Lexus Rx450H+ vs Mercedes-Benz CLS350

What's the difference?

Lexus has finally brought a plug-in hybrid to the Australian market with the RX450h+, and we’ve been testing the second-from-the-top Sports Luxury grade to see how it stacks up.

Promising a blend of electric efficiency and the high-end comfort Lexus is known for, this large SUV steps into a competitive segment. But does it deliver on both fronts?

There are people who probably wish the Mercedes-Benz CLS would just go away. Call security, have it escorted off the premises. That’s probably because they don’t agree with its styling. For them, it’s not how a large four-door Mercedes-Benz should look, with its ‘rude’ coupe roofline. 

But for some of you those looks are exactly why you want it, and there’s enough of you out there for Mercedes-Benz to tell us at the launch of the new-generation CLS that the model is here to stay.

“You don’t surrender a segment… a vehicle has to do 100 units to justify bringing it – this will do 100 units no problem sat all,” were the exact words from Benz’s head of communications David McCarthy.

You could say Benz created the four-door coupe segment when it launched its first-generation CLS 14 years ago, triggering its rivals to fire back with their own four-door coupes - the Audi A7 and BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe.

Far from surrendering, the CLS has evolved again with this third-generation bringing new engines and styling. So, what do you gain and what will you have to surrender (for lack of a better word) if you choose to go down the non-traditional route of the CLS?

I found out when I drove the new CLS 450 4Matic for the first time on Australian roads at its recent launch.