Lexus has included a new 3.5-litre 272bhp V6 engine in its new RX 350 line-up, which is on sale now, priced from £31,890 on-the-road.

The new V6 engine is matched to the same five-speed automatic transmission as the previous RX 300. However, Lexus has adopted a new ‘shift control logic’ which means drivers can select S mode which activates a manual five-speed sequential shift system.

The permanent four-wheel drive RX 350 has an electronically limited top speed of 124mph. On the combined cycle, the new RX 350 achieves 25.2mpg. The car can be powered from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds.

Specifications have been unchanged from the RX 300, apart from a new Lexus multimedia and navigation pack and, Lexus parking assist monitor and rear passenger DVD screens in the SE-L trim.

In the UK, Lexus sold 4,538 RX models in 2005 of which 3,026 were the RX 300 and 1,512 were the hybrid power RX 400h, taking the cumulative total since 2000 to more than 16,000. For the remainder of 2006, it is aiming for around 1,000 RX 350 sales, with 1,800 targeted for 2007.