Test driving the RX 450 hybrid electric on the road up to the city in the sky

I drove to Baguio and I might as well have flown on invisible wings.

I mean 180 kilometers per hour on the NLEX, TPLEX, and SCTEX and up Kennon Road—joke! Number one, Kennon was closed in the aftermath of a major earthquake that shook Luzon, and plus it was rainy, close to stormy, and I couldn’t have gone past 100 kilometers per hour without those eyes in the sky recording my rebel-on-the-road fantasies. I’ve had my license confiscated for driving 126 kph on the NAIAX and, after all the hassle, having to go to the LTO main office at a far corner of the universe in Quezon City to retrieve it, I said to myself, “Never again.”

But I could, if I wanted to. I was, after all, road-testing the RX 450 hybrid electric and, if I may say so myself, at the risk of leading on the speeding maniacs, the reckless weavers, and the do-or-die thrillseekers, 180 in real feels on this Lexus baby is a smooth ride on a cloud, hardly any vibration, no sense you are defying any limit. It’s built for safety for you, the road, and everything on it. Not only does it provide ample illumination and excellent pedestrian visibility, thanks to its wide-angle cornering lamps, its body structure is also high-strength and collision-absorbing to protect you, your passengers, your car, and whatever is out there on the road from impacts on the front, rear, sides, and roof.

The RX 450h feels lighter than air. I’d have played “Feels Good” by Tony! Toni! Toné! on the Clari-Fi-enhanced, Quantum Logic Surround-immersive Mark Levinson sound system, but that would have sounded so Kevin Spacey mid-lifing in a Firebird in American Beauty, so I stuck to something less DOMish, like “Feeling Good,” not the Nina Simone 1965 version, but the Avicii 2015 version, although it was reinterpreted with new vocals and signature EDM melodies in a creative collab with another car company.

All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road. —Jack Kerouac

It’s just so apt. I mean, “stars when you shine, you know how I feel”—that was exactly how it felt driving through the dark night along the TPLEX cutting across vast fields and, as I neared Baguio City, after having zigzagged along the mountain edges on Marcos Highway and negotiated some steep inclines at some points, through the thick fog, “Scent of the pine, you know how I feel…”

In terms of speed, the RX 450h by far outpaces its predecessors. It can go from zero to 96 kph in exactly 7.3 seconds. It’s light and agile and, with easy effort steering, it’s perfect in making you feel like you are gliding along, instead of driving, especially since you can stop as smoothly any time there is a need, thanks to its well-tuned brake-by-wire system, a technological breakthrough as smooth stops appear to be a weak point for most other hybrid vehicles. The suspension also does a good job of taking the edge off road bumps and potholes, so no worries, but eyes on road and steer clear. As on the roads of life, wise is the man who avoids the rough patches when there is no point going through them.

Baguio City is as good a destination as any for an SUV like the RX 450h, though my trip would have been better if Kennon Road were open. I knew it was all nostalgia, like every trip before 1985, when a bus ride through Kennon on account of its scenery was like ascending to a heavenly dream. The road snaked through the Bued River Canyon, on both sides thick with a cover of pine forests and dotted with wild sunflowers, magnificent with its collection of waterfalls tranquil or thunderous. My longing for a passage through Kennon Road is a denial of the present that’s depleted the highway to the sky of its Mirkwood vibe, to borrow from Lord of the Rings, a century’s worth of mining having felled its trees, leaving it desolate, polluted, and unprotected against rain, wind, erosion, rockfall, and landslides. Kennon is now—in LOTR mythology—the land of Mordor, dwelling of the demons of road mishaps, especially in inclement weather.

All sense of being away dissipated as soon as I reached the city, now that it’s bustling with development. Motorbikes and cars and vans and trucks crowded the rolling streets of the Benguet capital even in the early morning, though the mist remained, hanging low like a fallen cloud.

Behind the wheel of the RX 450h, powered by V6 3.5-liter direct injection engine with front and rear motors for greater fuel economy, however, no problem! At low speeds, such as in city traffic, it switches to EV drive mode, using an electric motor for a silent and zero-emission drive. In fact, more than its speed, the RX is known for its power and fuel efficiency, able to deliver 308 horsepower on its hybrid system. Plus it’s easy to park, even on the hilly terrain of Baguio City, its parking assist monitor accurately guiding your parking attempts by superimposing projected parking lines on the back camera’s video feed.

Should you get stuck, especially on Session Road, the mountain city’s own version of Edsa, no problem, either. The RX 450h is cozy and comfy with wide and accommodating seats. Its Shimamoku interior trim of alternating dark and light wood veneers is easy on the eye and makes for a calming atmosphere. It’s a place perfect for conversations, well insulated as it is from tire drone and the noise from wind and traffic, which is why you can drive it fast and furious (but chill, don’t go beyond speed limits).

I have climbed my mountain, but I must still live my life. —Tenzing Norgay

What’s more, it boasts of ventilated 10-way power, adjustable front seats in semi-aniline leather and position memory switches, not to mention power lumbar support, for the driver’s seat. The rear seats can also be reclined for ultimate comfort. So relax.

I spotted a café called Kapiteria, charming and quaint, encased in a glass house with a two-table terrace jutting out over the side of the street on Upper Session Road, and, as I later found out, a passion project collab between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Barista & Coffee Academy of Asia, it specializes in homegrown beans from Benguet and the Mountain Province, as well as Bukidnon. It has such interesting dishes like etag carbonara, peanut brittle champorado, and pinikpikan black arroz caldo. I was so glad I stopped for breakfast. But that’s a story for another day.

For now, I would need to park this baby into the last of two slots of parking space by the side of the café through a narrow, uphill path and with the Session Road bumper-to-bumper traffic threatening to make it such a challenge to move an inch, but I leaned back, turning on the hazard lights to let the other cars know they must give way.

I was driving the Lexus RX 450h. No problem.