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My buddies at Lexus sent me a 2010 RX 450h to test drive for a week. This SUV features a 3.5 liter V-6 Atkinson-cycle engine and electric motors—in other words, it’s a hybrid gas and electric motor vehicle.

It can operate in gas-engine only, electric-motor only, or gas engine and electric motor modes. The sticker price of the 450h was $54,115.00.

You don’t get to see much of the engine. The batteries, by the way, are under the back seat.

The multi-information display is beautiful and easy-to-read. It uses OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology. Notice that the big gauge to the left of the speedometer is not a tachometer. Instead, it is a hybrid-system indicator to encourage economical driving. The 450h that I got didn’t have a heads-up display, but that is an option.

You plug your iPod/iPhone cable in at the bottom of the center console. You would have thought the USB plug would be in the glove compartment or someplace more obvious.

Notice two things in this photo: first, big cups aren’t a problem. Second, more importantly, the 450h has a pointing device that works like a mouse. There are two “Enter” buttons—one on each side of the gizmo that looks like an old-fashioned landline phone resting in a cradle. This UI system is the best I’ve ever used in a car—basically, you point and click instead of stumble through layers of menus or rotate dials.

This screen shows you what’s powering the 450h as well as whether you’re charging the batteries during coasting and deceleration. As Prius owners will tell you, part of the fun of owning a hybrid is watching this screen and seeing if you can use the gasoline engine as little as possible.

A rational person would ask how long it would take to recover the several thousand dollar higher cost of a hybrid compared to a gasoline version. The rational answer is “too long.” But buying a car isn’t rational. In my case, the purchase price is a sunk cost the moment I buy a car. Then all that matters is the current operating cost, and the current operating cost is dependent on two things: mileage and maintenance.

Over the week that I had the 450h, I averaged twenty-five miles per gallon. Most of my driving is on city streets with maybe 20% on the freeway. I would call the ride “sportscar-like,” but it’s certainly tight enough for 99% of the driving you’ll do in a family vehicle.

The 450h is tied into local weather reports with its XMNavWeather system.

When you’re using the GPS system, you can also check out traffic conditions using the XMNavTraffic system. The green lines on both sides of Highway 101 means that traffic is light there.

Using my iPhone was easy. The only issue I encountered was that I have 8,000 contacts, and there’s a limit of 1,000. Not that I’m going to call 8,000 people, but it’s not like I’m going to create a special subset for the phone either.

This is a very useful nook underneat the center console. It’s perfect for DVD cases.

The 450h seats five people. It passes the “carry a hockey bag and stick” test with no problem.

This is the rear of the center console. It has plugs for use with the rear-seat entertainment system so that each screen can have different inputs.

This is the rear-seat entertainment system screens. Notice the pajamas and cowboy boots attire.

Should you not want to hear Star Wars for the umpteenth time, there are two wireless headphones for the rear-seat occupants.

Strengths

• User interface of control system
• Low interior noise level
• Integration of rear-seat entertainment system

Weaknesses

• Minor details: 1,000 record limit of address book, “door open” warning doesn’t tell you which door is open, and button to close rear deck lid is not lit
• Exterior styling too similar for my tastes to pre-2010 model
• Wish there was a third-row of seating option