Tested: 1998 Lexus RX300

From the June 1998 issue of Car and Driver.

It’s easy to say that upstart luxury carmaker Lexus got its start by copying Mercedes-Benz, but that’s not quite the truth. No doubt, the sedan that Lexus introduced in 1989 as its flagship, the LS400, was a refined, V-8–powered, leather­-lined sedan with styling that clearly had the look of a Mer­cedes. But it debuted with a sticker price that was nearly a quarter less than what Mercedes was charging for a similarly equipped six-cylinder E-class. If there was some copycatting going on, it didn’t extend to sticker prices.

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Eight years later, Mercedes­-Benz introduced its first mainstream SUV, the ML320, to enthusiastic fanfare. Not even a year later, Lexus has now trotted out a suspiciously similar­-looking SUV called the RX300. Has Lexus done it again? Is this an M-class copycat, or has Lexus plowed new ground with its car-based sport-utility vehicle?

The RX300’s styling borrows plenty from the ML320, from the pointy, shovel­-nosed front end to the side profile with its forward-raked C-pillar. The Lexus fea­tures a more conventional rounded tail, however, and it’s also more intricately detailed, with busier-looking moldings and clear-lens projector-beam headlamps. The stubby wagon shape is stout-looking—an important attribute these days for an SUV newcomer.

That stubby shape has a downside that’s shared with the ML320—it draws the windshield farther forward, which makes the A-pillars impinge on the view ahead. But that’s where the interior simi­larities end. The instrument panel’s angled vents and the dramatically plunging wood-­framed center console are a striking con­trast to the Benz’s blocky dashboard. Some front-seat passengers found its swoopy curves a bit confining, but our test car’s rich-smelling, biscuit-colored leather interior provided soothing com­pensation. The RX300’s 52 cubic feet of front-seat room is on the same order as that of a Honda CR-V, a compact sport-utility.

The RX300’s power front seats include separate lumbar and height adjustments, and they’re some of the most comfortable SUV thrones in our collective memory. The rear seats slide fore and aft for cargo versatility, just as they do in the ML320. They’re split 60/40, unlike the Benz’s, which offer more versatility with its 40/20/40 split. The RX300 makes up for that with recliners for both rear seat backs, which could be a god­send for folks in the back of this luxury bus on a long trip.

Over time, however, we came across a few unhappy surprises. The stereo and cli­mate controls aren’t intuitive, and they uti­lize a hooded LCD screen on the dash­board that washes out if the sun is behind you or if you’re wearing polarizing sun­glasses. The RX300 doesn’t have separate front map lights, a strange omission in an SUV of any kind. The switch for the optional front-seat heaters doesn’t have a passenger-only position, either.

There are no such omissions under the hood. The RX300 is motivated by Lexus’s new aluminum 24-valve, 3.0-liter V-6. Variable intake-valve timing (or VVT-i in Lexus parlance) helps it crank out an invig­orating 220 horsepower—five more than the ML320, with its 18-valve V-6. Working through a four-speed automatic of impeccable smoothness, it hauled our four-wheel-drive, 4020-pound RX300 to 60 mph in just 8.2 seconds. In the inevitable Rodeo Drive stoplight drag, the 4443-pound Mercedes, at 9.8 seconds to 60 mph, doesn’t stand a chance. Nor do most other SUVs, for that matter. Only two sport util­ities we’ve tested—the Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited and the SOHC V-6 Ford Explorer Sport—are as quick or quicker. On a roll, the Lexus outruns the Benz, too. This engine is one of the best parts of the RX300. It revs eagerly, and with near­ sports-car-like smoothness. The result is a healthy dose of excitement in what is nor­mally a blasé driving experience. That’s if you have your right Florsheim buried into the cut-pile carpeting, of course.

The rest of the driving experience is not quite as excellent as the engine, but it’s still pretty good. The steering is very light, as in many Toyotas and Lexuses. But it is also accurate and, unlike many SUVs, has a good sense of straight-ahead. Crank the wheel in an emergency and the tires relinquish their grip safely and pre­dictably, up to their 0.72-g cornering limit. With its standard anti-lock brakes, the Lexus needs just 186 feet to stop from 70 mph. Compare that with 202 feet for the ML320, 195 feet for a Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited, and 197 feet for Toyota’s 4Runner Limited. The suspension soaks up most bumps painlessly and is free of the jittery vibrations that often plague truck-based SUVs.

