2003 Lexus RX330 Sports Luxury MCU38R

The next car we tried was the Lexus RX330 Sports Luxury. This is the Japanese  answer to the luxury SUV/4wd designed to take on the BMW X5, Mercedes M class(see my later review) the Volvo XC90 and the Audi whatever it is(sorry don't know my Audis at all ).The Japanese do it better than the Germans I must say.

The outside of the car is subtle and doesn't scream "expensive car- be impressed" the same way the spinning propellor badge of a BMW or the Three Point Merc. Benz star does  but thats because the manufacturers have saved the luxury for the inside, after all it's where we, the drivers and passengers are going to be spending our time.

 The list of standard equipment in the Sports Luxury is amazing, leather seats, wood grain, sat nav, sunroof, reversing camera (sooo handy) remote boot hatch release that lifts the boot hatch, not just releasing the catch. The interior is so soothing and comfortable the first night we had it at home I went and sat in the car as it was more comfortable than the Italian leather lounge in our sitting room!(Sad? Maybe, True? definitely).The leather in the RX350 is so soft and yielding and the carpet was so thick and fluffy I took off my shoes every time I got into the car so I could squish my toes into the lush pile.. mmmm...

The Lexus drives like a particularly comfortable recliner chair would. This means there is hardly any "road feel", you are protected from all the bumps in the road and you do feel a bit disconnected from the driving but it is so comfortable and easy to drive with so many mod cons that I can forgive it. If the Lexus RX 330 was a man I would never dream of going out to dinner with him without shaving my legs and I wouldn't dare choose the wine in case I made a fool of myself. It is a very sophisticated and tastefully stylish car and you can buy Lexus brand golfing accessories and bland coloured polo shirts to go with your car if you wish! This was one of the reasons we ended up selling, after scratching the bumper a bit hauling a dishwasher into the boot (we found the dishwasher on the side of the road and do that sort of thing frequently!) and realising just how much mess our baby son (and his mother!) could make with little effort we decided to sell before we totally ruined the lovely car and lost all our money!

The other reason we sold was the fuel economy, all those safety and luxury gizmos must affect the fuel consumption- official figures are 13.2L/100km but we were rarely getting better than 14.5L/100km with careful driving. The RX 350 has official figures of 11.2L/100km with more power so that seems much more respectable and acceptable to me.

 The RX 330 has a good amount of power at 172kW @ 5600rpm but the RX  350 has 203kW @ 6200rpm so in an ideal world, on paper at least I would say that he 350 is the one to go for- it is just the same but has a DVD player evidently, thus making it even more parent friendly.

 There are many many airbags, ABS, reversing cameras and everything else you can think of to make the car safe. Having driven so many other family cars since the RX 330 I can honestly say the fuel economy is not as bad as many on the market and so much nicer to drive as well as being more stylish, comfortable, better built and more reliable than any car I can think of off the top of my head. We are going to buy another, less immaculate, more "worn in" example as soon as we have the funds. The parts are made by Toyota so easily available and reliable, (get your parts from Toyota for the Toyota equivalent, not the Lexus ones and you will do well) the tyres aren't bizarre sizes and it just feels right! Ours was nearly four years old when we bought it and still under factory warranty but nothing went wrong with it so I guess that is why they offer such great warranties (why Hyundai and Mitsubishi do is beyond me!).

Overall: Just lovely to transport the family around in, perfect for longer trips and sitting in when you are hiding from the children.

Rating:9/10

Value:8/10 They aren't cheap but don't depreciate like a German car does. 

Fuel economy:6/10 we thought it bad but there are many worse. The RX 350 is better economy wise.

Style: 8/10 Subtle on the ouside, sumptuous and tasteful on the inside.