I’m partaking in Santa Monica’s “One Car Challenge,” which requires my girlfriend and me to drive only a single car for our daily commuting/errands, and for whatever reason, we chose her 2017 Lexus RX 350 — the most boring car in the world. I don’t like driving it, but I also do like driving it. I find myself facing an internal struggle every time I get behind the wheel, but ultimately when I shut the car off I always conclude: This thing is legitimately excellent. It may be the ultimate no-bullshit luxury SUV. Here’s what I mean.
Driving a car that doesn’t represent you in at least some way is a miserable experience. I learned this when I bought a 1995 Honda Accord as a winter beater because 1. It was cheap and 2. It had a five-speed.
The truth is, there’s not a single fiber of my being that feels even the slightest connection to a 1995 Honda Accord, and even when that pile of crap did run, driving the thing was never fun. I later bought a much junkier 1965 Plymouth Valiant, and though it was worse in every measure way, I loved piloting that machine. It felt like me.
My girlfriend’s 2017 Lexus RX3 50 feels more like the Honda than the Valiant in that I feel zero connection to it. The vehicle doesn’t represent me at all. It’s an appliance. And yet, unlike the with the Honda, part of me does enjoy driving the RX 350. Why? Because I respect how objectively good it is. Lexus absolutely nailed this car, and that’s an impossible fact to ignore.
It’s Hard Not To Respect The Lexus RX 350
Motor Trend has a metric that it uses to evaluate its Car of the Year contenders: Performance of Intended Function. The publication defines this term as answering: “How well does a vehicle do the job its creators intended it to do?” With the Lexus RX 350, the answer is: “Incredibly.”
That’s the internal struggle I face when driving this machine. There’s DT the car-nut who loathes driving this luxury-ified Toyota, and there’s DT the car journalist who evaluates cars based on their performance of intended function. I don’t love the Lexus, but I respect it. It has exactly what customers like my girlfriend want in a car, to a point where it’s almost flawless.
The engine is a 3.5-liter V6 making 295 horsepower and sending it all through an eight-speed automatic. Thanks partly to the engine’s decent low end torque and the transmission’s short 5.25:1 first gear ratio (the differential ratio is either 3.329 or 2.277; I get the feeling that my girlfriend’s is the former), the RX 350 is legitimately responsive. Whereas so many modern cars have dead-feeling pedals that have been set up for maximum fuel economy, the RX’s pedal calibration feels old-school in a way. You press it a bit, and the car goes, which is what everyone wants out of a no-bullshit car (which is what the Lexus is) — you want the car to do what you tell it to now.
This actually surprised me, because I expected the RX to have every sensation dulled just a bit so that the car fades into the background as something you barely even experience — just a way to get to work or home or wherever. But nope, the engine feels surprisingly quick, even if 0-60 only happens in 7.9 seconds, per Lexus.
The responsive engine and beautifully tuned transmission — mated with an all-wheel drive system and a good traction control system give the car a feeling of competence and safety: It works exactly as you want it to. It’s responsive, it’s quick enough, everything happens as smoothly as you want it to: It’s what people like my girlfriend want out of a powertrain.
Most important about that powertrain is that it just works. That 3.5-liter V6 is part of an engine family known for living until well past 250,000 miles. Also powering the previous-generation Toyota Tacoma (which was unfortunately saddled with a pretty rough six-speed automatic), it’s a nicely engineered motor that’s smooth and really shouldn’t require much maintenance. And when it does, like many of the other bits on this car it can be mended with relatively inexpensive components shared with Toyotas.
The Lexus’s interior is nice. I think the three-spoke steering wheel is almost as perfect a steering wheel design as exists on this earth, all the important bits of material you touch are soft and well put together, and the user interface is fantastic. The infotainment and climate control switches have quite a few nice, physical buttons, the gauge cluster looks clean, and while the automatic shifter isn’t the most modern, it works — everyone knows how to use it; you shove the stick into P to park, you shove it into D to drive.
The leather seats are comfortable and feel durable — they’re heated, cooled, and power-adjustable with memory function. They’re excellent seats in an excellent cabin in a car that floats quietly like a magic carpet
There’s a ton of space, visibility out the front is good, and though the D-pillars definitely create a blind spot, the vehicle does have beeping blind spot monitoring, and it rarely seems like an issue.
It May Be The Ultimate No-Bullshit Luxury SUV
My girlfriend sometimes gets upset when people call her car boring. It seems like an insult to a car that she thinks is so great. Are people saying she’s wrong?
