There's a reason used-car shoppers hunt the 2020-2022 RX like treasure: those V6 models are the last of a breed that could cruise to 300k miles on oil changes alone, with interiors that still felt worth the luxury badge. The current generation split the fanbase, sharper styling and better tech, sure, but the four-cylinder turbo sounds coarse under throttle and the cabin took a step down in material quality, swapping soft-touch surfaces for more hard plastics. Worse, the hybrid variants have a documented 12V battery defect that leaves owners stranded often enough that keeping a jump pack onboard is now common practice among RX350h and RX450h+ drivers. If you want the bulletproof Lexus experience, buy a late V6 model. If the new look calls to you, skip the hybrids or accept you're beta-testing a fix.
Mazda built a $50k SUV that drives like it costs $70k, sharp handling, a silky inline-6, and an interior that embarrasses the Highlander, but shipped it before the transmission learned its lines. The 8-speed shudders and hesitates at low speeds across enough reports to call it systematic, not a lemon-lottery issue, and early PHEVs needed steering racks and 12V batteries replaced under warranty. If you prize driving feel over appliance-smooth operation and can live with first-year quirks (2026s show real improvement), the CX-90 delivers shocking value; if you need bulletproof out-of-the-gate execution, wait a year or stick with the boring-but-reliable competition.