It’s great to get a bargain on a luxury vehicle. Buying a used vehicle is one way to get a fancier car or one with more features than you would have been able to afford if it were new. To help out buyers, Consumer Reports recently released a list of the best used vehicles that cost between $15,000 and $20,000. The 2013 Lexus RX is one of those recommended.

The best used cars for $15,000 to $20,000

The Consumer Reports list of the best used vehicles for between $15,000 and $20,000 included cars, trucks, and SUVs that reviewed well when they were new and also have better-than-average reliability across model years 2011 through 2020. The list is based on years of info that Consumer Reports gathers from its annual survey along with its own test data.

All of the recommended vehicles have standard electronic stability control, and a lot of them have available forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and blind-spot warning. The 2013 Lexus RX is among three recommended midsize SUVs. The other two are the 2011 Toyota 4Runner and the 2014 Toyota Highlander.

What Consumer Reports thinks of the 2013 Lexus RX

The current price of the 2013 Lexus RX is around between $16,625 and $17,700. A new 2021 Lexus RX starts at $45,170. Consumer Reports especially likes the 2013 RX’s “plush ride and smooth powertrains.” Handling is a bit “lackluster” though, and the “rear visibility isn’t ideal.”

The RX provides passengers with a quiet interior and a comfortable ride with comfortable seats. The cabin is nicely finished, but the cargo space is on the smaller side. Consumer Reports didn’t love the infotainment system, finding the mouselike controller for the screen to be unintuitive.

The 2013 Lexus RX is aging well

Redesigned in 2016, the 2013 RX and 2021 RX models are in different generations. However, despite getting older, the 2013 model year is aging well. Its generation arrived in 2010, but the 2013 RX sports a refresh to the design. The 2013 RX, like the 2021 RX, has an owner satisfaction score from Consumer Reports of four out of five. The 2013 RX also has a top reliability score of five out of five, beating the 2021 RX’s predicted reliability of four out of five. These SUVs are likely to provide few worries for their owners.

U.S. News does say that the 2013 through 2015 model year RXs are less fuel-efficient and have less powerful engines. The 2013 RX comes standard with a 3.5-liter V6 engine, which produces 270 hp. A hybrid powertrain is also available. The 2021 RX also has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, but now it produces 295 hp. The hybrid powertrain is still available. Handling, though, has not improved.

While available and not standard, the 2013 RX has a number of advanced safety features, including a rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing windshield wipers, front and rear parking sensors, and pre-collision braking, according to U.S. News.

The 2021 Lexus RX provides all of those features standard except front and rear parking sensors (an available option) and pre-collision braking. It also comes with automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane tracing assist, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, and automatic high-beam headlights.

Its available safety features, in addition to front and rear parking sensors, are a head-up display, adaptive headlights, reverse automatic emergency braking, and a surround-view parking camera system. A new model RX also has a touchscreen infotainment system along with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa.

While the 2013 Lexus RX doesn’t have as many features as the new 2021 Lexus RX, it’s a highly reliable SUV. But, giving up a few features also means paying just over a third of the price of a new RX. A highly rated and dependable vehicle at a deal certainly sounds good.