2022 Lexus RX
Overview
The Lexus RX is going strong as one of the industry’s most upscale and reliable two- or three-row midsized crossovers. For over 20 years, the RX has stood out from the pack with its commitment to luxury and style. When it was refreshed for the 2020 model year, the RX gained a distinctive floating roofline, more confident front and rear bumpers, and an overall more athletic shape. The 2022 model year brings new exterior colors called Cloudburst Gray, Iridium, and Grecian Water, and fog lights are now available as a standalone add-on for all trim levels.
Trims and Powertrain
The ’22 Lexus RX 350 is available in four trim levels: Base, F Sport, Black Line Special Edition, and Luxury. Each receives a 3.5-liter V6 engine coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission. In the base, F Sport, and Black Line Special Edition, this powerplant makes 295 hp and 268 lb.-ft. of torque; in the Luxury, it produces 290 hp and 263 lb.-ft. of torque. Front-wheel drive is standard across the range, and all-wheel drive is available. Based on EPA listings, the FWD base, F Sport, and Black Line Special Edition return an estimated 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway; with AWD, they get 19 city/26 highway. The FWD Luxury achieves 19 city/26 highway as well, but with AWD, it supplies 18 city/25 highway.
Standard Features
The base-model 2022 Lexus RX comes with power-folding and auto-dimming side mirrors, a power liftgate, rain-sensing wipers, 18-inch wheels, keyless entry and ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, power-adjustable front seats, a rearview camera with dynamic guidelines, six USB ports, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a power tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, simulated leather interior trim, and a 40/20/40 split folding and reclining second-row seat. The F Sport gets a unique front bumper, mesh grille, fender badge, and rear valance. It also has black side mirrors, dark 20-inch wheels, an F Sport perforated leather-trimmed steering wheel with paddle shifters, a performance-inspired gauge cluster with a G-meter, aluminum interior trim, a black headliner, LED interior lighting, F Sport front seats with enhanced bolsters, and position memory for the driver’s seat, steering wheel, and side mirrors.
The Black Line Special Edition drops the F Sport’s exclusive touches but adds a moonroof, aluminum roof rails, black 20-inch wheels, gloss-black exterior accents, black seats with white accents and gray stitching, a heated wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel, and open-pore black walnut trim. The Luxury returns the 18-inch wheels and adds a concealed exhaust, tri-zone automatic climate control, a second-row armrest storage compartment with two USB ports, and a 50/50-split power-folding third-row seat.
Active Safety Features and Infotainment
All trims have the Lexus Safety System+ 2.0 suite of driver aid technologies. It includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane tracing assist, lane departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, all-speed dynamic radar cruise control, and automatic high beams. Each trim also has a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert. The infotainment setup across the lineup consists of an 8-inch touchscreen, a nine-speaker sound system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, voice recognition, satellite and HD radio, and an onboard Wi-Fi hotspot.
Packages and Optional Add-Ons
There are several available packages to make the ’22 RX even more personalized. Four of them – the Premium, Luxury, Towing Prep, and Cold Weather – are offered for the Base and Luxury trims. The Premium Package for the Base includes position memory for the side mirrors, driver’s seat, and steering wheel and either matte walnut or matte bamboo interior trim. With the Luxury’s Premium Package, matte walnut is replaced with open-pore brown walnut; it also includes a moonroof and aluminum roof rails.
The Luxury Package for the Base contains a perforated semi-aniline leather interior, 20-inch chrome wheels, manual rear-door sunshades, gray wood and aluminum interior trim, driver’s and front passenger’s seat power-cushion extenders, LED interior lighting, LED-illuminated door sills, a rear armrest storage compartment, and a heated wood- and leather-trimmed steering wheel. All of these are in the Luxury trim’s own Luxury Package, in addition to heated and ventilated front seats and heated second-row seats. The Towing Prep Package delivers a heavy-duty radiator and cooling fan and engine and transmission oil coolers. There are two Cold Weather Packages: one with auto-leveling headlights and one without. If you get the one with auto-leveling headlights, you need the triple-beam LED headlights add-on. Otherwise, they come with a windshield wiper de-icer and a fast-response electronic interior heater. For the F Sport, there’s an F Sport Handling Package that supplies an F Sport-tuned suspension, a heated steering wheel, F Sport-tuned electronic power steering, a Sport S+ drive mode, and a rear armrest storage compartment.
For every trim there are two navigation packages: Navigation and Navigation/Mark Levinson Premium Audio. The standalone Navigation Package comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen with integrated navigation, a remote touchpad, Lexus Enform Destination Assist, a climate control smog sensor, and a 12-speaker audio system. The Mark Levinson version replaces the 12-speaker system with a deluxe 15-speaker Mark Levinson one.
Some of the most notable standalone add-ons consist of triple-beam LED headlights, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel (wood-lined also optional), LED fog lights, heated and/or ventilated front seats, a wireless smartphone charger, second-row captain’s chairs, 60/40-split power-folding heated second-row seats, a moonroof, a hands-free liftgate, a panoramic glass roof, intuitive parking assist with automatic braking and rear cross-traffic braking, a surround-view camera system, and a color head-up display.