The midsize SUV market looks to have some promising offerings for the new year. The Lexus RX is one of them, and we know it won’t disappoint. Lexus continually has the cream of the crop in luxury vehicles, and each one proved its worth time and time again. Autotrader reviews the RX and offers their thoughts on this exceptional SUV.

What makes the Lexus RX so great?

The Lexus name alone screams reliability. This automaker has consistently made high-quality vehicles for quite some time, and people know it will be reliable by just seeing the Lexus name. Their RX is one of the top-selling luxury midsize crossover SUVs on the market. 

The 2021 Lexus RX model is no exception. Lexus added blind-spot monitoring, self-dimming mirrors, and rear cross-traffic alert to their list of standard equipment. They also extended the free service to the Lexus Enform Remote subscription to three years instead of just one. You can even find a wireless charging pad in their list of optional equipment. 

The F-Sport package now has a moon roof as well as a heated steering wheel. Also, the previous Performance package got a new name. It’s now called the Handling package instead. A new trim is available in the RX line. It’s the Black Line Special Edition that will come with its own special set of cosmetic pieces. 

The pros and cons of the RX

The 2021 Lexus RX has state-of-the-art build-quality with the chassis and interior materials. The quality craftsmanship is part of the reason why the Lexus name signifies reliability and durability. 

When it comes to the driving experience, the RX doesn’t disappoint at all. Steering in this Lexus is very responsive, and you couldn’t get more composed handling in any of its rivals. If you add the F-Sport package, ride quality is even more enhanced. It adds an adaptive suspension that will handle almost any road conditions. 

The RX model comes with plenty of standard equipment for both safety and driver’s assistance features. You’ll find automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-keeping assistance, and blind-spot monitoring, to name just a few. 

When it comes to drawbacks, though, you won’t find too many. The ones listed by Autotrader start with the Remote Touch interface. They found this system to be frustrating to use. They also didn’t like the small cargo space because it fell behind most of its rivals. 

Then there’s the third-row seating. Like a lot of SUVs with a 3rd-row, this seating area just wasn’t big enough to hold average-sized adults. Small children could sit here comfortably, though.  

How well does the 2021 Lexus RX perform?

The RX 350, 350L, 450, and 450L trims all have a 3.5-liter V6 engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The 350 puts out 295 hp, while the 350L only puts out 290 hp because of the single exhaust. 

While there aren’t any EPA ratings for the 2021 RX, yet, they’re not expected to differ much than what you find with the 2020. They rate the 350 and 350L to get 27 mpg on the highway and 23 combined mpg for the front-wheel-drive version. If you have the AWD model, you can expect the figures to drop by 1 mile each. 

With the hybrid models, FWD gets you 28 highway mpg and 30 mpg combined. For the AWD version, the RX still gets 28 on the highway, but only 29 combined. However, the hybrid model requires premium gasoline, so don’t expect to save too much when you have to buy the more expensive fuel.

The 2021 Lexus RX continues to be one of the best midsize crossovers out there. Anything with the Lexus name pretty much guarantees it will dominate their segment of the market.