s4iscool

How is the ride? Every review has knocked it for being too harsh with little to no gain in handling performance. Could this be true? I love the looks, but am most concerned about resale value, or a possible tuning in 2014. Can anyone that has driven one compare it to say an MDX, RDX, X5, X3, Q5 etc?

rayaans

I own an F Sport. All the reviews in my opinion are utter trash! Having come from a 2005 Lexus RX, which was very very plush, the ride is a little stiffer. Not much though and yes, there is barely, barely any body roll at all. The car stays pretty flat. The handling is much better than my 2005 RX, the whole car just feels tighter. I test drove a BMW X5, Audi Q7 and a Mercedes ML. The RX is definitely the smoothest car of the lot. I found the X5 a little harsher and the Q7 was very harsh, maybe it was just me, but the 21's completely killed the ride. The Mercedes was pretty smooth, just didnt like the overall styling, too grandad for me .

Obviously, the best thing for you to do is to test drive it but the ride is nowhere near as harsh as other vehicles such as the Q5 S Line and Q7 S Line. Oh and also, I just feel the quality of the fit and finish is superior compared to the vehicles i have mentioned.

NickCanada

I think the reviews are absolutely bang on. Many, many reviews mention the harshness for no sake of handling, and its not just by accident.

I have a Rdx and it is stiff. But it handles accordingly, like a sports car. When I drove the RX F Sport twice, there is a harsh ride but with little gain in handling. One review mentioned the F Sport was just a pig with lipstick on. I sadly couldnt agree more. It was going to be my next vehicle until I drove it. There is very little "sport" in that model.

kitlz

I test drove the 350 F-Sport and think it drives well. The suspension was very similar my 450h with the sport package. The only thing I didn't like were the tires. The noise from the Dunlops was incredible. I don't remember them being that bad on the RXh Obviously the F-Sport is not for everyone. Ride may be a little harsher than the regular RX. But I like the tight steering and confidence going over bumps. Body roll is also less. The look is very appealing with the grille and badging. The one I drove was black on black. Absolutely gorgeous. So was the white on black one in the showroom. So that will definitely help with resale. My experience, I had the performance package on the 330 with the sportier suspension and air suspension too. That pushed the value up quite a bit when I traded in. I don't see any significant changes until maybe the next gen. The '13 refresh with the spindle grill was significant, at least to me.

rayaans, we can't get the 450h F-Sport here unfortunately. Too bad because that's the best of both worlds IMO.

strife77

I own an F sport and if you've read my other post, you know how I feel about the ride. However, you need to understand that I came from a 2004 RX with Bridgestone Dueler Alenza's on them, then my expectations were pretty high. I did a lot of research when I bought new tires for that car and opted for quietness and comfort. That combination made the car ultra quiet and ultra smooth, but with a huge amount of body roll. Our friends have an LX570 and when they compared it to their old LX 470, they noticed that the ride was not as smooth as their 10 year old car. They were pretty disappointed too as it seems like lexus is going with the current trend with larger rims.

My mom has an '02 MDX and I was able to take it last week for several days. Compared to the F sport, the MDX ride was a lot louder and does not have handling anywhere remotely close to the F sport. In fact, it almost felt like driving a bus after having been in our F sport. However, it does seat 7 and is a lot roomier inside.

The way the wife and I drive our RX, its not really for the sportiness but rather for the comfort. We just happened to really like the way the F sport looks. Also, our initial test drive was very misleading as it was mostly on the freeway. The car was very quiet and smooth at freeway speeds. I should have taken it more around the city and stressed the car with potholes. If the f sport offered a dial like in the GS, LS, and LX in terms of normal, comfort, and sport, I would think everyone would get the best of both worlds. In the end, its something that we feel we can live with and I've been trying to find options to smooth it out a little more without the costs being too absorbent. We've just been too spoiled with our old RX and no other car I have ever been in rode like it...maybe except for her mom's 2003 RX...lol.

GRPFAN

You want honest, here goes.

Lexus did my complimentary 10,000 mile oil change today on my 2012 RX 350.

They had a black 2013 F-sport on the showroom floor and it is U-G-L-E-Y.

Smoked rims with bare metal gas/brake petals......................Does this sound like a luxury SUV.

