FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2018 LEXUS RX350L

How much can I fit in the boot of the Lexus RX350L?

When you're only using five seats the boot is enormous! I could fit 18 shopping bags. That is the same as the Mazda CX9 and Nissan Pathfinder, two more than in the Kia Sorento and three more than in the Skoda Kodiaq!

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Britax Flexx tandem and single strollers fitted with 12 shopping bags.

The Britax Holiday compact stroller fitted with 15 shopping bags.

Or you could get a large colour coordinated dog in the boot!

When you are using all seven seats the boot space is still quite large and will hold seven shopping bags.

Or a Britax Flexx tandem stroller and two shopping bags.

Or the Britax Flexx single stroller and three shopping bags.

The Britax Holiday compact stroller fits with six shopping bags around it.

Or you could transport a small colour coordinated dog in there!

The boot of the RX350L is nicely carpeted and a good size when using five or seven seats for an emergency nappy change.

Storage inside the cabin is quite good. In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console and the front one has an adjustable height to make it easier to carry tell bottles. They are a good size for a reusable or disposable coffee cup and my large refillable water bottle fits in them too. In front of the gear lever is a wireless phone charging pad, and next to it is a 12V socket as well.

In front of the central console storage box is a phone holder underneath a padded lid that makes up part of the driver's armrest. It's a perfect fit for my little iPhone SE but good luck getting anything bigger in there!

The rest of the armrest is the lid of the central console storage box. Inside there is a 12V socket, AUX and two USB sockets. It is a good size, felt lined storage box.

The front door bins are a little odd, they have solid plastic sides that extend out to make them bigger and allow you to fit bigger items in them. I fitted a large refillable water bottle in there, along with an iPad or 600ml bottles.

The glove box is quite a good size, it is felt lined and I could get my iPad and wallet in with the manual and first aid kits in there.

In the second row of seats, the map pockets are solid, hard plastic like the front door bins. I could put an iPad in there but in no way conceal it. I did find them a little bit clunky and awkward to use.

The door bins in the back are smaller, I could get a 600ml bottle in them but nothing more.

There are wells in all the door handles which are felt lined. This is a great feature allowing me to put the keys or any little thing my daughter has in her hands in there while I strap her into her child seat.

In the central seat back is a fold-down armrest with two cup holders that fitted reusable or disposable coffee cups and a 600ml bottle fit well. Also in the fold down is a lidded area for charging phones with two USBs.

In the third row of seats, each seat has a cup holder that fitted my large refillable water bottle well.

Will the Lexus RX350L wake my sleeping baby?

The RX350L has both front and rear parking sensors. With the gear lever in Drive, an image appears on the media screen to show where obstacles are and I found I could mute the beeping.

However, when I was in reverse the image appeared on the screen in front of the steering wheel and the mute option did not appear. I did find the sensors are quite late to alert me, as in when an impact is almost imminent!

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The lane departure warning in the Lexus alerts you by vibrating the steering wheel. It is quite a strong vibration but shouldn't disturb the other passengers. The button to turn this on and off is on the steering wheel, on the right.

The indicators are nice and quiet in the Lexus and wouldn't disturb a sleeping baby.

The media screen in the Lexus was quite clear, but the way it works and looks makes the whole car feel old fashioned, it is not easy to navigate and does not have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. When I was using the sat-nav in the RX350L it was not obvious if I could mute the announcements. I later found you have to go deep into the settings to access eight different sound levels including silent.

The windows open and close with a really nice motion and they slow as they close so you do not get the loud thump closed you get in other cars. The doors are not too bad, they are heavy so they open and close with a bit of a thump. I found you can come to a complete stop and get out of the car with the engine still running and you won't set an alarm off.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

How many child seats can I fit in the Lexus RX350L?

The Lexus RX350L is a seven-seater and in the second row there are three top tether points, one in each of the seat backs, that are easily accessed by bringing the seat backs forward. They are clearly labelled and within plastic guides.

There are ISOFix points in the two outer, second-row seats and although they are not within plastic guides they did contrast with the cream-coloured seat covering of the car I tested so they are easy to locate and connect to.

In the third row, there is also a top tether point in one seat back, on the passenger side. It is not within a plastic guide but is clearly labelled and easy to connect to. There are no ISOFix points in the third row.

I did manage to fit four child seats into the RX350L. I fitted three child seats across the second row, just! The Britax Unity infant capsule and the Britax Graphene both rear facing in the two outer seats and the Maxi Guard Pro booster seat in the centre. I found I could not fit three forward-facing child seats across the second row of seats they were not wide enough, especially at the shoulders.

I could get a fourth seat in the third row, using the seatbelt and top tether. I used the Britax Maxi Guard Pro,

The third row of seats go up and down very easily using buttons on the side of the boot and just inside the second-row door. However, I found they are at just the right height for my inquisitive little toddler to want to fiddle with!

