REVIEW | LEXUS RX350H AWD

NOT for the Nouveau Riche!

- SYED SHIRAZ SHAH

" Wow, Lexus!" I wasn’t really expecting such a reaction from what appeared to me as an 11-12-year old kid riding pillion on a scooter with his father who apparently neither noticed the Lexus nor his mutant son's neck that swivelled almost 360-degree in RX350h's admiration.

However, since the father at least heard what his son said, I can imagine the rest of the conversation might have gone something like this:

Son: "Wow, Lexus!"

Father: "What?"

Son: "You didn't see that car?"

Father: "No, but what was so special about it?"

Son: "It was a LEXUS!"

Father: "What?"

Son: "Never mind."

Father: "No, tell me."

Son: "You know Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc., right?"

Father: "Yes."

Son: "Lexus is in the same league."

Father: "Okay."

Now that's both a boon and a bane for Lexus India. A boon because the buyers of its cars in India are those who want the best, but try to be a bit discreet about their wealth. Old money. Class.

It's a bane because there is a much larger chunk of buyers-the nouveau riche-that doesn't want to look past the German trio and JLRs. Being discreet isn't even the last thing on this demographic's minds. However, I still think that if any of them went to a good school, which enables them to understand this review, then they might just keep the Lexus RX350h as well in their priority list. Also, since "looks and road presence" happen to be the most important things for them, that's what you'll read about in the next section before I move on to the meatier parts of this story.

DESIGN