Mdkellys

Anyone see this?

2011 Lexus RX 450h, an AW Drivers Log
Published on 2/08/2011
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2011 Lexus RX 450h.














COPY EDITOR CYNTHIA L. OROSCO-WRIGHT: I've driven several hybrids now in my time at AW, and this has to be one of the most unimpressive. Don't get me wrong; the sheetmetal is nice, the interior materials are quality and the cabin is filled with lots of bells and whistles--things you'd probably expect from Lexus. But what is up with this drivetrain? You cannot take off from a light, get up an expressway ramp or even get out of your driveway with any kind of power. When you step on the gas to take off, if feels as if you're literally pushing the 450h to get moving. Once you get up to expressway speed or to cruising speeds around town, you're OK. But the minute you stop and have to take off again, forget it. That one thing alone would discourage me from buying this vehicle.

What did I like? As I mentioned, the cabin is a nice place to be and it presents well. The seats have good bolster and I was able to find a good driving position. The back seat looks to offer good legroom, and the cargo hold is pretty spacious. One good thing I noticed about this hybrid compared with others is that the brakes are not ultrasensitive. Now, if only Lexus could do something about the throttle.

MOTORSPORTS EDITOR MAC MORRISON: I'm surprised at how much I disliked this vehicle. Certainly it is a solid entry in this category in terms of utility and efficiency, but all of the little personal touches literally had me talking out loud, alone, in the RX muttering to myself about how displeased I was.

Subjectively speaking, the styling turns me off right from the get go, as I find it neither sporty nor elegant, but just clumsy and uninspired. Behind the wheel, I disagree with Orosco: The brakes are indeed difficult to modulate smoothly, leading at times to herky-jerky driving. The powertrain is efficient, but you definitely pay for the mileage in a performance let-down.

With all that said, nothing infuriated me more than the atrocious multimedia interface. I wanted to rip the entire center stack out of the dashboard, run over it and light it on fire with a flamethrower. This ill-conceived debacle makes similar systems from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, et al. feel like the most intuitive setups around. What's the main culprit? The asinine "mouse" control interface that moves an arrow around the display screen as if it's a computer monitor. Once you can actually get the arrow where you want it, you actually have to click a button on the side of the mouse. Hey Lexus, when I leave work and go for a drive, I don't want to continue to operate a PC on my way home, OK? It's been a long time since I was this infuriated at something like this. At one point, I got so frustrated from failing to click on what I wanted that I unleashed a 20-second tirade of expletives at 110 decibels while simultaneously punching myself in the face. I came to hate this RX right then and there.



Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011...#ixzz1DPP2Bvpb

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

AW doesn't like the 11 GS350 either.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011...IEWS/110119906

Cruiter

Yep, I read that rag too. These folks have never liked Lexus and it's apparent they didn't get any instructions on how to operate the car either. Everyone that knows anything about the RX 450h knows it 'does' have power and a lot of it, just take it out of ECO mode.

And if you read the reader comments below the article you can see that none of them could afford the car anyway .

I take the mag because it comes once a week, is cheap, and provides good 'reading room' material . That doesn't mean I like it much tho.

sightdev

Autoweek in general favors domestic brands but they went little too far with comments about RX450 and our remote control. anyone reading the article should sense "hate". what matters most is that you and I love our RX and we know we spent our $50k wisely.

Mdkellys

It was weird that they had two people review it that obviously made their mind up ahead of time. It is kind of like when they send a music reviewer to a concert of a band they obviously don't like.

DunWkg

They're going to have to try a lot harder to convince me to stop lov'n my RX. I'm just hoping Lexus doesn't abandon the remote controller by the time i buy my next one.

JimH2

Wow, after that review, Lexus might have to be concerned about the RX sales dropping from 95,790 (1st place for SUV's) to that of the ZDX (last place, 3259 sales total in 2010) ?
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...or-2010-a.html

k9shelly1

The "remote operation" of the head unit is so easy to use and a lot easier than leaning over to touch the screen. And BTW, it feels nothing like a computer. They obviously missed the pulses when the arrow is on a selectible option.

I can't believe that AW published such a review. It makes them look like idiots who didn't educate themselves beforehand. Imagine useing the "Wii" without reading the instructions. You'd be lost, but once you do it shows why its the number one selling game system on the market. Kinda like the RX.

I'll stick to mine and make my own opinions.

kitlz

Some of these comments are bizarre. Lack of power? Last time I checked I was driving a hybrid, not a race car. Driving in ECO mode only retards the power a little. I drive with it on all the time. Shifting is seamless. No comments about that? My first thought was to tell her to take off the heels, honey. I can say that

Remote touch takes time to get used to just like anything else. The comments were a tad overblown - "I wanted to rip the entire center stack out of the dashboard, run over it and light it on fire with a flamethrower." Wow does he have issues! And if he didn't like it so much he could have used voice commands. She probably would have told him to shut up anyway

Alas, we are entitled to our opinions.

Cruiter

As I stated earlier, I get the mag for my 'reading room' and I 1st saw the article online as many of you did. I waited a few days to cool off then today I logged on their mag to post my view.

Maybe some of you would like to do the same ??? Here is the link to their forum, http://www.autoweek.com/section/carl...e-66ff071ab4c7 , you may have to create an account.

Here is a link to my opinion of their review http://www.autoweek.com/section/carl...yCurrentPage=0 .

flystone

Lack of power? no..
Lack of low end torque? yes..

I would agree the whole multimedia interface is not all that intuitive, too many clicks are needed to perform some basic function like turn on/off ac or scroll ipod/usb menu..

kitlz

Thanks Jim. I'm going to pass because I know how I feel about my 450h. That's all that matters. I've never relied on magazines like that to tell me what I should, or in this case, shouldn't like. Now I'll be the first to admit it hasn't always been love at first sight with all the changes Lexus has made to the RX over the years, third gen the most. I looked around but came back because I didn't like what was out there. Nothing compared to what Lexus had to offer IMO. No regrets over the past 12+years.

kitlz

X, I think the 450h is more like 7.6 seconds. Still pretty impressive but I didn't buy it for that.

DunWkg

I dislike having to lean forward to touch controls on the dashboard and I agree with the overhead console comment.

I just wish the button for voice command was also right next to the map and menu buttons near the joy stick.

Saying, "Automate Climate Control" turns it on and turns it off.

I don't think I have any of the problems described in AW. Having all-wheel drive may make the difference. It does take me awhile to get used to loaner cars or my wife's Nissan as I often rocket away from stop signs in those cars, because I'm usually driving in ECO mode in the 450.

---
Jim - excellent comments on the AW forum page.

LexusChris

iTrader: (1)

Whatever, the RX is still awesome, and the public agrees. Almost every review I read of the Remote Touch praises it except this one, so screw them.