2020 Lexus RX 350: Size Matters
CNET’s ‘Road Show’ really likes the luxury SUV’s ‘edgier’ look & ‘noteworthy’ tech update, but if you’re planning to use all three rows, you may find yourself in a tight squeeze.
The newly updated 2020 Lexus RX 350 was given a recent test-drive by CNET’s “Road Show,” and the general consensus is that the new RX is a decent update with some progressive tech. In fact, reviewer, Jon Wong‘s headline sums up his feelings about the luxury sport utility vehicle nicely: “2020 Lexus RX 350L Review: The Best Seller Gets a Little Better.” But if you’re looking for a nice roomy SUV that you could use to transport a large family or group of friends to weekend getaways and long road trips, you may want to either find shorter, thinner friends and family or opt for a roomier three-row SUV.
‘Unfortunately, what couldn’t be helped is the RX 350L’s third-row seating,” writes Wong. “It remains difficult to access and ridiculously tight once you’re back there, with enough legroom for someone 10 years old at best, if not younger. Even then, passengers in the second row need to scooch their seats forward, sacrificing their legroom as well.”
Duly noted. But as Wong adds, “That’s not to say it’s all bad. If you need to carry more people in a pinch, the 350L’s third row works for short distances, and there’s more cargo space when those seats are folded flat.”
Overall, “Road Show” seems to enjoy the test-drive and is impressed by the updated technology (which he calls “maybe the most noteworthy 2020 RX improvement) and “edgier” look. Wong credits the smooth ride to the new “20-inch Michelin Premier LTX tires and the new active corner braking stability system that helps reduce understeer by applying brake pressure to the inner tire.”
‘If you need to carry more people in a pinch, the 350L’s third row works for short distances, and there’s more cargo space when those seats are folded flat.’
The RX’s 3.5-liter V6 makes 290 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque, “which is down from the regular 350’s 295 horses and 267 lb.-ft., due to a different exhaust system,” notes Wong, who mentions having to give a little extra push to get moving but that it did provide some benefits in doing so.
“In Normal mode, the bigger RX requires a firmer press of the throttle to rollout in a brisk manner, though the transmission seamlessly performs cog swaps,” he says. “Snap things into Sport and acceleration is livelier, and the trans holds onto gears longer and is more eager to downshift. …Pushing it around some expressway interchanges, the 4,600-pound RX L hangs on fairly well after some initial body roll.”
Check out the full “Road Show” 2020 Lexus RX 350 review for more on Wong’s review and to read how he would spec it to make the RX even better than it is.
Photos: CNET/”Road Show”
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