pbm317

Uhhh LX also has the Torsen center diff. They share mechanicals.

Toys4RJill

I don't care about the rest of the world. We are talking about a LX Lexus which does not have front or rear lockers anywhere in the world.


I don't understand why you brought the LC into this discussion. And FYI, the LC 5.7 cannot be equipped with a rear locker. And there is no 200 LC that has a front locker.

spwolf

do you have any info on what system escalade uses exactly? Does not seem to be available anywhere. Usually all of these systems have limitations on how long you can stay in full time mode but often this is not important since these cars are not driven in that way. I had Rav4 for few years and for me it was fine just like Land Cruiser that i drove often was fine as well.

However, when it comes to cars costing up to $100k, obviously full time AWD is a lot better solution. Now, it might not matter to everyone just like some people think 380hp is not good enough for LX and others wont care... but if we are talking about whats better, of course full time awd is better. In this case, it was simply cheaper for GM to borrow cheaper system from its Chevy sibling.

LX will always have full time awd because it is made for markets that require it. RX has auto part time system for everyone else.

spwolf

LC is brought in the discussion since LC is sister vehicle to LX. You thought that torsen center diff meant that there would be no front/rear lockers (or at least you worded it that way), which is not true. They simply dont offer them on LX since has no base models like LC does, which are used as workhorse trucks.

When we are talking about LX, crawl mode is pretty darn advanced with getting you out of trouble, more so than locking all diffs. Not sure if you ever tried that, but I did with current gen and supposedly new gen in this and high end Tacoma is even better and will get you out of trouble even with 4 wheels being stuck.

Quadro

You know I sometimes think there are two different persons behind this account of yours.

1. The firts person goes on bashing LC/LX for not having all lockers, all axles and more hardcore offroad tech.

2. The second person goes on bashing LX/LC for not having IRS, being body-on-frame truck and offering too much offroad capabilities nobody uses.

Darn if you do darn if you don't? The way it looks to me is you in this just to criticise things.

P.S. For the price difference with G wagen you can outfit LX with whatever lockers you desire and have a ton of money left to spare.

pbm317

Not sure how you can definitively say a full-time system is ultimate "better" as others have pointed out the fuel savings and potential weight savings of the automatic systems seem to be "better" at providing what 99% of U.S. Luxury SUV customers are looking for in terms of a balance of all-weather capability and efficiency.

And per your other comments, the Escalade system can be engaged at any speed, and also employs an auto-locking rear differential. It's not like the simpler part time systems that should only be engaged in slippery/off-road conditions.

Now is the LX/LC more capable off-road? Definitely! But nearly all consumers in the U.S. would never use/need that level


I agree with SW15LS completely.

Toys4RJill

The full time system in the LX is superior. If maximum traction, reliability is what one is looking for the full time is what to get. The Torsen differential just takes it one step further. (And then even further would be locking diffs F/C/R as well as a floor shifter mechanically linked to go to 4lo)

The Escalade with the auto/part time 4WD set up is fine too, but the idea that being in 2WD and needing 4WD and having the electronic transfer case fail (short out/simply malfunction) is always a possible concern that would does not have to worry about with an LX type full time system.

Before I got my full time 4WD 4Runner I had a Tacoma with part time 4WD, I always wondered if the transfer care might fail when I needed it. The full time 4Runner i have nothing to worry about.

TangoRed

1) I've never seen a system with Auto-4WD like the Escalade's have a limitation for how long they can stay in that mode. This isn't the same as selecting 4HI or 4LO.
2)The Escalade uses the same system as its brethren- it's a version of a tried and true transfer case. It uses a multi-plate clutch in to send up to 50% of the power to the front. It also has a 4HI mode that locks the axles 50/50; this is the one that isn't meant to be driven around in all the time (only on slippery surfaces). This is very similar to the system that was in previous-gen Nissan Pathfinder LE's. This is not a weak system like a Honda CR-V or Ford Escape.
3) I wouldn't say it was just cheaper for GM to use the current system. The previous Escalade and Yukon Denali's AWD system was not very sophisticated and didn't have low range capability. Honestly I consider the current 4WD system to be an improvement in both economy and capability.

ybing

If you are interested in the Escalade I will suggest got to Hertz or other rental company rent one and try first; it impress me when I first saw its look and the interior, I also consider the Escalade after rent one and drove it for the first time; however, the second time I rent it I spent more time in the car and realize it's really not that good.

It looks very cool with all the LCD gauges and customize stuff; but once you pass the excitement period you will realize its really bad...

The system respond is slow & lag
The steering column share the same design as the Tahoe (since its the same car) which it's not center to where you seat, feel strange after driving longer time
The car is big, very big, but a bit unnecessarily big, center console is huge, you can fit another person in the middle without problem make your passenger looks like seating in another time zone (I think only the H1 can beat that gap)
The seat is wide, but not very supportive for long drive
Te back up camera is worst then crap, they could spend $50 more on better quality camera, the resolution is so low, you can't see anything clear at night, looks like a camera from 20 years ago (same on Tahoe)
And if you leave the engine running for too long at idle it has a timer to auto cut off it, not sure is there a setting to change or not
The Bluetooth hands free system is strange, when you have a call, it reduce all the fan speed to almost idle, I think that's for sound quality, but should be using other method to reduce noise... not when its 110 degree outside...
The Nav screen is not very high resolution and if you have a polarize sun glasses, good luck on seeing the screen, it will be wavely ~~~~~~~~

Escalade is really good for seating in the second row, but if you can afford to hire a driver then there is better option than Escalade...

The engine is very impressive, responsive and very powerful; with the engine deactivation it does save fuel, but usually you will be running on all 8 so... not that good MPG

The ground clearance and approach/departure angle ain't very good, and the tires, so its better stay on road.

If I'm renting a limo I will choose the Escalade, for daily driving, I stick with Lexus, get used to Lexus already... hard to change, just order a White/Red LX

I really wish the LX have more powerful engine (more is always better right? )... at add least direct injection and atkinson cycle (Supercharge option will be fantastic, but that's not Lexus & Toyota style, hard to see that in recent year)

And the biggest compliant is the Info system language... is 2016... still only support English/French/Spanish... how difficult is it to make a multi-language system? All other car company all supporting multi-language... and all my Chinese songs can't display the characters on the screen... And Toyota has move away from supporting Apple Car Play & Android Auto... that's is a disappointed stupid decision...

But can't have a perfect car this day... have to live with comprise...