Notice something here? This is typical performance for a car, not a truck. In fact, driving the RX300 feels a lot like driving any of a number of Toyota or Lexus sedans, if you overlook the increased ride height. At idle, the RX300’s 45-decibel murmur is as hushed as an Audi A6’s. At 70 mph, only 67 decibels of noise will impinge on All Things Considered. That’s luxury-car quiet.

Few luxury cars can tow 3500 pounds like this RX300 can, but even that can’t match the 5000-pound capacity of the ML320 with its stronger body-on-frame design. (The Lexus is a unibody, developed off the U.S. Camry’s platform.) The RX300’s open hatch can inhale 30 cubic feet of cargo behind its rear seats 75 cubes with the rear seats collapsed. The ML320 can inhale about 10 more cubic feet on both counts; a five-door Explorer can handle 13 more with the rear seat up and 7 more with the seat folded.

The RX300’s optional hands-off, full-time four-wheel-drive system uses a center differential with a viscous lim­ited-slip device to transfer power to the rear wheels. That way, it avoids the abrupt traction-control engagement that characterizes the ML320’s system. But the M-class gives you a low range for off-road creeping; that feature is not available on the RX300. In six inches of snow, our four­-wheel-drive RX300 didn’t have the trac­tion we expected. That may have been the fault of the all-season Bridgestones, but those are the donuts the car came with (some RX300s will come with Goodyears that have a wider tread pattern). As for this Lexus’s ability in the rough, we’ll cover that in a future comparison test.

You can opt for a front-wheel-drive RX300, something that can’t be said of the M-class. That version starts at $31,995. The four-wheel-drive RX300, at $33,445, is priced very close to the ML320, at$34,545. Standard equipment on both cars includes side airbags, air conditioning, cruise control, cloth seats, power windows, and power locks with an alarm system.

In some ways, this new Lexus is so close to its Mercedes competition that it’s nipping at its wheels. Remember, the RX300 offers front-wheel drive. It’s also more powerful, less roomy, more car-like, and less suited to hauling stuff than its three-pointed-star rival.

Rather than call it a copy, let’s just say that great car minds evidently think alike.

Counterpoints

The RX300 falls into a weird SUV netherworld, whose purpose befogs me. It’s not a sensible-shoes truck-based SUV, like the Expedition or Blazer. On the road, it feels small but not exactly RAV4 small; more like, say, the mid-size Isuzu Rodeo. It’s amply lux­urious, like a Range Rover. But sans low-range gearing, it can’t offer the Rover’s off-road skills. And it’s something way beyond a four-wheel-drive tall wagon. It will take Lexus only one more generation of SUVs before they’re irrefutably car-like. This SUV already borrows the ES300’s engine and front suspension. Meanwhile, you could save $2000 by buying the company’s ES300—which, you know, already is a car. —John Phillips

Don’t you love these guys who condemn luxury sport utes as being worthless off road, just toys for rich boys? Like, if you don’t haul 40 tons of chicken manure with your pickup, they’re gonna show up and take it away from you. Well, they’re gonna love this RX300. It is the quietest, sleekest, best riding, most powerful sport-ute I’ve driven. Hit the gas at 60 mph, and it surges forward, similar in feel (and as quiet and composed) as an LS400. Handling—for a sport ute—is impeccable. Digs: It needs a telescoping steering wheel and a range of temp settings on the heated seats (it’s either “on” or “off,” and “on” can get too hot), and the “multi­display” is, to me, a showy gimmick of no value. Hey forget off-road—this is the baby for going uptown. All you need is money. —Steve Spence

Criticizing a sport-utility vehicle for not riding well on the highway is as silly as knocking a Porsche for bottoming out off-road. Sport utes are trucks, man—they’re designed to work hard and go farther off road than you ever thought possible. But hardly anyone ever does this. We buy SUVs for the image, space, high driving position, and utility, and we drive them to malls, to grocery stores, and out to dinner. For these practical, common everyday uses, the RX300 is ideal. It is the first sport-utility vehicle designed for the way people really drive them, and I’ll bet it will be a huge success for Lexus. —Bradley Nevin

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com