If you want tough, buy a Dodge Viper or a Chevy Corvette.

corradoMR2

From my experience, compared to the RX F-Sport:

I've owned an 04 MDX, 04 RX, 07 RX and they are notably softer, with lots of body roll and nose dive under braking. The MDX had 17 in wheels with high profile 65 series Michelin while both RXs had the 18s with 55 series.

I've driven a 13 RDX and it's a little softer with a little more body roll and nose dive. It has 18s and 60 series Michelins. Prior gen RDX was firmer and sportier riding.

Finally, I've driven a 12 MDX (Elite package with 19 in wheels in Canada) and it is very similar in ride comfort and handling (minimal body roll and nose dive).

In summary, the F Sport's ride is firm but not harsh for 95% of the bumps which get soaked up well with no cabin or butt shake. The other 5%, it is borderline harsh but we're talking about sharp parking lot speed bumps or potholes where suspension travel is sudden and high. At some point, I also owned a Venza with the 20 inch 50 series Michelins and that ride was a little firmer, a little more harsh, and more body roll than the F Sport and both myself and the car felt the shock (quickly got rattles and that's mostly why I got rid of it). I think the majority of us F Sport owners bought it mostly for the looks and not for any performance aspirations to win races in a slalom course. Test drive it as others have said, as much of this is subjective.

s4iscool

Great feedback, thanks guys. I did drive one yesterday, and the ride is certainly firmer than the standard suspension, which is quite floaty if youre not used to the lexus ride. I compared the Fsport to the new RDX and it's a little firmer. The F sport seems to have gotten a bad wrap, because its not as extreme as the journalists make it out to be. Makes you wonder if they even drove the car! With that said, the wife did not like the firmness for everyday driving, and it's not like we're going to hit the twisties with two babies in the back, so it's just not for us.

corradoMR2

At least you've driven it and now you can make an informed decision.

If the RX is out (for now), what are you considering?

s4iscool

Q5, RDX, MDX, and RX350. The Q5 and RDX are on the smaller side, MDX too big for daily use (great for trips though), with the RX350 in the sweet spot for size.

wilchan

I agree with s4iscool's opinion on the size. I came from Honda/Acura world and was thinking about MDX or RDX too. RDX is on smaller side and doesn't have all the stuff I want for $39K. MDX is nice, but a bit too big, worse mpg and we don't need 3rd row seats.

I was originally shooting for F-sport too, really like its look, tighter steering and minimal body roll feel. I test drove it mostly on freeway in Pleasanton, CA and pavement are smooth and ride was very good. As soon as I tested again in Redwood City, CA old rough pavement, my wife and I immediately felt the ride is abit too firm for us and we changed our mind to get the standard AWD one. Everything is great except the ride on standard AWD is not as smooth as I hope, but I am hoping it will get better after breakin.

Drtdvl

I currently have a BMW M3 sedan and X3. Coming from these two cars, i found the RX F-Sport to be quite relaxed and comfortable. It is more isolated (steering feel) than the two BMW cars and quieter during normal city and highway driving. .

The F- Sport is firmer than than the regular RX model but i am not sold on the 8 Speed transmission as i find it tends to stay in first gear too long when accelerating.

corradoMR2

Same opinion on the 1st gear high shift-point of the 8-speed though I find it's getting better over time. Not sure if i'm just adjusting to a softer/smoother initial throttle input, or if the transmission which has "intelligence" is adapting to my driving style as with past Lexus' I've owned. I have 2500 km on it so far.

m1964

I had driven a Q7 loaner and it was very nice combo of comfort, ride quality and handling. I would get one if I had enough money and wanted to get another one in 4 years ( Audi Q7 did not have good reliability records).
Our Q5 is also very nice but too stiff on the city streets, and its seats are very stiff too.
F-sport should not be compared to Q7 S-line because those S-line Audis are for die-hard enthusiasts who wants higher clearance, and pobably target yunger driver then typical RX buyer.

Also, our 3-year old Q5 has no rattles, but on the other hand, the Navi in Q5 is POS compared to RX350 (ours does not have NAvi, but loaner Q5 did).

I bought RX 350 for its reliability record and for its "cushy" ride on the NYC streets.
I had to learn to SLOW DOWN before making turns, and to not expect any excitementt from RX, in return I get comfortable ride and NO trips to the dealer exc. for maintenance....it makes up for lack of excitemen

rayaans

Obviously I have no idea what the 8 speed is like because mine has a CVT. The hybrid is amazing IMO. Love the grunt on it . and the CVT has definitely adapted to my driving somehow.