In the very first conversation I ever had with the woman who would eventually become my wife, she told me that her dream car was a Lexus RX 350. As a younger twenty something male, I could think of about 30 cars I’d rather drive than that one, but in no way was I thinking about driving a smallish SUV when I was that age. Coupes, I thought, maybe a sporty sedan, but an SUV? Meh. Not my wife-to-be, though. She told me her car could only be the RX 350. I should’ve listened.
And not just because women are always right (even though they are), but because this particular car really is one of the best that money can buy. In fact, according to both the U.S. News and World Report and TrueCar.com, the Lexus RX 350 is the best midsized luxury SUV that money can buy.
In Essex, Lexus RX drivers have preached the benefits of owning their particular brand of vehicle for years. Lexus dealers could rattle off a whole laundry list of reasons as to why a consumer would buy this car, but the US News report offers plenty of those specifics:
For starters, the most recently tested iteration of the RX 350 is one of the safest vehicles currently in circulation. Both the government and the IIHS gave it amazing marks in a myriad of crash tests, and in 2011 the RX will add a brake override system capable of cutting the engine when the brakes are hit especially hard.
Beyond that, though, perhaps the most notable feature of the car is its top-of-the-class fuel economy. It’s not a particularly sporty vehicle, and you’d be crazy to take such a gorgeous hunk of metal off-road, but most reviewers agree that its performance is still pretty stinkin’ good. The interior is lavish and comfortable, and like all Lexus vehicles, it’s going to be reliable for the duration of ownership.
Had I known all of this when I met my wife, it never would’ve been an argument we’d have had to have. Now that we’re married, I’ll give you three guesses what car she’s driving around, and the first two guesses don’t count. Like I said, women are always right. As a younger twenty something male, I could think of about 30 cars I’d rather drive than that one, but in no way was I thinking about driving a smallish SUV when I was that age. Coupes, I thought, maybe a sporty sedan, but an SUV? Meh. Not my wife-to-be, though.
