Lexus RX improves on predecessors and is more fun

— -- The latest version of Lexus' popular RX crossover SUV resembles its forebears but is quite different and more desirable.

As before, the 2010 comes with a choice of powertrains. The RX 350 is a conventional gasoline model that has 5 more horsepower and a six-speed automatic instead of the five-speed in the '09. The RX 450h is the gas-electric hybrid version. It uses a bigger V-6 than before and keeps the gear-style, continuously variable automatic transmission that is smoothly satisfying in contrast to belt-drive CVTs that some automakers favor.

The 2010 hybrid replaces the 2008 RX 400h. There was no '09-model RX hybrid, Lexus says.

The latest RX is an inch longer and a couple of inches wider than before, small dimensions that make a big difference to the eye. The new one looks sleeker, less lumpy.

That appeal is overwhelming inside. There, you're treated to handsome and unusually comfortable leather (an option) seating and bold but restrained styling, especially on the instrument panel. Truly a machine you could buy for its interior. But RX still has just two rows of seats, although it's big enough for a third and is based on the Toyota Highlander, which has three.

Test models were well-furnished, all-wheel-drive versions of the gasoline 350 (sticker price $48,061) and the 450h ($52,303).

The optional navigation system no longer uses touch-screen controls. You command it via a console-mounted control that's a cross between a joystick and a computer mouse.

Lexus says that the navi/control screen is farther forward. That's easier for the driver to read at a glance without refocusing eyes from the road, but too far to reach for touch-screen controls.

As in many German models, the joystick/mouse solution means you have to make several moves to do things that ought to require one.

Other gripes, mainly minor:

•Power tailgate operation. No power-lift mode if you operate it with the button on the gate itself. You have to hoist it manually, and that means fighting the built-in resistance of the electric motor that normally powers the gate up or down. To get the power operation, you can push a button on the remote-control key fob or the dashboard, but not by using the logical approach of operating the handle on the gate itself.