No. She’s absolutely right. It’s an excellent car, and Lexus should be commended for building something that perfectly aligns with what she and so many other consumers are looking for: The ultimate no-bullshit luxury SUV. That’s what the Lexus RX350 is. You buy it, you’re comfortable, you’re confident, you’re safe, you rarely have to worry about significant mechanical issues, the dealership will give you a great service experience (my girlfriend actually enjoys going to the Lexus dealer, which says a lot about what Lexus is doing right), and the car just demonstrates its competence every time you’re behind the wheel. It fades into the background, and lets you live a life where cars are not at the forefront.
We car enthusiasts can’t imagine why someone would even want to live such a life, but it’s possible we’re all ill.
To be sure, there are quite a few other cars out there that check the boxes I just mentioned — comfortable, safe, reliable, easy-to-maintain, relatively luxurious. But the reality is that the average person probably trust’s Toyota’s reputation for reliability more than they do any other brand, and if that person wants luxury, it only makes sense to buy a luxurious Toyota. Factor in the dealership experience, and it’s no wonder I spotted so many of these RX’s here in Santa Monica during a short five-minute drive:
And it’s not just me preaching on about how this boring car is actually really good. Autoweek’s review of this generation Lexus RX is titled “2017 Lexus RX350 Review: Best-Seller For A Reason.” And Car and Driver wrote:
Assessed in terms of the goals laid down for this latest redesign, the fourth-generation RX sustains and augments the virtues that have made this vehicle a perennial strong seller: a posh interior, enduring comfort, quiet operation, contemporary safety features, the latest infotainment, and now a bolder exterior.
This beige Lexus SUV that I’m stuck driving for the next five weeks is boring as hell. It’s not amazing at handling, its acceleration won’t tear your face off, the styling is not incredible, and there’s really just not much soul. But at its job, it’s legitimately excellent. And I have to respect that.
I drove my MIL’s 2017 RX350 for a couple of weeks and hated it. Didn’t like the balance of it. It really wanted to lurch forward. Lots of blind spots.
I’ve been trying to get my in-laws to get rid of their 2013 Ford Escape and get into one of these (don’t worry, they have the money). As they age, it’s the perfect car for them. Super easy to live with and extremely competent.
Get ’em in a Forester so they can actually get in/out easily and have great vision out of the vehicle.
No one outside of Colorado or Vermont is cross shopping an RX with a Forester.
Not an issue has OP noted RX out of MIL’s price range.
The good thing about a new Forester (Or nearly any new Subaru) is that the 5 year CVT transmission will kill the vehicle before the glass engine gets to step in and do it’s thing.
All this shit talk about Subies and I have not know a single person who has experienced either of those issues. The head gasket hasn’t been an issue in 15+ years.
Real talk. The subaru community is filled with people looking for engine replacement or rebuild. The engines are fun and capable, but as far as reliability, they are absolute junk compared to any modern inline.
I’ve heard several people here talk about the failed CVTs, and that’s not surprising, because CVTs are actually designed to fail after their short lifespan. It will happen, that’s how they’re engineered.
Of course, if you know better don’t let me sway you. You should definitely try your luck with a high mileage Subaru.
I forgot to mention I’ve only ever owned one engine that spun a main bearing. Can you guess what it was?
Agreed. It is most definitely not the car for me personally, but we need to replace my wife’s 2005 MDX and a gently used RX350 from the last seven years or so is squarely at the top of my list. It doesn’t check any of my personal boxes but my wife needs something with a liitle brand cachet that’s comfortable, reliable, and big enough to carry all the random stuff she hauls around on a regular basis.
We Autopians love to run around in our automotive hair shirts because we’re a little nuts and we love cars. We want to FEEL something in owning and driving our cars. Knowing our cars are flawed, often deeply, and loving them anyway is part of our makeup. But many of the people we care about just need a transportation appliance and instead of looking down our noses we need to understand that’s okay, too.
So True and many car nuts (Lancia, BMW motorbikes and JDM drift) I know have at least one old Toyota warhorse (respectivly a previa, landcruiser or corolla) parked on the street ready to get parts, lend to friends etc.) and have a grudging respect for them.
Are you looking at another Acura at all? The RDX and MDX are engaging and ass kicking.
Not like a European roadster where your taint is 2 inches from the tarmac engaging, but a lot more than their competitors.
The MDX is on definitely also on the list.
I’ve driven one of these extensively too. There was something off putting about how it drove. It was super quiet and went where I told it, but it was kinda like having sex with a condom versus without.
So you’re saying that grille is “ribbed for her pleasure”?
And ONLY her pleasure
Some of us like to know there will be no babies and no gonorrhea.
