Lexus vs other SUV event
04-03-03, 05:27 PM
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Lexus vs other SUV event
As you may know Lexus is sponsoring an event to allow us to test drive Lexus and Competitive SUVs. The event will take place in about 12 cities from march thru June.
Details are at www.luxuryredefined.com or call 877-282-2279
Looks like fun.
Details are at www.luxuryredefined.com or call 877-282-2279
Looks like fun.
04-03-03, 06:52 PM
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The Lexus event is amzing. I went to the Bay Area event here in Alameda, California and I had a chance to test the RX 330, Volvo XC 90, Acura MDX, ML 350, ML55 AMG, Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover HSE, and so much more. THere was a street course for the suvs such as RX330 and ML 350 and there was an off-road course for the higher end cars. I had a chance to take a GX on the off road course and it performed great. There's also free food, gift bags, and much more. I think you should go if you have the chance.
04-03-03, 08:24 PM
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I was also at the event at Alameda Point. It was way cool!!
I can't believe how much better the GX-470 did compared to the other ones. Soo much smoother than all the others. Got to say though that the Mecedes AMG had some b@lls. I would have love to have that one out on the road course.
I do wish they would have had the GX-470 available for the on road stuff though, as I would've like to see how it handled emergency type maneuvers.
I will be ready to get my GX in about a month and so far all my dealings with Lexus have been very positive. If only GM could follow Lexus in service and Lexus/Toyota in quality. I am giving up my 2001 Corvette Z06 for the GX-470 because of the inferior quality and down right crappy service. I have had bad luck with a Ford Probe, Dodge Dakota, and now GM with the Corvette. Surfice to say, I am done with american auto products.
I can't believe how much better the GX-470 did compared to the other ones. Soo much smoother than all the others. Got to say though that the Mecedes AMG had some b@lls. I would have love to have that one out on the road course.
I do wish they would have had the GX-470 available for the on road stuff though, as I would've like to see how it handled emergency type maneuvers.
I will be ready to get my GX in about a month and so far all my dealings with Lexus have been very positive. If only GM could follow Lexus in service and Lexus/Toyota in quality. I am giving up my 2001 Corvette Z06 for the GX-470 because of the inferior quality and down right crappy service. I have had bad luck with a Ford Probe, Dodge Dakota, and now GM with the Corvette. Surfice to say, I am done with american auto products.
04-04-03, 07:34 AM
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I am bummed. Just received my invitation today. Too bad that the events in CA were all last week. My wife had attended a previous such event and it was directly responsible for us buying an RX over the ML. Hope Lexus sends out invites ON TIME for the next event.
04-04-03, 05:05 PM
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Ya, i agree that the ml55 amg had s a lot of power but it didn't belong on the off road course. It is way to low on the suspension to be going off road. The ml i was test driving got stuck on the bumbs near the end of the course. And I have to say that theRange Rover HSE handled the course the best. It was like riding on air. I got some pics of my car at the event location in the GX 470 gallery if anyone wants to look at the beautiful place the event took place at.
05-04-03, 01:55 PM
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I just went last week with my buddy Jerry to the event in the Polo Club in Boca Raton. The best part of the event: it was pouring rain! That just made for more fun in the mud! These vehicles all got trashed, from all the drivers testing them in the rain. Their mats and floors and leather seats were all muddied and soaked. Good luck cleaning them up for the next show! I'll buy one at a discount!
They brought in bulldozers and built an off road track, with all sorts of hills, tips, dips, moguls, 30 degree banked hills to drive over and one 20 ft tall hill. It was awesome, they had to have spent thousands, with 3 giant very uniquely shaped tents with A/C and uniquely designe dpaladium windows, a play area for the kids, umbrellas cause it poured, and another tent setup with tables and buffet of top notch food like crab cakes, sandwiches, fruits, cakes, cookies, and 3 new models rotating with a demo every 15 minutes.
Anyway, out on the racetrack, they had the LX, the GX, the BMW 5, the Land Rover Discovery and HSE, Lincoln Aviator, Mercedes ML55 AMG!!! Too bad they did not have the Porsche Cayanne! We spent all day driving all these suvs around in the mud and over the hills and banks, we thought for sure someone was going to flip over. Both Lexus models (GX and LX) outperformed the others, they had a soft and cushiony ride over the moguls, whereas the Discovery bounced us all over the place. BMW 5 had problems getting over the moguls, but did do it.
Also, many of you who posted here FORGOT TO MENTION that there were special detours on the track for Lincoln Aviator, because it cannot go over the moguls, or some of the other features of the track that the Lexus does with ease. We saw many poeple get stuck, and of course here in flat Florida, our drivers are chicken wussies. Many people were too chicken to drive over the 20 ft hill and had to be coaxed by the expert drivers. Bulldozers had to keep building up the muddy hill in th erain. We saw a few people get the BMW 5 stuck on the moguls with the frint wheeels up in the air, spinning mud everywhere. We were all laughing.
We had such a blast, we screamed over every bank and mogul that we flew over. The next day my throat was sore from "yee hawing" so damn much. They had posters up comparing the cost and details of each vehicle. I was shocked that the Land Rover HSE was $71,000, a full $20k more than the Lexus GX, because the ride sucked, although the HSE did handle much better than it's other model the Discovery. The real cool feature that the LX and GX had, as did a few of the competitors is the little known DAC (Downhill Assist Control). We get to the top of the steep 20 ft hill, turn on DAC, then in a leap of faith, let go of the brakes and do nothing! The GX DAC feature was like an auto pilot, that grabs the vehicle, controlled our descent down the hill, applying the ABS brakes to keep the vehicle at 4 MPH. That was awesome. Some vehicles also have HAC Hill Assist Control. We almost got stalled on the 30 degree bank, where Jerry was trying to break a track record by going above and beyond the highest tire tracks we saw on that 30 degree bank. Oooops! We stalled out. I had to remind him to turn off the DAC and go high throttle so the computer could determine which wheel had the best traction, and get us out of the mess. It was scary, I was staring straight at the ground, I thought we would flip. Damn it, we're not leaving here till we flip a vehicle! But the LX got us out alive!
