Third Place: Designer-Ute Smackdown - Car and Driver (blog)
Since we first drove the Camry-derived RX300 in 1998, we’ve fallen in love with the car. In this group, the RX300 is the shortest, narrowest, lowest, and lightest entry. Although its shrink-wrapped exterior constricts its cargo capacity, the Lexus repays its owner with ergonomically stellar biscuit-colored seats that we judged the best in SUV-dom. Not only was the RX300 a winner in our driver-comfort category, but it nabbed a trophy for two-person rear-seat comfort, too. In Ohio, the RX300’s logbook began to percolate with accolades: “rock-solid platform,” “stable,” “super-low wind and tire noise,” “silky V-6,” “steering that is linear,” “a ride so good you’ll swear you’re in a car. There remain, however, a few un-Toyota-like details: a parking brake that intrudes on the dead pedal, an overdrive switch clinging like an afterthought to the side of the shift lever, and four identically sized climate-control and radio knobs. Not surprisingly, the Lexus also lost points as it whimpered along our off-road trail: no dedicated low range, no usable engine compression for braking, and girly passenger-car tires. With the least ground clearance of this bunch, the RX300 had difficulty stepping over a felled tree the others climbed easily. Source: www.caranddriver.com
