The 2023 Lexus RX checks so many boxes for so many people that it’s America’s best-selling luxury vehicle.
It’s entirely new for 2023, thanks to a wheels-up redesign that brought edgier styling to the famously comfortable RX.
Lexus makes the RX in a huge array of configurations, so most luxury buyers can find one they’ll love. Looking for a great value? The base RX 350 starts at $48,550 – about $1,000 less than the average new car cost last month. Want to save on gas and lighten your carbon footprint? Lexus offers two different hybrid powertrains on the RX, with plans for a third, plug-in hybrid later this year.
But the top of the lineup offers everything. The 2023 Lexus RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD may use almost every letter in the alphabet in its name, but it also offers almost every amenity Toyota’s luxury division can build.
Best of all, its $62,570 price tag is still less than the average luxury car buyer paid in December ($66,660). Options can push the price over the $70,000 mark.
Let’s explore what Lexus offers on the 2023 Lexus RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD.
Performance-Oriented Hybrid Drivetrain
The 500h F Sport Performance AWD combines a turbocharged 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and Lexus’s Hybrid Electric Drive system for a total of 366 horsepower.
That’s a decent but not world-beating figure by luxury SUV standards. But Lexus makes the most of it. It gets a different transmission than other RX models – six speeds instead of eight and tuned for performance. With that, it boasts a 0-60 mph time of just 5.9 seconds. It’s good for 27 mpg in combined driving – low for a hybrid but good for a performance SUV, and better than the base model’s 24.
F Sport Performance Handling Package
Lexus’s F Sport in-house tuner shop reworks the suspension of the RX to make the top-of-the-line model more fun in the corners. It gets sport tuning, plus solenoid-actuated shock absorbers and a performance damper up front. In the rear, gas-pressurized shock absorbers and a performance damper help reel in body roll in the corners.
The result is an SUV that feels more like a sport sedan on a winding road.
Perforated Leather Seats in Gorgeous Colors
The 500h F Sport Performance AWD gets the best seats Lexus can make. F Sport front seats have enhanced bolstering to hold you snug as you test that cornering prowess. They’re upholstered in perforated leather. Heated and ventilated front seats are standard, and Lexus offers that heating/ventilation feature in the rear for an added price.
Aesthetically, Lexus designers have been producing some of the prettiest cabins in the business in recent years. Color options change based on the exterior color you choose, but include leathers in deep red, creamy lighter shades, and blacks with real depth to them. Trim choices include several woods and a dark graphite aluminum exclusive to the 500h F Sport Performance AWD model.
Available Advanced Infotainment Tech
Lexus builds a 9.8-inch multimedia touchscreen into the RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD. That’s a curious decision since some lower trims get a large 14-inch model. But the larger screen is available as an option. Either screen includes cloud navigation, accepts voice commands, and Lexus Destination Assist, which lets you talk to a human who will help you find your destination if you prefer interaction (though it does require a subscription).
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every RX.
The RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD also gets a 10-inch color head-up display – one of the largest available this year – that projects information like speed and turn-by-turn directions onto the windshield in the driver’s view.
Available 21-Speaker Mark Levinson Sound System
All luxury automakers try to sell you on the idea that their cars are concert halls as much as they are vehicles. Lexus, though, has a point.
The standard 12-speaker premium sound system in every RX is a nice piece of acoustic engineering. But the available 1,800-watt Mark Levinson PurePlay Surround Sound system is exceptional. Its 21 speakers are placed to make every seating position a musical sweet spot. It consistently makes the list of our editors’ favorite audio systems.
Available Traffic Jam Assist
With the brisk acceleration and crisp handling of the RX 500h F Sport Performance, you’ll want to do the driving yourself often. But no one loves a traffic jam.
The optional Traffic Jam Assist system, though, makes them bearable. It can steer, accelerate, and brake the car for you under some conditions, making stop-and-go traffic a lot less work.
2023’s Best Automotive Color
Like most luxury automakers, Lexus builds its top-of-the-line model in a limited array of colors. They’re mostly grayscale hues from white to black, and there’s nothing wrong with them. But 81% of the cars sold last year were some version of white, black, or gray.
You might want something more interesting.
For that, Lexus offers a color called Copper Crest that is, frankly, breathtaking. It shines like a new penny in sunlight and turns to a fiery near-red at sunset. There’s nothing else like it on the market in 2023. We still wish they’d offer the RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD in the gorgeous Nori Green Pearl shade Lexus sells on some less expensive models. And no one should tell you what color your car should be. But we think Copper Crest may be the best color any automaker has to offer this year.
More Lexus RX
Read our full review or build and price your own Lexus RX. If you’re ready to take some action, check out the Lexus RX models for sale near you.