So, you’re admitting to picking up chicks with gonorrhea? Weird flex.
STDs can be transmitted in both directions
bahahaha
I can understand that a car with no soul, nothing making it special or interesting, but is great at being a car, is a good thing, and exactly what most people want. And I can understand why people want that, and why this Lexus is a good car.
But it has been proven time and time again that a car can be a good means of transport AND have some soul, some identity, something special.
Isn’t that what industrial design(and all other applied arts) is all about? Taking something that doesn’t need to look good, and making it look good anyways, because we’re humans and we like it when everything isn’t just beige rectangles. I think that ideology should apply to every part of making an object: make it not just good enough to do its job, but good enough that it gains an identity of its own.
That’s also what the whole sporty-cars trend of the 80s was about: making a car fun without sacrificing its ability to be an economical and good daily driver, really at all. And that idea is what’s missing from car design and engineering nowadays, and it’s why old cars are cooled.
Your insight about ’80s sport coupes is exactly what I love about them – almost all of them were pitched as everyday cars, for commuting, going to the grocery store, etc., but with a reasonable dash of style and fun included.
I’ve always been a huge fan of that ethos as that’s most of my (and I suspect a lot of other people’s) driving.
The Personal Luxury Coupe as a concept is both hilarious and awesome.
I’d always loved the common description of them as “man about town” cars for going exactly to your point.
I know this isn’t about 80s sporty cars, but I think it’s in the same line of thinking. My best friend’s car history consisted of shabby, secondhand cars given to her or purchased cheaply (2004 Sunfire, 2002 Civic, a real pile, and a 2008 Prius). When the Prius died, the people at dealerships recommended Corollas and Mitsubishi Mirages and the like. But it was her money dammit, and she wanted something with personality. She ended up with a 2012 Beetle. She absolutely loves it, and while the whole retro thing might be played out, I think the Beetle was a great way of making the Golf…well, less practical, but more interesting. And I respect it for that. My owning a 1972 Super Beetle may have influenced her decision, a lot of good memories in that car.
That’s exactly what I’m talking about, the New Beetle is a great example of a car that’s pretty much exactly as good transportation as the more boring Jetta, but has a much more human personality and soul. And why would you not want that?
As Clark said, it is not as practical. So pick one. which is maybe why they made both. and don’t anymore?
Compared to a Golf it’s worse, because hatchbacks are best, but I don’t think a New Beetle is particularly worse than a Jetta in any way.
Kinda like how an RX350, being a crossover, is just worse than a hatchback or station wagon. I actually think a New Beetle is still a good example here.
It’s called wasting money. Ford Europe in the ’90s made it so their cars drove the best out of any of their FWD competition—so good that many of their cars of that era are still held-up as excellent driving by modern standards (coupe Puma, original Ka, mk5 Fiesta, mk1 Focus). How did the buying public react? Well, when those cars were new many thought they were great. But few if any consumers bought them for their driving dynamics, so Ford Europe gradually cared less and less to the point where their latest models drive about the same as any of their rivals.
The gist of it is that engineering in that nuance and poise that you mention costs money even if it is just tweaking existing parts, and the return on investment for that cash is unlikely to be recouped at any point. It’s why the latest Mazdas now drive ‘just fine’ and why Hondas have become less and less engaging over the years. There isn’t any incentive to make a car that ‘drives better’ when the enthusiast market is fickle and your average consumers care not at all and in fact would rather be more ‘disconnected from the road’ if it means a quieter, comfier, and softer-riding car.
Its also the reason the Honda Accord has been in Car and Driver 10 Best every single time for several decades. Accords have also been not the best selling car, but consistently top 5 best selling cars in the US.
The average car buyer used to care, and it’s an interesting shift that they don’t anymore. It’s also only more recently that people actually like the idea of personally owning a fully self driving car.
Just last week we bought our 2nd new Lexus. This time is the “smallish” UX Hybrid. I agree with you. Part time appliance, but there’s something about the feel, the close tolerances, the overall quality of the product. In conclusion, everything feels right, works as expected, and looks nice also, albeit, another SUV across the landscape.
I understand completely. My daily driver: relatively modern, quiet, comfortable, fuel efficient, reliable, and not exciting in the least.
The classics: objectively worse in every measure, and I look forward to every chance I can get them out.
As if we needed any more evidence that David has gone Hollywood….
Yesterday’s article about the $85 Jeep would suggest otherwise.
