Updates to the 2020 Lexus RX and RXL aren’t huge, but they matter to the people actually buying the cars. There’s more tech now, it should drive slightly better and it looks marginally different. The RX is already incredibly popular, so why fix something that isn’t broken, right?
The biggest update is that the RX is the first Lexus to get Android Auto capabilities. Both it and Apple CarPlay now come as standard, according to a press release. An eight-inch display screen is also standard, but there is also a 12.3-inch option available, which is almost as big as the laptop where I’m currently typing this to you.
There are now also more advanced safety features, such as daytime bicyclist detection, low-light pedestrian detection, road sign assists and lane tracing assists.
On the outside, Lexus updated the RX’s front and rear facias slightly by slimming the headlights and changed the angle of the reflectors. So unless you are a serious Lexus RX freak, the changes probably aren’t immediately noticeable.
Underneath all of that, the front and rear stabilizer bars are hollow for weight-saving but thicker and with strengthened bushings to cut down on body roll and better the steering response. There’s also a new, stiffer suspension design that Lexus hopes will improve NVH.
Anyway, I doubt most of this will matter to a potential RX buyer. In 2018, Lexus sold 111,641 RXs and 108,307 in 2017, according to a company sales chart. They have a reputation for being comfortable and reliable, which is what most crossover buyers look for anyway.
