caddyowner

I'm considering looking for an 02-05 AWD RX to replace my current chore truck and winter driver (02 Dakota that is a member of the repair-of-the-month club). I don't carry heavy loads, but I need space to haul things like boxes, wheelchair, medium dog, bags of leaves (on a tarp), etc. with the rear seat folded down (no kids to haul). How do these vehicles do in that regard and which is better, the RX300 or RX330? Also which has the lower seat height, as my wife transfers from a wheelchair? I previously had a leased 06 Cadillac SRX which was OK, but the whole cargo area was rather narrow (no wider than the distance between the wheel wells).

Thanks!

968racer

I think the Acura MDX may be a better fit if you are looking for wider & to be able to haul a wheelchair. The rear cargo area is narrow & shallow, plus the slope of rear glass does not allow you to haul anything tall.

kitlz

The wheel wheels intrude a bit into the cargo area on the 2nd gen making it narrow too. Can't remember the 1st gen. It's much better on the 3rd gen - minimal wheel well intrusion, deep cargo area and back release to bring down the rear seats. But the back windshield angles into the cargo area more. My parents had an SRX. I'd say that has more cargo space but it was difficult getting things in and out of there due to the height.

All the RXs have low seats. I don't think that should be a problem.

caddyowner

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check out the MDX also.

We take a folding transport chair when going out. It has 8" wheels all around and folds into a 30" x 24" x 10" space. (It will even fit into the trunk of a 2nd generation Miata. Albeit with scraped paint, but it fits.)

diverchris

I have an '05 rx330 which I love. I'm an avid technical diver and underwater photographer. I can carry two complete sets of gear, plus luggage and two occupants.

Here's a photo of what you can fit in the rear area without putting the seats down

biff44

The biggest problem for me is the sloping rear window. Anytime you put something big in there, like a big box, it hits the glass. You would probably do better with a toyota highlander, if you like the rx 330 size. The highlander has a boxier backend. But in either case, it is not a good cargo hauler! And the roof rack is pretty short, so it is hard to haul big stuff up there too.

lexus114

Dude,where`s the photo?

diverchris

I guess I needed to compress the photos smaller. Here they are. I'm quite pleased with the amount of gear I can haul without the harshness of a vehicle build on a truck configuration
Chris

lexus114

Holy *&%%7!, you have a lot of stuff in their!

diverchris

Thanks its a 3-d puzzle for fitting in as much stuff as possible. I think its an art of utilizing space

caddyowner

That's without putting the rear seats down?

kitlz

Wow, that's a lot of stuff! It looks like the rear seat is down in the first picture. That bucket is pretty far forward and the tonneau cover was removed. But on the bottom of the second picture, it looks like the top of the rear seat is in there. Which is it?

lexus114

I have mine removed because it`s simply a p.i.t.a takes up too much space.

diverchris

For the photos and all of the gear the seats are up. Yes I removed the cover as its a pain. I keep the wet gear in the back and the clothes on the seats

mowmow

I take my sister and my dad to SFO every 3 months or so and that is with 4 x 29" suit case
plus 3 hand carry suit case ( i forgot the size ) my wife, my 16 months old son, my sister and dad, fully loaded and still fine and have no problem. The RX's cargo space was somewhat deceiving in the first place with the caro cover on. Once that is removed, I have a lot more space than I thought originally