TAKE one three-litre engine, four-wheel-drive layout, an automatic gearbox, and refine until it reaches Rolls-Royce smoothness.

Clad it all in the slickest off-road shell around, and top-off with a classy cabin full of finery.

That's the basic Lexus recipe for success in the RX300 4x4, and such is the big vehicle's seamless mix of sophisticated ingredients, even chef Gordon Ramsay would have a hard job finding something to swear at.

When it comes to luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) choice, it's a straight fight between the Volvo XC90 and the Lexus, even if it neither of them can beat the strength of a German badge.

The Japanese giant's luxury arm more or less created the luxury SUV sector when they launched the RX300 (pictured) six years ago, and last year's appearance of the latest model was improved to near-matchless levels.

Apart from the basic engineering excellence of the Lexus, no-one else gives you a driver's knee airbag, or extra- large side airbags among the nine fitted, the noise suppression leads the field, and the shape itself has a class-leading drag coefficient of just 0.33.

More? The air-con system mimics human nervous system responses, the headlights rotate through corners for better night vision, and vehicle stability, traction and braking are all electronically aided for enhanced safety and performance.

If that sounds good, then so will the Mark Levinson audio system, unique to the £37,825 SE-L, which sits in the middle of the three-version RX300 range.

The SE-L also gets the air suspension system, and that addition alone puts it on another planet in terms of comfort, and stability at speed.

They all share the same three-litre engine, with a V6 all-aluminium block and head that can purr out 201bhp, and gallop the hefty thoroughbred Lexus up to 62mph in nine seconds flat.

At UK motorway limits, the RX300 is barely tested, with a 124mph top speed and the ability to shrug off side winds to really boost driver confidence.

All the luxury SUV rivals offer a diesel alternative, but the RX300 doesn't. But then, the increased under-bonnet noise would be out of keeping with the whisper-quiet performance that hallmarks a Lexus.

Even so, given the company tax situation, the RX300's 288g CO2 emissions, and 16.7mpg city-driving thirst, perhaps a diesel would make more sense for British drivers.

It's hardly worth looking down the SE-L's specification list, because there's electric everything, leather everywhere, and absolutely nothing missed out. If another car has it, then so has the Lexus.

The whole package, from the fluid five-speed auto 'box, to the electrically-operated tail-gate, is geared to minimum effort, maximum ease.

Don't be fooled by the Lexus' smoothie image, though. While most RX300 owners' idea of off-roading is probably tackling the speed hump at Sainsbury's, the 4x4 has the torque, and the toughness, to take you across genuinely muddy terrain.