flat tires. I didn't get a spare tire for the NX as we don't go on long trips in the NX but rather use the RX for longer trips. Note that during our cold Michigan winters, the battery range did reduce by about 25% (estimate) as the battery had to run the heat pump to heat the cabin and I always had the steering wheel heater on. I have noticed the battery range go up as we got into the warmer spring weather. Would definitely buy the RX and NX PHEVs again. The Lexus dealers were absolutely great, not charging $1 over MSRP for such a high demand vehicle. These vehicles did arrive completely loaded from the factory so be ready for sticker shock. Be warned that you will have to use non-polarized sunglasses to see the HUD as the windshield is polarized and having polarized sunglasses will try to blank out the HUD display.

This is a fantastic vehicle, and PHEVs are absolutely the best way to go for most people with even a basic outlet available where they park overnight.

Unlike some I like what Lexus is doing. They’re focusing on the basics and nailing them. Is it as luxurious or as sporty as other cars in the class no but it does offer a smooth ride with a rock solid history of reliability. Some would argue that reliability doesn’t matter but if I’m buying a car I’d rather not have to stress out about maintenance costs or unexpected repairs. I’d buy any Lexus in a heartbeat and the same goes with Acura as well

Lexus pioneered the passenger side seat controls near the driver on the LS in the early 2000s.

Looks better than before. Likely super reliable. Will continue to sell a ton of them.

Alex Lexus didn’t borrow the button adjustment on the passenger seat back from Genesis. I had that feature on my 2005 ls500. Lexus had that feature on their cars long before genesis.

Alex, It seems that for the last two decades a surprisingly large number of CUV buyers are excited at the prospect of not being excited by their vehicle. 😉 The boring, 36 mpg RX 350h is the unexciting RX that excites me most. 🥳🥳

Great review as usual. Very informative. I have been looking hard at these but 500h having all that power and torque is tempting. I also really want an actual spare wheel. I like the Nautilus but not into the 'minivan like' look in my SUVs. Otherwise, I'd absolutely choose the TX. Much prefer the more sporty, modern specialness of the RX and like you said, it will most likely be more reliable. I also like the BMW but as a former owner, you end up paying thru the teeth for maintenance, even if you manage to pay a cheaper price for the car initially. Volvos reliability is poor so just no. FYI. Lexus has had those passenger seat adjustments since the early 2000s. I know my 2004 LS had them.

I really like that the rear bench sits so high compared to the front seats. That gives a great view forward and reduces the risk of motion sickness.

I'm a fan of Lexus & I will buy this PHEV SUV.

I like the numeric scoring compared to just letter scoring! Thank you for the comparisons at the end!

The RAV4 Prime's powertrain is all right in the NX PHEV but the TX's V6 PHEV setup would be more befitting for the RX PHEV's price tag.

One reason why I love my 2024 Rav4 -- spare tire is included!

Glad you were able to locate the GoPro.

Hey, Alex, very stylish outfit! 👍🤣 Yea, and a good review too! 🤣

Lexus all day long

Great, fair-and-balanced review. I think the RX450h+ is a solid entry, but it's clearly not a segment leader based on dynamics and room. This said, it's a great powertrain, and I agree that the styling is MUCH improved inside and out. I think I'd get the Volvo were it my $$$.

Hopefully one day Lexus will slot in the TX550+ phev into the RX body

Friends of ours have the XC60 PHEV. Very nice car but.... $4000 to replace a failed headlight. Thankfully under warranty. Last month, $25,000 to replace the entire faulty hybrid drivetrain, just weeks before the B2B warranty ran out. We have a 450h+ coming in a month. Lexus all the way.

This is my dream car camper.

get the plugin hybrid, and you'll probably be visiting the gas station maybe once a year.

Would you recommend the plug in TX too?

Just like Toyota Rav 4 prime, my local dealer wants 9grand more than msrp. The number of Toyo/Lex prime/plugin cars available are going to be counted on fingers.

Suggest adding a “reliability” category to comparison graphs at the end. Great content!

I can't tell if the F-Sport still comes with the digital/analog moving speedometer anymore. That may have something to do with the smaller screen for the instrument panel that isn't upgraded, but it really should be more streamlined. Those digital readout climate knobs are too nice to be contrasted next to that phone-sized gauge cluster.

It looks so good ❤

I don't agree that Lexus borrowed the power adjustable passenger front seat from the sides from Genesis. Lexus has had that feature on the LS and GS for years. It has been on the LS for over 20 years. Has been on the older gen GS since 2015 or thereabouts. There's nothing borrowed from Genesis, instead Genesis copied the feature instead.

When new ES?

We are on our 6th RX, this one is the RX 450 H 2020 model. It is the V6 hybrid. This is my best Lexus RX so far I love the transmission or lack of one. I previously had a 2016 all-wheel-drive eight speed and it was terrible. This car is very elegant. Our next car will be the 2026 RX 350 H. the new 450 H it’s just too pricey, the 500 would be tempting given its acceleration two is very expensive for me. Choosing the Lexus over a similar Nautilus or XC 60 comes down to more than just the car. It also includes the dealer experience and the repair records. I think both Ford explorer and the Lincoln derivative the Nautilus are overpriced for what they give you, and my wife owned a Volvo and says she’ll never buy one again due to their terrible repair records. The Lexus dealer experience is top notch I only wish Acura would try to achieve the same levels in our experience. They are simply a Honda dealer rebadged 0:02 as an Acura.

