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Now if this new RX was only configured with a third row....I would NOT even consider buying it why? Because every three row crossover i have seen has less room in the secoond rows because they had to make enough room to accomodate the third row and make it at least usable....ACURA! I am looking at you. Every mid size suv crossover that had a third row, that i sat in the second row i find very tight for me.
You should try an Infiniti QX60. Its the best luxury 3 row crossover on the market IMHO, the second row slides back and forth and lets you find the sweet spot between space for the third row, or none for them if the third row isn't being used.
The whole point of a Luxury car/suv is comfort and quality NOT ultility. If I only wanted ultility and value I would just get a Highlander.
To say that people who want a luxury vehicle don't care about utility is silly. The size of a vehicle and how it carries passengers and cargo is a significant part of a vehicle's overall appeal, luxury car or not. If i didn't care about carrying stuff and people, I wouldn't buy an SUV at all, I'd buy a luxurious car.
I just don't understand the idea that someone should "just buy a highlander" because they need or want 3 rows in a vehicle.
An RX550 with a V8?...Hmmm.Would that 550 mean 550hp? That would be pure AWESOMENESS!!! Would be a SUV crusher. With FAT Brembo brakes, wide tires and just for the eco crowd put in a token electric battery good for ten miles. Lol. Yup, I'd buy one!
An RX550 with a V8?...Hmmm.Would that 550 mean 550hp? That would be pure AWESOMENESS!!! Would be a SUV crusher. With FAT Brembo brakes, wide tires and just for the eco crowd put in a token electric battery good for ten miles. Lol. Yup, I'd buy one!
It would absolutely not be pure awesomeness, because the RX is has a transverse mounted engine and its a FWD based vehicle. A big V8 RX550 would be a disaster to drive.
Originally Posted by pman6
if you have that many passengers, you should be driving a van.
I obviously bought a van...but consumers don't want vans...minivans are a shrinking market, 3 row crossovers are a growing market. Obviously thousands and thousands of people buy three row luxury crossovers every month, and even more buy three row mainstream crossovers.
I'd rather have a 3 row crossover. The reason I bought a van is because none of the available 3 row luxury crossovers excited me enough to put up with the drawbacks vs a van. But, most consumers disagree.
I don't drive that many people on a regular basis, but because I might want to drive someone in addition to my two children in carseats a few times a year I should buy a van? From a passenger perspective a three row crossover is fine. The real reason I bought the van was adaptability to cargo and passenger needs, 3 row crossovers don't hold as much stuff in addition to people.
1. Adaptable seating & cargo. Vans have a flat floor, with seats that slide around while crossovers have a moulded, SUV/car style floor where the cargo area is higher than the passenger footwell. This means vans have about 1-1.5 feet deeper in the cargo area with the third row stowed, which is big when you consider the big stuff you carry with kids, strollers, pack & plays, cribs, etc. I was loaded for our trip this weekend up to the window line, I easily would have been full in the Jeep up to the ceiling and would not have been able to see out the rear window.
2. Sliding doors. One of the big stressors for my wife was having to be able to open up the door on the Jeep to put both babies in when parked in a parking lot. With the sliding doors thats no longer an issue.
3. Cargo space behind the installed third row. Minivans have a nice deep well because the seats come up from the floor forward to latch in. Crossover seats often open from the front backwards. Meaning theres about 2 feet deeper storage in a van with the third row.
For instance, cargo volume, our Sedona has the same cubic feet of cargo space with all three rows installed as the Jeep did with only 2 rows. Something like a QX60 which is probably what we would have bought has 18 cu/ft less storage space with the third row up. Other part of it is the storage with the third row up is in a deep well, so you have to pile stuff down there, but it doesn't fall back out of the hatch when you open it.
Since one of the things we need to do is drive on a trip with my mother and the twins and both of us, storage with at least one of those third row seats up was a big factor.
