We're poised on a parking lot in the San Diego suburb of Torrey Pines before heading to the mountains in a redesigned issue of the best-selling crossover sport-utility wagon by Lexus, elite upshot brand from Toyota of Japan.

The seat belt's buckled and we're snug against soft leather hides on a body-hugging bucket with the driver's left hand gripping a walnut and leather steering wheel as the right hand racks the wood-capped shifter back through a gate from Park to Reverse.

That's when the cool stuff starts because the video screen of an optional DVD-based navigation system in the center of the dashboard suddenly comes alive with a color picture of the area immediately behind our vehicle's rear bumper.

Nudge the throttle to roll in reverse and the scene on the video monitor continues to display a rear view.

Forget about those beeps and flashing lights of some alarms that warm about objects in the vehicle's rearward path: The new Lexus wagon has a tiny video camera mounted in the tail bumper to vividly show a driver the scene when moving in reverse.

But the optional reverse-view bumper camera is only one of a myriad of new safety measures installed in this wagon, a replacement for the popular Lexus RX 300 crossover wagon.

The RX 300 landed in America in 1998 as a compact-class SUV with unibody construction and front-wheel-drive (FWD) orientation plus car-like components that eradicated the typical driving hassles associated with truck-based SUVs.

In effect, the Lexus design pioneered the concept of a luxurious crossover wagon that works like a sport-utility but drives like a cushy luxury car.

The concept proved so popular that by 2002 the RX 300 had cornered almost a quarter of the market for luxury SUVs, making it the best-seller in this class.

Now, however, after five years in production with the RX 300, Lexus has developed a new version as a 2004 product that's larger and faster than the predecessor and carries a bigger engine plus a new electronic automatic transmission and high-tech dynamic control systems. Even the name changes to RX 330 in recognition of the larger engine.

Displacing 3.3 liters (verses 3.0 liters for the RX 330), the aluminum V6 delivers 230 hp at 5600 rpm, a ten-point improvement over the previous engine, as torque climbs to 242 lb-ft at 3600 rpm.

Engine ties to a five-speed electronic automatic transaxle with electronic throttle control for starting off in slippery conditions.

And to increase the traction advantage, there's an all-wheel-drive system available that employs a center differential to divide the engine's torque equally between front and back wheels.

The Lexus standard vehicle stability control device is also on hand working with the AWD system.

It can vary the power mix from front-to-rear as well as side-to-side as needed to maintain traction when wheel slippage occurs.

Armed with the stronger engine and these sophisticated electronic controls, the new Lexus wagon rides on a revamped platform that stretches the wheelbase more than three inches longer than the original and expands the overall structure — by six inches in length, an inch in width and half an inch in height.

The larger package creates more space in the five-seat passenger compartment and more room for cargo.

Riders on the front buckets will find almost two more inches of legroom available, while another suitcase will fit in the back bay as cargo space expands by 9.7 cubic feet to a maximum of 84.7 cubic feet with split seatbacks on the rear bench folded down.

It looks bigger but also stronger. Stylists inscribed fluid aerodynamic lines on a sleek shell with the tapered body distinguished by a low-canted roofline and muscular flanks flashing chiseled flat-rim wheelwells housing four large 17-inch alloy rollers.

The aggressive face features a protruding body-colored bumper underlining the raked trapezoid grille dipped in chrome and flanked by corner headlamp clusters glimmering through multiple lenses.

Note those front lights: With optional xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, Lexus adds a new adaptive front lighting system (AFS) where a pair the unique swivel lamps — each keyed to the angle of the steering wheel — rotates up to five degrees during turning maneuvers to keep a light shining on the vehicle's forward path.

Ride quality for the new wagon feels incredibly smooth and refined, thanks to a revamped suspension system with MacPherson struts and coil springs in front and dual link struts plus coil springs in back.An optional air suspension system comes with driver-selectable chassis heights.

The highest mode elevates the wagon by 1.2 inches for crawling at speeds below 30 mph. A cruising mode drops the chassis by a third of an inch when moving above 62 mph, the low mode casts it further down to hug the ground during hard-wrought handling maneuvers, but a mode labeled Access powers the package down 1.2 inches to assist when loading people and cargo.

And elaborate techniques are used in the Lexus tradition to insulate and separate the passenger compartment from external noise and mechanical vibration, forging a virtual isolation chamber that seems as quiet as a library.

Many safety systems are in place, including side curtain-style air bags set above front and rear side windows plus frontal air bags for front buckets and large new seat-mounted side air bags to cover the rider's torso, abdomen and pelvis, even an air bag to shield the driver's knees.

A disc brake mounts at each of the four wheels with all tied by computerized links to an anti-lock brake system plus brake assist and electronic brake force distribution. The cabin piles on luxurious elements including electro-luminescent instruments in a triple-pod display, and power seats, mirrors and windows.

Options in package bring leather upholstery and wood trim in walnut or bird's-eye maple, the navigation system with rear video camera, a moonroof, performance gear with the air suspension and 18-inch wheels and tires, and a dazzling Mark Levinson audio system with six-disc CD changer in the dash.

Click here for more information on the Lexus RX330.
For the Lexus 2004 Model Guide : Click Here