Rock Steady

The hallmark of a good SUV is that it can operate outside of its comfort zone. Does it hold true for India’s newest luxury brand?

- Girish Karkera

By now, we were used to the staring. It wasn’t an angry stare – more like awe and wonder. Some of them also had a “what are these guys up to?” or “who would be in the car?” or even “what is that car?” look. I would have credited the second glances to those driving it but I don’t think we quite looked the part of being rich enough to own India’s newest luxury brand Lexus. Well, at least Debu who was driving the other car, didn’t. But I have a strong suspicion that they were not able to notice me with my fancy new sunglasses either as I sat cocooned inside the flagship Lexus LX 450d, a car that would give the Incredible Hulk a complex. The LX 450d is every bit like that Avenger superhero – intimidating, different and with earth-moving grunt to go.

It’s a pretty modern SUV but with old-school Lexus values. In other words, it is plush, comfortable and can run without unsettling its occupants. But in a day and age when the luxury arm of Toyota thrives on modern electric hybrids worldwide, this one gets a conventional 4.5-litre diesel V8. The mammoth engine can churn out an equally mammoth 650 newton metres of torque. That’s enough to propel the 2.8-tonne beast from 0-100kph in a surprisingly quick 8.6 seconds.

And if you thought that was fast for a full-sized SUV, meet the other character in this story – the RX 450h. There is nothing old-school about this one. Starting with the design, which is more a crossover than a conventional SUV, with lots of curves that does away with the intimidation part. Plus, it has a full fledged petrol-electric hybrid powertrain featuring the latest clean emissions and fuel efficient systems from its makers. It has almost half the torque of its bigger stablemate but some clever electric tech makes it quicker in the dash from rest to 100kph by almost a second.