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2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid will start just over $50,000

Lexus has announced pricing on its 2018 RX 450hL, saying that its new three-row, all-wheel-drive hybrid crossover will carry a starting MSRP just $1,550 higher than the non-hybrid AWD RX 350L when it goes on sale starting in April. The RX 450hL will start at $51,615, positioning it right in-between luxury crossover competitors like the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 and Infiniti QX60. The Luxury package, which adds features like semi-aniline trimmed seats, interior LED ambient lighting, laser-cut wood trim and 20-inch machine-finished alloy wheels, bumps the price up to $55,550. Prices include a $995 delivery, processing and handling fee. Lexus says the 450hL will get new features like second-row captain's chairs, leather-trimmed seats and complimentary Lexus Inform Safety Connect and Service Connect membership for the first 10 years of ownership. Standard safety features include a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assistance, intelligent high beam headlights and all-speed dynamic radar cruise control. The RX 450hL combines a 3.5-liter V6 engine with two high-torque electric drive motor-generators to produce 308 in combined horsepower, with an EV mode allowing it to run on pure electric power at lower speeds for short periods. Lexus hasn't yet released fuel-economy figures for the hybrid, but the conventional RX 450h is rated at a combined 30 mpg by fueleconomy.gov. Lexus has added 4.3 inches to the rear body length of the 450hL and added more room for third-row occupants by incorporating a steeper tailgate. We've previously covered the introduction of the three-row RX 450hL and the 2018 RX 350L, which is powered by a 290-hp 3.5-liter V6 and is available in both front- and all-wheel-drive. The latter starts at $48,665 and goes up to $55,080. The RX line has been Lexus' best-selling model, with sales of 108,307 units in 2017.Related Video:

2018 Lexus RX 350L Quick Spin Review | Minding the gap in the Lexus lineup

PORTLAND, Ore. — Why on Earth does Lexus still make the Jurassic GX 460? It's old, inefficient, body-on-frame and completely atypical of the rest of the three-row luxury segment. Well, the answer lies in that segment descriptor: three rows. People want them, yet Lexus didn't offer anything else between the two-row RX and the $85,000, Land Cruiser-based LX 570. Despite this lineup gap lasting for two decades, Lexus decided to finally attempt filling it with a seemingly quick-and-dirty solution: Lengthen the RX 350, shoehorn in a third row, add an L to the name, wipe hands together, call it a day. The resulting 2018 Lexus RX 350L does indeed have a third row of seats and is generally a far superior vehicle to the GX. It's better to drive, massively more efficient, and its beautiful interior is up to the current Lexus norm. The cargo door doesn't swing into the curb. Plus, unlike some other slapped-together lengthened jobs over the years like the Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT or even the long-wheelbase Range Rover, the RX 350L doesn't suffer visually for its extra inches. In fact, it can be difficult to tell the L apart from a non-L unless the two are parked together in profile. If everything, the extra 4.4 inches of length might actually improve the RX's proportions from certain angles. Of course, quite a few people find the current RX to be hideous, so finding comments below that include the words "lipstick" and "pig" would not be surprising. Adding the L also doesn't seem to take away from the RX's driving experience, which continues to impress. The current model is buttoned down and involving in a way its couch-like predecessors never attempted to be. From the lowered driving position to the more responsive steering, this is a far more driver-oriented vehicle. You don't even need to engage Sport mode, but doing so dials in an appropriate level of steering weight and sharpens throttle/transmission response. This general sportification also hasn't taken anything away from comfort, as a three-hour road trip from Portland to Seattle proved it to be a superb highway cruiser. Both seat and ride comfort are excellent. That was with two people aboard, however. Later in the week, we managed to easily fit an extra pair in the second row along with a rear-facing baby seat. That's all well and good, but the regular RX can do that.

Lexus RC F GT3 Racing Concept is green-flag ready

Lexus is hardly the first brand that comes to mind when comes to motorsports. In fact, it's not even the first Japanese brand. But Toyota's premium marque is showing new signs of understanding that it will need to at least pay racing further lip service if it wants to be viewed as a more emotionally connected brand with the wherewithal to challenge the Germans on every level.
Lexus has already made it clear it wants to race its RC F coupe, and at least philosophically, the new model certainly strikes us as a more appropriate racecar conversion than the SC 430 that preceded it. This just-unveiled RC F GT3 Racing Concept looks properly menacing sitting on the carpet at the Geneva Motor Show, and it while it's officially labeled as a concept, it's a model Lexus promises will be made available to racing teams in 2015.
Designed run in Group GT3 events, this 2,756-pound coupe has a front-mounted V8 derived from the production RC F tuned to deliver over 540 horsepower. Lexus' plan is to commit to a season's worth of testing this year before building them to order, and we expect to see them in the Japan's Super GT and Super Taikyu Endurance series, along with endurance events like the 24 hours of Nürburgring.