Getting through to the third row of seats was not very well thought out, as you have to uninstall any child seats that are in the second row, which is really frustrating! If you are in need of a seven-seater I am pretty sure you would have enough to do without uninstalling a child seat every time you load up the car!!

I just found the seating in the RX350L totally impractical. It is a seven seater but you really can not use the third row of seats, there is just no leg room if you have any child seats installed or you have any tall passengers. Also in the third row, there is very little headroom either!

With rear facing child seats installed, there was just 10cm of leg room in the third and first rows! In reality, I think it would be an occasional seven-seater and mainly a five-seater with a big boot!

Posting bub into their seat in the second row is fine from inside when you only have one child seat installed. From outside the car, the doors have a nice open space to post bub in through too.

Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

How comfortable is the Lexus RX350L?

The front seats in the RX350L have electric adjustments on the sides and are nice and comfortable but I found I could not wear a ponytail in them!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

In the second row, the seat bases are divided 60:40 and slide like that to adjust the legroom distribution. The second-row seatbacks are split 40:20:40. For mum travelling in the second row, it is not too bad, the footwell is flat so there is no hump to straddle. The central seat back is a bit firm because of the fold-down armrest but it is not too bad.

The third-row seats are comfortable but the leg room really is difficult to juggle between the three rows of seats. Also, the only way to get through to the third row is bringing the second row of seats forward and you have to remove any installed child seats to do so.

The steering wheel is fully adjustable using the joystick on the side of it.

The cruise controls are on a stick just behind the steering wheel. They are quite simple to use but I found it wasn't accurate on undulating rounds at low speeds and is better on motorways.

There are four air conditioning vents across the front dashboard. Two in the centre and one at either end.

In the second row, there are vents in the back of the central console box, which are easily reached while driving.

In the third row, there is an air vent and controls. Perhaps because you tend to put older children in the third row, they can be trusted with teir own controls!!

If they can't there is a master button in the front controls to override the rear ones and turn them on and off! This is also handy when you are only using five seats and have food shopping in the boot you can keep it cool using the air conditioning! The controls are quite simple to use and reach while driving.

The seats are heated and cooled and that's why they are all perforated. This does make keeping the cream leather clean even harder as the perforations trap all the kid spills and crumbs!

Visibility is quite limited in the back corners, the pillars are deep and so they cause a big blind spot on both sides. The rear window is not very deep too so when you have child seats installed in the back you do need to rely quite heavily on your side mirrors and reversing camera when parking and maneuvering.

There are not any built-in window shades in the side windows which is surprising for a car of this price and size.

The front interior lights can be touched to turn them on and off, they have a nice dim light. The rear lights are too far back to reach from the front while driving as they are between the second and third-row seats and you can not control them from the front.

I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINATELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

The are handles above both rear doors for handing a child's toy from but it does depend on where the second-row seats are positioned because you can slide them, whether or not they are well positioned.

There is a 12V socket inside the central console box and in front of the gear lever.

The decor and upholstery in this car are brown and cream leather. I have to say I am not a fan!! I find it irritating that the brown leather, plastic and floor mats are slightly different shades of brown. I also find the combination of colours do not go with the lovely red sparkly paintwork and they make the car feel instantly old! In a practical sense, cream leather is just sooooo impractical with kids, especially as it is on the seats and door handles! Where all their grubby hands and spills and crumbs will go!!

The outside of the RX350L looks fantastic! It has great styling and I love the sparkly red paint!

There is a (very slow) powered tailgate and it gives a loud beep as it opens but not continually. There is keyless entry but I have found I've had to keep pressing unlock on the fob to get all the doors to unlock which is annoying!

The Lexus RX scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2015, when it was only available as a five-seater. It got an adult occupancy protection score of 83%, and rating of 31.8 out of 38 points.

It scored 6.67 out of 8 for the frontal offset test, and 8/8 for the side impact test and 7.63/8 for the pole test.

For child occupancy protection the RX scored 82% (40.3 out of 49.)

The crash test performance for a three-year-old child scored 9.30 and the crash test performance for an 18-month-old scored 12.00 points.

For child safety features and child seat installation, the RX scored 12.00 points and for safety features, it scored 7.00 points.

For pedestrian protection, the RX scored 79% (28.7 out of 36) and for safety assist it was scored 74% (9.7 out of 13).

The RX350L comes with these safety features as standard: Stability control (VSC), traction control (VRC), anti-lock braking systems (ABS), Lexus brake assist (BA), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), emergency flashing brake lights, all speed adaptive cruise – distance control, radar pre-collision safety system with auto braking, pedestrian detection, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert, auto high beam. As well as sway warning, auto hill hold and tyre pressure monitoring.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!

The RX has 10 airbags as standard, driver and front passenger dual stage airbags and driver and front passenger knee airbags, driver and front passenger side airbags. Left and right side full-length curtain airbags and rear side airbags.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!