The issue is, they just build a tiny number of the PHEV version and refuse to build more, no matter how many people want one.

Alex, surprised not to see the Crown Signia in the comparo. Thoughts on that matchup?

I have Rav4 prime. Perfect version would have more suspension comfort, less road noise and bigger electric motor at back. Now car feels like fwd.

Heads Up = look away and duck. Head Up Display is proper lingo.😊

Doesn't look bad. But man, I feel like every SUV looks so similar. They're just not exciting anymore.

What I need is a Lexus RX 500h+ F SPORT PERFORMANCE version 😅

My neighbor is driving her 1998 model, and she drives a lot

The Toyota Rav4 Prime is quicker than any new RX, and probably has the same passenger/cargo space

$90,000 in Canada and $1700/month. Who in the world would pay that, for an RX that whines at you when you step on the gas pedal.

Nice go pro ad

Just got this car about 2 weeks ago. Are you guys having dead 12V battery issues?

It’s the best selling luxury period, including evs. 75 grand hybrid is tx money, that’s a much better buy

11:49 Actually, those seat controls could already be found on 1990s Toyota Crown models.

Buy this and you’ll never need another vehicle. Too expensive? Buy an older model and it’ll still be the only vehicle you’ll ever need.

Definitely. A toyota hybrid is better than any plug in hybrid. Drive it normally and it will surprise you.

I thought Toyota CVTs had a real launch gear before shifting to the CVT?

Driving dynamics at the far right with Efficiency at the far left. Haha, oof, yup

i wonder if the tx will cannibalise rx sales

Love the car? Let me know cuz we got deals that you can’t miss out on and our dealership doesn’t mark up MSRP

Really like to buy one but worrying about it being stolen is not worth my time....🤔

74k for the fuel economy of the santa fe which is 40k. if driving 15k mi/yr your roi will pay up in 9yrs !

Is that a Filson Jacket?

The real question is ….is the 450h+ 20K+ better than the RAV4 Prime?

Who cares about cargo space..... drivers don't load up their RX with junks.... drivers of this income magnitude don't haul around junks...

74k for a suv with a 4 cylinder is crazyyy very disappointing

They are only selling black and white exteriors. So frustrating

The imitation would is so cheap in person. Worse than what you expect on Ikea furniture.

................................... Hmmmmmmm? ONE WORD: "Choices"......Plug-in or use Regular Gas.....NOT Premium as required by all the Euros!...I have a NX 450h+ "F" Sport...(similar however smaller, with a better front Fascia) ADVANTAGE = I Never buy gas ( and get 49 miles per 120 Volt plug-in, and if required it uses REGULAR& I get 89 miles per gal in Hybred!......My ICE (internal combustion engine) has hardly ever been used..so it is virtually Brand New internally...... On elec the car is virtually Silent / Quiet.....People who buy LEXUS are SMART People un-like the beeemer cedes porsche ego driven crowd who simply RENT / Lease and loose their "A" to dump those dogs in 2 or three years at a LOSS of 30 to 50K.... YEP,,,, real money! because They are NOT Reliable...(they get scared as they Know Service is HIGH Cost. Those stupid people know their warr. is about to run out. (worse yet because the aforementioned vehicles are so bad they PAY Even more money on "Extended Warr.) It never ends, that vicious cycle, so they have a cycle of 4 to 5 k per month and NEVER OWN anything. True RICH people, OWN their house and their cars. When you glance over at those euro car drivers you know they Do Not even own them. GET a LEXUS because of one word RELIABILITY Rich people know being reliable is key and they sleep at night!

all that touch screen bs means my parents won't be buying one

Wow, I'm early!

PHEV owners are driving 25-65% fewer electric miles than vehicles allow and consuming 42-67% more fuel than EPA estimates. An IOPscience study found that between 15% and 33% of 12-mile range PHEVs, 5%- 12% of 20-mile range, and 2%-8% of 36 miles PHEVs did not report plugging-in frequently.

I never concern myself with fuel efficiency, I'll go for the GV70 3.5T AWD.

Not interested in Lexus until they bring the subcompact LBX to the USA - which will never happen, sadly. People who like smaller vehicles in this demographic are a severe minority & thus overlooked. Shame that the compact UX is so unattractive & weird looking towards the rear, & resembles an over-styled station-wagon more than a crossover.

@$75k grand? how does that make sense? How much gas are you going to save? RX350 is $50k....do the math!

Good, but why bother buying the Lexus, just get the highlander or grand highlander

Choosing a luxury phev to be "lighter on your pocketbook"? 😂

Lincoln Nautilus Made in China, so NOPE

Lexus dont make cars for regular people anymore.

Yeah but =its ugly

Why, why are there paddle shifters on a hybrid? This is not a sports car or even a sporter kind of car. No need for paddles, no one will ever use the paddles. Please for the love god(or whatever spiritual guide you have chosen) stop putting paddle shifters on cars that DON'T need them or won't use them. Good review of a bad car. Thanks

Garbage tail light design. Massive amount of red plastic, yet you get a sliver of 3 teeny-tiny led lights for brake lights. The most important part. Ken you blew it!

Toyota pushing hybrids because they don't know how to build all electric vehicles. Bz4x was a joke of a first ev car.