So all said, we liked the LX and GX best. The BMW 5 was a close second, and the Mercedes ML55 AMG , while bumpy, was just a dream to drive. Not because it was smooth, it wasn't. It's the fastest SUV in the world, and short, and tiny inside more like a sports car than an SUV, but it had *****! It was awesome spinning out in the straightway. Also, the 2 Lexus models had the best ergonomics and classiest design inside than the other models. We walked over to the RX tent and sat in the MPV, and all the other same class vehicles as RX, they were just trash compared to the RX330.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of those events, I highly recommend it. Hats off to Lexus for thinking of everything in planning the perfect event, the kids play area, waters to drink everywhere, very knowledgable expert drivers to answer questions, umbrellas, and keeping the event going rain or shine. They did have to stop breifly during a thunderstorm. The food was awesome, they had lines setup to drive each different vehicle, and it was just a pleasant day for anyone thinking about a Lexus. My only issue now is do I want the GX or the LX? I still think the LX is too pricey with not enough options to justify the higher price. I'm also dissappointed that the 2003 GX did not comewith rearview camera like the RX330 did. I hear it's in the 2004 though.
They brought in bulldozers and built an off road track, with all sorts of hills, tips, dips, moguls, 30 degree banked hills to drive over and one 20 ft tall hill. It was awesome, they had to have spent thousands, with 3 giant very uniquely shaped tents with A/C and uniquely designe dpaladium windows, a play area for the kids, umbrellas cause it poured, and another tent setup with tables and buffet of top notch food like crab cakes, sandwiches, fruits, cakes, cookies, and 3 new models rotating with a demo every 15 minutes.
Anyway, out on the racetrack, they had the LX, the GX, the BMW 5, the Land Rover Discovery and HSE, Lincoln Aviator, Mercedes ML55 AMG!!! Too bad they did not have the Porsche Cayanne! We spent all day driving all these suvs around in the mud and over the hills and banks, we thought for sure someone was going to flip over. Both Lexus models (GX and LX) outperformed the others, they had a soft and cushiony ride over the moguls, whereas the Discovery bounced us all over the place. BMW 5 had problems getting over the moguls, but did do it.
Also, many of you who posted here FORGOT TO MENTION that there were special detours on the track for Lincoln Aviator, because it cannot go over the moguls, or some of the other features of the track that the Lexus does with ease. We saw many poeple get stuck, and of course here in flat Florida, our drivers are chicken wussies. Many people were too chicken to drive over the 20 ft hill and had to be coaxed by the expert drivers. Bulldozers had to keep building up the muddy hill in th erain. We saw a few people get the BMW 5 stuck on the moguls with the frint wheeels up in the air, spinning mud everywhere. We were all laughing.
We had such a blast, we screamed over every bank and mogul that we flew over. The next day my throat was sore from "yee hawing" so damn much. They had posters up comparing the cost and details of each vehicle. I was shocked that the Land Rover HSE was $71,000, a full $20k more than the Lexus GX, because the ride sucked, although the HSE did handle much better than it's other model the Discovery. The real cool feature that the LX and GX had, as did a few of the competitors is the little known DAC (Downhill Assist Control). We get to the top of the steep 20 ft hill, turn on DAC, then in a leap of faith, let go of the brakes and do nothing! The GX DAC feature was like an auto pilot, that grabs the vehicle, controlled our descent down the hill, applying the ABS brakes to keep the vehicle at 4 MPH. That was awesome. Some vehicles also have HAC Hill Assist Control. We almost got stalled on the 30 degree bank, where Jerry was trying to break a track record by going above and beyond the highest tire tracks we saw on that 30 degree bank. Oooops! We stalled out. I had to remind him to turn off the DAC and go high throttle so the computer could determine which wheel had the best traction, and get us out of the mess. It was scary, I was staring straight at the ground, I thought we would flip. Damn it, we're not leaving here till we flip a vehicle! But the LX got us out alive!
So all said, we liked the LX and GX best. The BMW 5 was a close second, and the Mercedes ML55 AMG , while bumpy, was just a dream to drive. Not because it was smooth, it wasn't. It's the fastest SUV in the world, and short, and tiny inside more like a sports car than an SUV, but it had *****! It was awesome spinning out in the straightway. Also, the 2 Lexus models had the best ergonomics and classiest design inside than the other models. We walked over to the RX tent and sat in the MPV, and all the other same class vehicles as RX, they were just trash compared to the RX330.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of those events, I highly recommend it. Hats off to Lexus for thinking of everything in planning the perfect event, the kids play area, waters to drink everywhere, very knowledgable expert drivers to answer questions, umbrellas, and keeping the event going rain or shine. They did have to stop breifly during a thunderstorm. The food was awesome, they had lines setup to drive each different vehicle, and it was just a pleasant day for anyone thinking about a Lexus. My only issue now is do I want the GX or the LX? I still think the LX is too pricey with not enough options to justify the higher price. I'm also dissappointed that the 2003 GX did not comewith rearview camera like the RX330 did. I hear it's in the 2004 though.
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