Car Board.(Brief Article)

Calling a spade a spade: Despite all the hoopla over the ``newest'' market segment- the ``sports tourer,'' as some call it- a station wagon is a station wagon, no matter how you dress it up.

* Lexus RX 300

Price: $43,141

Engine: 3.0-liter V6, 220 hp, 222 lb-ft

Curb weight: 3924 lbs

Drivetrain: awd, four-speed automatic

Sport/ute: the first ingredient in making a sports tourer, according to the flacks. The RX 300 works well in this recipe as it already sits on a car platform and has a quiet, less-than-totally trucky ride and decent handling. It also has 7.7 inches of ground clearance-giving it a lower step-in height compared with other SUVs-full-time all-wheel drive and a modicum of off-road ability. In reality, the RX 300 is more station wagon than outright SUV, what everyone has been calling- to use another invented term-a ``crossover.'' But the spin doctors insist a true sports tourer differs from these crossovers in that they have even lower step-in and overall heights, increased passenger and cargo capacity, and even more car-like ride and handling. Whatever.