If you're shopping for a luxury SUV, here are 3 good choices

Hollis Johnson

The SUV market has been booming for the past few years, and that means the luxury SUV market has also been on the rise.

Business has gotten so good that brands that never did SUVs in the past — Jaguar, Lamborghini, Bentley, Maserati — are getting into the game.

Consumers have more luxury SUV choices than ever, so choosing the right vehicle can be difficult. Over the past year, we've sample three good choices: The Lexus RX 350, the Volvo XC90, and the Audi Q7. 

They're all excellent. So how to chose among them?

Read on:

THE LEXUS RX 350: This midsize crossover SUV has been in the Lexus lineup since 1998 and is perhaps the luxury brand's most important vehicle in the US market, where SUVs rule the road these days. Pricing starts at about $43,000.

The RX 350 is a core product for Lexus — the Lexus that Lexus can't afford to screw up. The vehicle was redesigned for the 2016 model year, and our conclusion after we reviewed it was that Lexus did a fine job.

The RX 350 remains the default luxury family hauler in the segment. Basically, everything about it is good. Well, almost everything. But we'll get to that in a second.

Our test car had a 3.5-liter V6 that served up 295 horsepower, with an all-wheel-drive system could handle nasty weather. This is a perfectly capable powerplant that won't leave anyone wanting. 

The luxury level is sort of high-medium. The materials are excellent, the fit and finish is wonderful, and the overall comfort level of superb. Nothing on the RX 350 blows you away, but there's also very little to complain about. There's a reason this thing has been going strong since the late 1990s. 

The new styling is mildly controversial, but over a week, we got used to it.

Infotainment is a weak spot for the RX 350. Lexus is lagging the competition here, but not by all that much.

Here's what we said in our review:

The infotainment system runs off a substantial center screen that's controlled with a puck-like thingy that resides between the seats. The screen doesn't retract, and while it satisfies all the necessary functions — audio, navigation, Bluetooth connections, and so on — it simply doesn't feel as up-to-date as what you can get in a Cadillac, Audi, or BMW.

We've made this complaint about all the Lexus vehicles we've tested. This is in no way a dealbreaker because the system works fine, once you get the hang of it. But infotainment is the main place where owners interact with vehicle technology, and as Apple CarPlay and greater levels of connectivity come online in autos, some new standards are being established.

Overall, we try to put ourselves in the mind of an owner when we review a vehicle, and we think that RX 350 will ultimately be irritated by some of the SUV's infotainment quirks.

VERDICT: You really can't go wrong with the RX 350. This is the one that doesn't require a lot of thought.

Lexus has been selling this car since the late 1990s, and it should keep selling it until humanity decides that luxury SUVs are going the way of the Conestoga wagon.

"The 2016 RX 350 was one of those cars that tested out exactly as expected," we wrote. "OK, the design is going to be a bit much for the 'burbs. But otherwise the crossover that started it all is holding up its responsibilities admirably."

For the price, it's an easy choice. But maybe you don't want an easy choice. So read on.