The Lexus RX 350 is the semi-official car of prosperity and soccer practice. After all, you don't buy a vehicle this luxurious without a secure, cushy spot in the white-collar economy. And you don't buy a vehicle this practical and family-friendly if you don't have kids to shuttle back and forth between school and the AYSO practice field. The Lexus RX 350 is simply ideal for upper-middle-class moms; you should be able to buy one with an Ann Taylor gift certificate.
The Lexus RX 350 is a direct descendant of the original RX 300 that was introduced in March 1998 as a 1999 model. A mishmash of SUV design cues, conventional sedan engineering, all-wheel-drive security and understated luxury, the RX 300 was the crossover that established the crossover as an economically viable vehicle segment.
Loosely based on the same component set used in the then-current Lexus ES 300 sedan, the RX 300 had a 3.0-liter V6 mounted transversely in its nose, feeding a four-speed automatic transaxle. All-wheel drive was an option, but the RX 300's suspension was set up for an upscale ride and not for scaling up boulders. Though the Lexus RX 350 has evolved from the RX 300, it hasn't deviated much from that original, ludicrously successful formula.
Right between the RX 300 and Lexus RX 350 is the RX 330. On sale for the 2004 model year, the RX 330 featured all-new sheet metal and numerous refinements over the RX 300, including a larger 3.3-liter V6 and a five-speed automatic transmission. But even though not a single body panel carried over, it was instantly recognizable as the successor to the original RX 300. And instead of being assembled in Japan, the RX 330s built for North America were screwed together at a plant in Cambridge, Ontario.
A gas-electric hybrid version, the RX 400h, was introduced during the 2005 model year. And the Lexus RX 350 name first appeared on this vehicle when it was updated with a new 3.5-liter engine for the 2007 model year.
The third generation RX showed up for the 2010 model year in the form of a new Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid. Once again it was all new. And once again, the new Lexus RX 350 was instantly recognizable as an RX.
