The Lexus 350 has an ergonomic device which navigates its way through the functions, writes motoring editor Alastair Sloane
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It's not any old touch, like drumming your fingers soft or hard on a tabletop. THE cartoon character Mighty Mouse will hit the big screen next year, smooching with his girlfriends Pearl Pureheart and Mitzi and scrapping with his arch enemy, the alleycat Oil Can Harry.
A Mighty Mouse history book will be released to tie-in with the movie. A TV series will follow, says the Hollywood publicity machine.
Mighty Mouse is the animated rodent world's Superman, a caped crusader but with big ears and a tail. He can fly. He has x-ray vision, he can turn back time, he can move mountains. Like Superman, he's a goodie who beats the baddies.
Mighty Mouse first appeared in the movies in the 1940s, in a short flick called The Mouse of Tomorrow. Comics followed.
Scientists pondered the phenomenon and went to work on real live mice. They found that by knocking out a gene in the brain, they could turn a mouse into a lion. Sort of. Their geneless mouse became fearless. It stayed cool when the cat was around.
Further research produced a breed of "mighty mice". These critters could run nonstop for up to six hours. They ate 60 per cent more than the average mouse, but remained fitter and trimmer. They lived longer, too. They did everything more efficiently. It was all to do with a genetically engineered enzyme.
Lexus did something similar with its new luxury crossover, the RX 350.
It re-engineered the previous model's control centre to produce its own Mighty Mouse, an ergonomic device that allows driver or passenger to navigate their way through the vehicle's main functions. It works like the mouse on a personal computer.
Lexus calls it "Lexus Remote Touch" - sad but true. It deserves a better handle, more suited to its intuitive role. Something like "T-zone" perhaps.
Bit too mainstream? How about "T-zen" - short for "T-kaizen?" Kaizen itself is a generic Japanese word for "making things better". There is a zen-like ingredient here, too.
Anyway, we shall call it LRT.
The luxury carmaker says LRT is a breakthrough in improving interaction between the driver and the vehicle. No arguments there - it is far more intuitive than BMW's iDrive, Audi's MMI interface and the Mercedes-Benz Command system.
But don't describe the process of using LRT as tactile, or touchy-feely. It's a "haptic" device that provides user feedback. The word comes from the Greek "haptikos" meaning a sense of touch.
It's not any old touch, like drumming your fingers soft or hard on a tabletop. Lexus says a haptic device should not be confused with tactile sensors that measure force either, like those on a touch screen, for example.
The previous RX 350 had a touch screen navigation system. For one thing, it was inconvenient - on the move the driver needed to have arms like an orang-utan to reach it. Not quite but you get the picture. Finger marks made it smudgy, too.
Lexus ditched the display touch screen and came up with LRT to simplify control functions and ensure the screen was always clean.
In doing so it perhaps acknowledged that the console-mounted rotary devices its German rivals had been using all along were more efficient.
LRT sits forward on the centre console and features a mouse, menu and map buttons, along with side-mounted display and dual "enter" switches for driver or passenger.
The mouse moves a pointer on the screen to highlight functions, like a PC. Click on Audio, for example, and the icon lights up and beeps at the same time. Lexus likens the beep to the sound of a drop of water falling into a Japanese relaxation pond ...
From there you follow your nose, using the mouse to navigate through the functions, again like a PC. It's delightfully simple and can be customised for feedback, pointer shape and size and beep sound.
LRT was a crucial part of the overall goal Lexus set for the new RX 350: to develop a vehicle with an originality that sets it apart from the competition.
Says assistant chief engineer Takeaki Kato: "We knew that previous generations of RX vehicles (the first appeared in 1998) carved out new markets and paved the way for the whole crossover SUV category, and this got us thinking: 'What part should our RX play in the history of the RX line?'
"The majority of the development of the vehicle concentrated on maximising safety, efficiency and comfort. Furthermore, new RX signals the transition to the next generation of L-Finesse design language."
The new RX 350 is the first Lexus crossover to use the design philosophy. The result is an all-round bigger vehicle slightly more masculine in appearance than previous models.
Its lower, wider stance helps here, although its feminine DNA clearly remains. The first RX model was deliberately aimed at female buyers in the US.
A drive on a mix of wet and dry roads south of Sydney the other day showed up a new crossover that balances a refined power train and comfortable, secure ride with
predictable manners and a quiet, well-planned, all-leather interior. The driver's seat is one of the best in the business.
The 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine has been reworked for more power and torque. It produces 204kW at 6200rpm and 346Nm at 4700rpm - much of it from as low as 2000rpm - and is mated to a new six-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. The power train sits slightly lower for an improved centre of gravity.
Lexus claims town and around fuel economy for the RX 350 of 10.8 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 254g/km.
RX 350's instrument cluster includes a new Eco indicator to help the driver improve fuel efficiency. The pro-active all-wheel-drive system has being designed to save fuel, too. Same with the new electrically assisted power steering that replaces the previous hydraulic set-up.
The chassis has also been revised, with improved front suspension, all-new trailing arm-type double-wishbone rear suspension, new brakes, larger diameter wheels and new chassis electronics.
The all-wheel-drive system sends power to the front wheels only when cruising. It switches automatically to all-wheel drive for initial acceleration, or if a loss of front-wheel traction is expected.
It can vary the torque split from 50:50 to 100:0. The driver can also manually override the system and lock in all-wheel-drive at speeds up to 40km/h.
The system also disengages drive to the rear wheels under braking to maximise the effectiveness of ABS braking and the vehicle's stability control system.
Two RX 350 variants have gone on sale in New Zealand. The standard RX350 with its 18-inch alloys is $101,690, the Limited model with 19-inch wheels is $110,990.
Take it as read that the RX 350 comes with Uncle Tom Cobbley and all, including a rear camera and optional side camera.
Lexus spent upwards of $40 million on developing the new RX 350. It crash-tested it 233 times and secretly ran it around the snow farm in Queenstown to torture the electronic stability system.
Such safety aids, along with 10 airbags, gives it a maximum five-star crash-safety rating.
Haptics are becoming a key part of virtual reality systems, adding the sense of touch to previously visual-only solutions. One likely use of haptics is for "teledildonics" - sex toys that can be computer controlled.
