2004 Lexus RX330
A New Prescription: Second-generation Lexus RX ups the luxury ante

By ROGER HART


BARELY FIVE YEARS AGO, luxury sport/utility vehicles hardly constituted a market segment. With fewer than 100,000 vehicles sold annually, “niche” seemed the more appropriate word. That was before Lexus created the car-based luxury sport/ute game with its RX 300. Since the RX launch in ’98, sales have grown nearly every year, helping push the luxury SUV segment to 322,000 last year, with expectations to top 500,000 by 2004.


2004 LEXUS RX330
ON SALE: Spring 2003
BASE PRICE: $35,000 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 3.3-liter, 230-hp, 242-lb-ft v6; fwd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 3860 pounds
0-60 MPH: 7.7 seconds (mfr.)


Lexus sold more RXs (70,000) in 2002 than Jaguar sold Jaguars. All Jaguars.

While several manufacturers have come out with their own car-based RX-fighters (Acura MDX, Buick Rendezvous, Volvo XC90, to name a few), Lexus commands a whopping 22 percent share of the U.S. market.

So, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

“Good question,” says Lexus group vp and general manager Denny Clements. “But the new RX 330 is just so good, it wouldn’t be fair to keep it from our customers.”

He’s supposed to say that. Lexus also needs to defend its turf against the onslaught of newcomers like the upcoming Cadillac SRX, Nissan Murano and Infiniti FX45. After a day of driving the RX 330 around Southern California, we’d say Lexus isn’t surrendering anything to the late arrivals.

The vehicle’s name change signifies a boost in engine displacement from the previous model, from a 3.0-liter V6 to a 3.3-liter V6, which delivers 10 more hp and 20 more lb-ft. The engine, with Toyota’s variable valve timing with intelligence, is mated to an all-new five-speed automatic transmission. The bigger-displacement engine delivers better EPA mileage (18 mpg city/24 mpg highway) than the smaller, older powerplant (17 city/23 highway). The RX 330, with its sleek new body, is considerably quicker, too. The claimed 0-to-60-mph times of 7.7 seconds for the front-wheel-drive model and 7.8 seconds for the all-wheel-drive version better the old vehicle’s times of 8.5 seconds and 8.8 seconds respectively.

The mileage numbers and acceleration times are even more impressive considering the RX 330 is bigger than the RX 300 in just about any way you measure it. The RX 330’s wheelbase is 3.9 inches bigger while overall length increases by 6.2 inches. It’s more than one inch wider and nearly a half-inch taller, giving occupants more legroom and shoulder room, with a bit more cargo space than the previous model. Front-seat legroom has increased by two inches. All this increased size equates to more weight. The awd model tips the scales at 4065 pounds, 141 more than its predecessor, while the fwd model is 3860 pounds, 145 pounds heavier than the RX 300.

Our first drive of the RX near San Diego found that Lexus engineers spent considerable time making what was already a pretty smooth ride even better. The platform is stiffer than the previous-generation and an optional air suspension system that provides automatic leveling really smoothes out a rough road, either on pavement or off.

All RX 330s come equipped with vehicle skid control. Like the RX 300, the new RX uses a center differential to split torque evenly between front and rear axles, but the VSC system is used to apportion power front-to-rear, side-to-side, eliminating the viscous coupling found in the RX 300.

Brake assist and four-wheel antilock brakes are standard, as is a bevy of new airbags. Similar to a system Porsche has on its Cayenne, the RX 330 has available what Lexus is calling an adaptive front lighting system, in which the headlights turn with the steering wheel to help light curves and corners. Also available is a rear backup camera that displays an image on a dash-mounted screen that shares duty with the nav system, and adaptive laser cruise control, just like that found on the company’s high-end LS 430 flagship. A power rear liftgate, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel column and a 240-watt, 11-speaker Mark Levinson audio system are optional. If you want even more entertainment, a DVD rear-seat entertainment package is available.

To help meet expected demand, RX 330s will be built not only at the Kyushu plant in Japan but also at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Canada, in Ontario—the first time a Lexus will be built outside of Japan. The first vehicles, with a base price for fwd models of about $35,000, should start arriving in dealerships in the spring. Lexus expects to sell 75,000 RXs annually.

Despite the requisite comfortable wood trim and leather interior, there’s nothing about the RX 330 that jumps out at you and screams “luxury.” But after spending time driving it, you find the vehicle so competent, the attention to detail so exacting, you’re left satisfied.

That’s probably just one reason Lexus continues to sell so many of these things.