David it may surprise you but when 99% of the car buying public buys a car they do so with the intention of a boring, no problem, ride for at least 4 years. So yes a late model well built car isn’t a broken down auto journalist, oops not a broken down car. It is a good thing for you that women like a man as a project like you like old cars. I expect an article at some time from your girlfriend titled I Dated David Tracy and he is similar to this car. Frankly we members might enjoy a poll comparison you as a boyfriend VS what project. In pieces in boxes. Ran when parked, some other girls project, loose in the caboose but tight in the turns? I’m guessing the Bodine truck from the Beverly Hillbillies.
Everyone else chime in.
This is definitely a you thing, not a we thing.
I would think by your handle you had a sense of humor? Guess not. STONEY beer?
I feel ya. Everyone needs to lighten up and pretend we’re all cracking wise at the bar or the drag strip. Instead it’s the wokesters trying to to woke and gatekeeping. I.E. Jalopnik finally went so far down the shitter that people have come over here now.
You are now my favorite poster. Many stars.
Why are you gatekeeping my gatekeeping, huh?
I’m still wondering about the beer…
Or we could elevate the discourse a little bit, treat everyone with respect (while still cracking jokes), not assume everyone is the same, and refrain from making weird and tacky comments about other peoples’ relationships. Just a thought.
Well said, though probably into the wind.
So you want to control how people speak on the internet? Have fun.
The grille reminds me of one of those robot alien guys from that show. Smilons? Cybobs? You know what I’m talking about, David, right?
Ceylon? Battlestar Gallectica? 1st generation?
Had you come up with Battlestar Gattaca your word salad would have been perfect. Starring it anyway.
It is Galactica with Lorne Greene as Adama, Face from.A team as Starbuck. Randolph Mantooth as Adam’s son. And many more love boat also runs. I have seen every thing on TV before we got hbo.
The reboot was pretty good. Did you see that?
I know it should have been but for some reason I never enjoy remakes. Yeah hey boomer.lol
Sleestacks!
I always felt that the current Toyota/Lexus grill design ethos is akin to “Predator Face”.
But isn’t this really where the (original) Battlestar Galactica reference properly belongs?
You’re girlfriend is a Del Taco lover? 😉
*Your
It is an appliance, but it is a very, very nice appliance – like a Bosch or a Miele.
My mom has a Bosch dishwasher – it’s quite nice, and washes dishes well. It’s as exciting as a dishwasher gets, I guess. But what’s really funny to me is that I always mentally juxtapose it with the checkered reputation that Bosch has as an automotive supplier…
Is it the same Bosch? Until your comment it never occurred to me the dishwasher people and the auto parts people might be the same.
Power tools too! It’s apparently a quite large conglomerate at this point.
But in my mind, all I see are those cool vintage spark plug ads (though my Mustang has a fair amount of Bosch control modules I’ve noticed).
What, power tools too? Mind blown.
Bosch mini-split HVAC systems are also very good: mostly a Mitsubishi without quite the price or proprietary software.
I’ve never used any of their power tools, but see them/always wonder if they’re good too.
I use a Bosch 12 volt drill daily: it weighs less than the Milwaukee impacts the company provides—and has a clutch so I don’t strip out holes reinstalling screws on hvac units. 3 years now with intermittent heavy drilling using a step-bit. I picked up a set with various heads for under $100 at a Father’s Day sale. Do recommend at least those.
biggest selling brand of dishwashers in USA
Better to drive the world’s most boring car, than to have the world’s most boring girlfriend.
that’s cunning, Lingus
Or drive the world’s most exciting but shittiest car and stand her up every third date
Considering it’s probably the only car you have that doesn’t leak/won’t float away, you made the exact right call for the One Car Challenge.
Sometimes life happens for you not to you 🙂
The I3 can’t be bad but I wonder who made the choice.
in the first article, I believe the GF made the choice before asking DT about it first lol
Keeper.
Eeeewwwwwww!
HEADLINE: Rust-Bucket Obsessed David Tracy finally understands why modern boring SUVs are wildly popular for the Normies.
for better or worse, this is what most people want, and Toyota especially knows exactly what they need to do to keep the people in their brand.
My wife works at a Lexus dealership, they bend over backwards to take care of their customers. Especially if you’re a long term repeat customer.
We’ve had about 5 RX’s including the Hybrid, they’ve all been fine cars with zero issues outside of a water pump recall. I’d recommend one for anyone who wants a nice dependable vehicle.
If it is a great car it should be 1 RXs. Why keep buying should keep driving the original. My DD is a 2001 I bought new and now almost a collector vehicle but daily driven.
She gets an allowance from Lexus if she leases, but not if she purchases. She is also privvy to end of year deals or end of body style, Like $8k off the older body style before the new one came out.
