It’s not the car, it’s me. I want to say that right up front and get it out of the way. There’s absolutely nothing “wrong” with the Lexus RX, it simply didn’t set my heart racing or inspire feelings of desire. If my budget stretched to this car, I would look elsewhere, but that’s because of what I look for in a car, not because of the car itself. Let me explain.

This Lexus was well-specced and immaculately designed on the inside, with fantastic touches all over the place, but for want of a better word it was… beige? Yes, it was luxurious, yes, it was impeccably comfortable and yes, the hybrid system meant a great return to the gallon for a 2.5 litre petrol car. The boot was huge, the driving position high with great visibility – I could go on listing its superb attributes.

But it didn’t ignite a passion. It was too protective, hermetically sealed from the road and the experience of driving. Great for eating up the miles in comfort, but not so good for engaging the driver. Also, the driver aids were a little too militant for my liking, but more on that later.

First off, the RX is a large SUV and is incredibly spacious. The infotainment system was great, and the stereo had the whole family belting out tunes – much to the disgust of the kids. It has a large touchscreen which was easy to navigate, and visibility all round was clear.

Manoeuvrability was surprisingly good for something so large

Couple this with 360-degree parking aids and a birds-eye-view camera system, and manoeuvrability was surprisingly good for something so large. The steering was light and the turning circle good, so parking in multi-storey car parks was also a cinch.

Honestly, if you want something that looks good, feels comfortable and wafts you along in comfort, then this will work for you.

But if you like a drive that’s a little more connected, dare I say smile-inducing, then this is not the car for you.

Back to the driving aids – stray a smidge over the speed limit (which the car knows because of its road sign recognition) and the computer emits a series of three ‘bong’ noises – just loud enough to needle at your nerves. I spent some time in the settings to turn it off, but as soon as you switch the engine off, it resets to alerting you. Again.

Yes, I know I shouldn’t drive even half an mph over the speed limit, but there were times that it detected the speed limit of a joining road and decided that applied to the road I was on and therefore alerted me that I was over the limit, when I clearly wasn’t!

Anyway, it’s a lovely car, but it’s not for me, and that’s okay. Give it a try – it might be right for you!