The RX was arguably the first luxury crossover SUV, and this model remains competitive in a segment that's exploded with new offerings.

It helps that Lexus clearly decided to build a comfortable luxury car that was also practical and easy to live with. It didn't feel the urge to suddenly switch things up and make, say, a hot rod.

When other automakers are offering extreme touch-screen navigation/multimedia/climate-control options, it's nice to see someone come up with a system that might not look as fancy, but is more functional. In fact, that's probably the best way to summarize the RX: It's not the newest, flashiest SUV out there, but it is one of the better-executed ones.