We have swapped cars for a lower payment often, we typically don’t keep a vehicle more than 18 months. She’s also had a couple of ES’s as well as NX’s
She’s in an RZ now as they were giving $15k off as a lease special (open to the public too).
Okay now that I understand does she have a single sister, a divorced mom, someone in their 50 or 60s who has the same deal?
No single sister or divorced mom. I’m just in my 50’s and benefit from the deals she can get, her employee discount is only for immediate family.
However, The $8k off and the $15k off were open to the public, she gets info from the deal sheets which change monthly, so she’s always actively looking…
It’s almost embarrassing how many cars we’ve had, we’ve had a couple of cars for 6 or 7 months before the next ‘great deal’ comes along.
How about a remarkably fit grandmother an open minded grandfather? LOL. I get enjoying the cars. What happens when you are done with them?
A for effort there my friend I could got a good laugh out of that.
The grandparents are both pushing up daisy’s now.
When we are done with them, they get sold to the dealership. We’ve kept one car to lease term…
I’m glad you enjoyed it recognized it was an attempt at humor. My sense of humor is not always recognized as such.
Funny you say that, I have the same issue with my dry sense of humor, I blame it on being mostly English. 31 years there 23 years here.
Maybe it’s where I get my Angliophile appreciation of British TV
The license plate is gold!!!
They’ll be discussing that over the dinner table this evening is she wasn’t given a heads up that was happening…
Unfortunately the dinner table has an AMC Pacer transmission on it. Toilet seat cover it is then
Is that going to be available in the merch shop? Or is that only going to be available at the Connolley Leather, the supplier to Rolls-Royce, membership level?
The plate in the topshot render is gold. The actual plate in the photos below… um, I guess there’s not that much you can do with it since the laws changed after Rebecca Schaeffer was killed, but I’d blur it, Photoshop “DT LVR” (which I assume doesn’t refer to delirium tremens, because almost nobody is fond of that) over it, or otherwise obscure it.
Yes, I was referring to the lead photo.
This is the correct take, and even more true for the RX450h. It isn’t exciting, but it’s a nice place to be to do normal driving stuff.
A friend bought a RX350 and absolutely loves it for his boring, big-city, snow country commute. While a Toyota guy, he was decidedly anti-Lexus. He sat in my 20 year old Lexus and was surprised how well everything had held up, and I suggested he look at the RX as his commuter (AWD and ground clearance were two critical items for the amount of snow his area gets). He wasn’t convinced, but said he would at least sit in one to see how it felt. The next day he sent me a picture of the RX he bought and the rest is history.
The Gentrification of David Tracy is nearly complete. Pretty soon, he’ll be comparing China patterns and registering at Crate & Barrel.
Know how David’s mind works, he will somehow end up at Cracker Barrel instead with a rusted Jeep
“Honey, I got us registered like you wanted. I get the Chinese Checkers game, the 10-piece backscratcher set, and a giant, wood, 7 foot-tall rooster painted like the American flag to hang in our living room.”
Next Autopian meet up a wheelbarrow full of shrimp slathered in Grey Poupon.
Scrape it up a little bit, get some rust on it, throw in some feral kitties and you’ll be fine. You’ll no longer have a girlfriend, but your cognitive dissonance will be cured.
We owned a 2020 RX350 (facelift) in F-sport trim for 4 years and 60k miles. It was incredibly reliable and an easy-to-live with car. It fit perfectly in our suburban lifestyle and fit right in place at my wife’s job down in Malibu.
As great of a car as it was, it just didn’t fit family duty as well as we’d hoped. With two small kids (front facing car seat and an infant carrier) the car felt cramped and the trunk would get full with a stroller.
The car kept it’s value up really well and was generally a great albeit boring car.
We replaced it last month with an XC90.
EVDesigner – Totally Agree!! What DT has a girlfriend????
There’s hope for us all.
the “friend”, referenced from when he first moved to LA, was promoted to full “girlfriend” some time ago now.
And now features in a headline!
The most surprising part about this article is that you have a girlfriend. Don’t tell us this is the same person that offered you to stay overnight to “charge” your i3?
I’ve asked her to never google my name.
and of course she immediately did this, right? because only murderers ask you not to…
She just needs to read here.
“I was thinking spaghetti for dinner.”
“Great! I’ll go turn the shower on.”
“…what?”
“Er…set the table?”
You win the internet today!!!
Er…set the table? I’ll be right back with the hubcaps.
The rust is good for your iron levels!
Who is Kristen and did you seriously eat that?
Set the table?
*starts taking the rav4 trunk apart*