Here you can see the big well:
Here is the comparable shot of a QX60:
That well makes a HUGE difference. 33.8 cu/ft vs 15.8. Essentially it swallows the stroller and the diaper bag and all the little baby stuff leaving essentially the same cargo area as is in the QX60 for us. In the QX60 we put the stroller and the diaper bag in, and we'
re done.
More and more buyers choose to live with the drawbacks to get a vehicle that looks and feels more SUVlike, which I understand completely. Like I said, we would have put up with those drawbacks had I really loved any of the 3 row crossovers like I did that Jeep. But, I didn't...
Definitely agree with you on the doors. We only have 1 kid so it's not that bad, but I make doubly sure to park further for a corner spot so we can get the infant seat in and out easier.
Went to the auto show yesterday and adding a 3rd row will be simply space constraint. Probably will not be able to fit more than a piece of paper behind the 3rd row when its up. I guess it's a nice to have option to punish misbehaving rich kids.
8 pages on why the RX is a loser b/c it (currently) doesn't have a 3rd row when historically it's the best suv sold and never had a 3rd row
This tells lexus better hurry up and get the TX or another suv with 3rd row out before it's doom and gloom for lexus since people are po'ed and leaving lexus.)
I would love a TX crossover like the qx 60
RX with 3rd row-compromised and too small with useless storage space
GX too big, yet useless storage
So length has now become the sole determinant of class? So RX 4 gen is a full size CUV up from mid size as it is a full 5 inch longer? The answer is no, it is still a mid size cuv competing against MDX, ML, Q7, X5 and perhaps qx60. The additional 5 inches could have been much better used.
Let me tell you, people's buying decision does not confine to one specific class. If you read the forum, often you'll come across people asking whether to get the rc or is or gs. Different class but sporty for sure. To me, Lexus could have easily filled a hot segment sooner rather than crowd another segment in rapid quick succession. And that is why the RX was the biggest loser in New York.
nop, when did i say that? all i said was the nx and rx are not in the same class. i never said the rx will now compete with the GL.
and i don't think i need anyone to tell or teach me about forum or shopping, given my post count or number of cars owned. and if you read what i have been saying, i have said it for the longest time that with the nx, lexus could have done a lot more with the rx to make it more attractive.
and i absolutely never said that people are not cross shopping the nx and rx. in fact i do think so, even though i personally think the nx and the current rx are quite different.
my point was very simple and straight forward. size difference can make it a big deal. it has a lot that can go into size that makes two cars different (even class). i couldn't realize how close the nx was to the rx until i sat in it. and who has sat in the new rx yet?
What I don't understand is why people that like a vehicle that is a certain size and type are so vehemently opposed to a larger vehicle for those buyers who want/need something bigger? The 4RX as we see it in these pictures is NOT a 3 row crossover, so those people who are worried about Lexus turning the RX from a 2 row which they prefer to a 3 row are moot...its not going to happen. We're either going to see a LWB RX with 3 rows or another model entirely.
Why all of the hate towards a 3 row option now that the 2 row RX is safe?
You should try an Infiniti QX60. Its the best luxury 3 row crossover on the market IMHO, the second row slides back and forth and lets you find the sweet spot between space for the third row, or none for them if the third row isn't being used.
Actually last year I have rented a 2014 Infiniti QX60 and was quite impressed with its ultility. Id say its the only three row crossover that did not sacrifice the second row as much as other compeditors. But fit and finish of interior is not up to par with Lexus and even Acura. My rental had only 2,000 miles on the odometer and the whole cabin was rattling. And the rattling is so annoying in the summer that I cant even imagine how much worse the rattling can get if its was driven in Michigan winter. Most places on the dash or doors that i regularly touch was hard plastic. If i wanted an vehicle with lots of hard plastic id buy a MINIVAN, Highlander or any "insert here" non luxury crossover. Heck I even feel that the Odessey and sienna is better put together and had 50% more soft touch surfaces than that QX60. Dont even get me started with the styling......lets just say its not my taste.
04-12-15, 05:59 PM
