The front seats are positioned off the floor at a comfortable chair height and are snug and supportive. Foldable armrests on both front seats provide additional comfort on longer trips. The center console slides forward and back, allowing room for a purse or whatever on the floor between the front seats.
The back seats are roomy and comfortable. The rear seat is contoured for two, though it has belts for three. There's a folding center armrest with cupholders, storage and its own wood trim. The rear seats fold forward 40-20-40, the center section folding forward for longer items such as skis, shovels, and fly rods, while still allowing four people to ride in comfort. This is more comfortable than typical 60-40 folding seats, which force one of four passengers to travel in the less-comfortable center-rear seat when carrying aforementioned long items. Folding the rear seats down is fairly easy, though we found ourselves struggling to reach to the far side of the opposite seat to release it.
RX 330 bucks a current trend by having no third-row seat. Lexus says buyers wanting more passenger space can buy one of the larger two ( and more expensive) Lexus SUVs.
RX 330 is rated to carry 84.7 cubic feet of stuff. That's more cargo space than a Lincoln Aviator (77.1) or Infiniti FX35 (64.5) and certainly more than a BMW X5 (54.4) has to offer. But the RX 330's rear seats don't fold for a completely flat cargo floor. We found loading and unloading a mountain bike easier in a Mercury Mountaineer. The RX 330 adds two hidden compartments under the cargo floor for additional storage. The cargo cover has an automatic retract feature, which could be useful when your arms are full and you don't want to put things down on wet pavement.
In addition to the usual steering wheel and passenger multi-stage frontal airbags, the RX 330 has a knee bag for the driver. The side-impact airbags, standard, are large, protecting the torso, abdomen and hips.
Lexus Link is an optional system that summons aid, using satellite and cell phone technology, at the touch of a button or automatically with airbag deployment. Based on GM's OnStar system, Lexus Link can also pinpoint vehicle location for roadside assistance, or in case of theft. Operators can use the system to unlock the doors should you lock the keys inside.
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