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The most popular luxury sport utility gets more power for 2007 and a slight name change.

Now arriving at Lexus dealerships, the ’07 RX 350 replaces the 2006 RX 330. It comes with a new 3.5-liter V-6 engine that boosts horsepower to 270 from the 225 horsepower of the previous version, known as the RX 330. The new numerical designation is a reflection of the increased engine displacement; the RX 330 came with a 3.3-liter engine.

Dealers say that even though they rarely had any complaints about the power of the previous model, customers are welcoming the extra zip of the RX 350.

Lexus says the engine allows the RX to accelerate from zero to 60 mpg in just 7.3 seconds (7.4 seconds with all-wheel drive).

But even with the increase in power, Lexus was able to increase fuel economy slightly over the 2006 model, said Bob Carter, Toyota’s Lexus Group vice president and general manager.

“Our engineers were able to accomplish this through a new application of variable valve timing to both intake and exhaust valves,” he said.

EPA fuel-economy ratings for the RX 350 with front-wheel drive are 20 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, compared with 19 city/25 highway for the 2006 RX 330. With all-wheel drive, the ratings for the new model are 19 city/24 highway, up from 18/24 for 2006.

And even with the big boost in power, the new model has the same ultra-low-emissions certification as the previous model, the automaker said.

Boosting power without lowering fuel economy is a big plus in today’s market with widely fluctuating fuel prices, and despite increased fuel costs, Lexus was able to sell more than 109,000 RX models during 2005, Carter said.

“We’re expecting to have equivalent sales for 2006,” he said. “The RX is one of our franchise cars, along with the EX sedan, and it’s the most popular luxury SUV on the market. In 2005, RX sales accounted for 26 percent of the segment.”

As the current RX design enters its fourth year, Carter said, Lexus felt that an increase in power was necessary to help keep the RX in its lofty position.

“Our feedback showed that the RX 330 was doing well, but customers were looking for a little more power and performance,” he said.

Besides the increase in power, the ’07 RX comes with some other enhancements. They include a new limited-slip differential for the all-wheel-drive version, along with the new Lexus Generation 5 navigation system, which comes with “more data points and a higher screen resolution,” Carter said.

“It’s just a crisper display for the navigation and the backup camera system,” he said. Rear-wheel-drive versions of the RX 350 begin at $37,400 (plus freight), while all-wheel-drive models start at $38,800. For each, that’s an increase of $1,030 over the price of the 2006 model, the company said.

The majority of RX sales in Texas are of front-drive models, Carter said. Popular options that can raise those prices include the navigation system and other items such as upgraded audio systems and special wheels, carter said.

The relatively small base-price increase has prompted some customers to hold off on buying a 2006 model and wait for a 2007, dealers say.

“When someone can buy an early new model like the RX 350 for nearly the same price as the previous version, and get a big increase in power at the same time, they usually will wait and do that,” one Texas dealer reported.

Nationwide, the situation is about the same, Carter said.

“We started production of the new model in February, and we have only about a two-and-a-half-week supply of the RX 330 left,” he said. “To help move those, we are offering a lease special, but we expect that most of them will be gone in about two weeks.”

Don’t expect fire-sale prices on the leftover models, though, Carter said.

Customers liked the old model just fine, and dealers expect the new one to sell just as well, if not better.

The RX and ES are the best-selling Lexus models in Texas, dealers say, and customers particularly appreciate the carlike ride of the RX. Because it is a car-based SUV, on the same chassis as the ES sedan, it offers the best of both worlds – the utility of an SUV, but the comfort of a car. It’s not like the traditional SUV, which has a separate body mounted on a truck frame.

The RX isn’t the only early 2007 model that Lexus dealers will have this year. A redesigned ES sedan will make its debut next month, also renamed just the way the RX was.

It becomes the ES 350; the current model is called the ES 330. The new ES shares its drivetrain with the new RX, hence both are getting the 350 designation, Lexus said. Both the ES and RX are based on the architecture of the best-selling car in the United States, the Toyota Camry.

A completely redesigned Camry also is making its debut this spring as an early 2007, and the new ES 350 is being built on the chassis of the new Camry. The RX 350, however, remains on the platform of the previous-generation Camry, and no major redesign is planned right away, Carter said.

“With most of the vehicles in this segment operating on a five-year product cycle, we have a while to go before we redesign the RX,” he said.

“The 2007 model will be the fourth year of the current design. This is a substantial enhancement that our customers are looking for, and it keeps us in a leadership position for a few years.”

Lexus won’t be in a hurry to redesign the RX because it still is “quite competitive in its segment,” Carter said. And a major redesign would also have to be made on the hybrid version, the RX 400h, which was introduced just last year.

The hybrid version is the priciest of the RX models, beginning at $44,660 for a front-drive model and $46,060 for the all-wheel-drive version.

The front-drive hybrid model was just introduced in November, and at that time, Lexus dropped the base price of the all-wheel-drive model by $2,350 for model year 2007.

The RX hybrid comes with a combination of gasoline engine and electric motor that generates 268 horsepower, yet achieves EPA fuel-economy ratings of 28 miles per gallon in the city and 33 mpg on the highway (with front-wheel drive).

The hybrid’s overall power is equivalent to or more than that of some V-8 powered SUVs in the same class, but with significantly better fuel economy. The hybrid also has lower emissions – “about 80 percent cleaner than most other vehicles on the road,” Carter said.

Nationwide, up to 24 percent of RX sales are of the hybrid model, and the early waiting lists have been pared down, Carter said. Just before launch, Lexus had more than 18,000 orders in hand.

“We did have a substantial waiting list at first, but most dealers are now carrying the RX 400h in stock, and unless a customer is looking for a specific color or special options, these vehicles are available,” he said.

The company is selling about 2,300-2,600 of the hybrids a month, Carter said. Who buys the RX? The median age for the RX 330 buyer has been 45-50, Carter said. For the hybrid model, it has been 45-55.

With the RX 330, sales are about evenly divided between men and women, while the RX 400h has a higher percentage of male buyers, he said – about 55 percent.

Median household income for the RX 330 buyer has been about $130,000-$150,000, while hybrid buyers’ incomes range on average from $150,000-$200,000, Carter said. Most RX buyers are married and college-educated, and most have children. But many are empty-nesters, he said.

Toyota builds the RX 350 in two locations – Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, and Kyushu, Japan, Carter said. The hybrid model is built only in Japan.

G. Chambers Williams III is staff automotive columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and former transportation writer for the Star-Telegram. His automotive columns have appeared regularly in the Star-Telegram since 1995. Contact him at (210) 250-3236; chambers@star-telegram.com.