TripleL

I’m not in the market for a car just yet but I could be in 6 to 9 months and since I enjoy car shopping so much I thought I’d get a jump on it. I have a 2006 IS250AWD and a 2004 Pilot that we are thinking about upgrading. Looking at the possibility of an RX or GX. My car was at the dealer Thursday and they were nice enough to let me take a 2011 RX350 AWD for the day.

I walked up to the Tungsten Pearl RX and immediately commented how much I liked the new exterior. Although I have a lot of respect for the 1RX and 2RX and what they’ve done for the brand, candidly this is the first RX who’s exterior appeals to me. I really liked the lines and the ‘flow’ of the car. I thought the RX had a great balance of ground clearance while still having an easy entry height for the seats and hatch. Looking from the outside I was concerned about rearward visibility but those concerns went away immediately once I sat in the driver’s seat.

I found the driver’s seat and position to be fantastic. I really like the positioning of the gear selector on the console as it feel perfectly into my hand as if I’d been in the RX many times. This RX had 665 miles on it and it did not have NAV (best I can tell it did have the Comfort and Premium packages) and there was an awesome tray on the console where the 'mouse' would have been that my droid sat perfectly in for the day

As I backed it out first thing I noticed is the backup camera displayed on the rear view mirror. Very nice touch! I had to go directly to work at this point and my 25 min highway ride was a delight. Quiet, smooth and comfortable along with good pickup from the engine and a transmission that shifted supremely smooth. RX was so good that when I went to take my long sweeping exit for work I forgot I was driving an SUV and quickly went from about to lean on the gas pedal for fun like I’d do in my IS to reading my foot to brake. So I’m awake now LOL At lunch I had a bunch of errands to do and I took the RX out and found it a joy to drive. I thought it handled the city and the highway nicely and at this point attributed my morning experience on the exit to probably entering the exit at a much higher speed than I normally would have. Took the same exit at the end of my errand run and it was very IS like meaning that I felt very comfortable around the exit and although it’s an SUV I could easily live with it and enjoy it as a daily.

Some other small things I noticed and liked through the day is that the selector for the information center in the dash had a 2way lever on the wheel instead of a single button to scroll through the choices. I also liked the the info center always displayed the outside temp along with another choice, I wish my IS did that. The Power Lift Gate was very nice and worked quite well. I also liked the small storage bin in the back under the cargo mat. We use this a lot in our Pilot now.

I do have a few minor criticisms to share. I didn’t like the placement of the volume control for the stereo at all as I needed to learn forward just to reach it. Not sure why they put it up so high when most other Lexus have them down by your knee. I know there is the steering wheel vol control too but still.

Another one was the green ECO light flashing on and off. I must be getting old but to me anytime a light on the dash illuminates I think something really bad is happening A light should only illuminate if I pushed a button (cruise control, fog lights etc) or stepped on the parking brake. To me anytime a light on the dash illuminates on the dash by itself my heart stops. I know its green and not yellow or red and I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but it was a little bothersome especially that 20 mins I was caught in traffic.

The only other criticism I have is there was some wind noise over 60 mph seemingly coming from the roof rails. Now it was a windy March day so that might have been it also, but it is something that caught my attention multiple times.

Bottom line is that I really liked this car and became very comfortable with it after only one day with it It’s definitely on my short list along with the GX460 I took for a quick spin that same day.

I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions as I move forward through the process but please let me know your thoughts now on any of the points I’ve made today.

larrs

That ECO light can be turned off using the multi-function display options.

RXSF

^^ yes that light is pointless and can be turned off. Its very interesting to hear all these impressions from an IS driver. Im glad you liked the RX as much as you did the GX. Having owned 3 RXs (one from each generation), it is a very easy car to live with, and fits my lifestyle perfectly. Its hard to get back into a sedan when you have the high driving position of the RX and the utility of the cargo area. I dont know if you guys have Costco in RI, but its a warehouse that allows you to buy in bulk. A sedan wont do much use there!

I wish you got a loner with the remote touch in the RX, it would have been fun to play with. Another great place to keep your phone (if you had remote touch) would be the door handle holes on the arm rest of the doors

TripleL

Thank YOU! I was hoping someone would say that.

TripleL

I did enjoy it very much. As I was driving to return it I called a friend of mine who has had both 05 and 08 RXs to tell him I understand what he was saying about liking the RX so much. He and I had A4's at the same time, he went to the RX and I went with the IS. I have no regrets about my IS in fact quite the opposite I love it. But yes need to take my wife's Pilot to the warehouse stores or Lowes etc plus taking 3 co workers around in the IS isn't bad, but not exactly roomy either hence my searching!

Oh and about my friend he said 2 things. 1) I told ya LOL and 2) He just picked up a 450h 10 days ago and said the 3RX is by far his fav

I'll be sure to check out remote touch next time even if its on the showroom floor. And thanks for the cell tip

TripleL

Thanks and I will definitely check out the remote touch.

I thought the 350 was very refined too, although I'm intrigued by your comment that the 450h was even more so. I say this because of the CVT. My only point of reference is my father's Camry Hybrid and although overall it is very nice, I wouldn't say the engine sound while accelerating sounds refined and my guess would be because of the CVT. As I think about it more his is a 4cyl vs the 6cyl in the RX so that may be a big difference just like the sound of any 6 vs 4. Maybe?

I'll get a chance to find out for myself in April as I told my friend to make sure he brings his 450h when we get together for my b'day

Mkml63

All I can say is when you are ready to buy, test the actual RX you are buying on a bumpy road. Seems like many people, myself included, have a rattle problem with the RX, 450 or 350

TripleL

Thank you very much. I've enjoyed and learned so much from mmarshall's and for that matter 1SICK's reviews over the last 5+ years and I'm happy to try and give something back to the community.

I appreciate you sharing this with me. One of the reason's why I also drove the GX was for the quieter and smoother aspects of it. I'm looking forward to driving my friend's RXh next month and will definitely do a back to back test drive of both the RX and RXh when I get closer to making a purchase.

TripleL

Thanks for the head's up. I did see a thread on this in the Hybrid section and will continue to track it. At this point there doesn't seem to be a known fix for it, but I would guess knowing Lexus that one isn't too far off. Hope it gets resolved sooner rather than later.

kitlz

Be careful TripleL, once you drive your friend's 450h, you might get one sooner than later Lots of fun features including remote touch to play with. And my RX is rattle free.

TripleL

Thanks!

I'll definitely mark you down as one who is very happy with the RXh and I'll be sure to update everyone as I move forward.

TripleL

Awesome post! I also noticed you are just up the road from me in MA so I'm sure we've traveled on some of the same roads which makes the ride and handling experiences you have shared really hit close to home

I think it's fantastic that you've owned 2 of the vehicles I'm considering and are so willing to share your thoughts. Thanks as you've touched on many things that are important to me and my purchase. Especially since I tend to keep cars 6 to 8 years or longer.

I agree about the handling comments you made about the RX as I felt very much at home tossing it around, although I'm told KDSS helps the GX alot. As for the high speed driving in the GX I haven't read any reviews or comments about that in my research thus far for a 2GX. However I'm glad you've shared that and will certainly do some more research on it when I get closer as highway cruising is very important to me. Of course I need to comment that I've only been reading in the 2GX forum and I haven't spent anytime at all in the 1GX forum so I could have missed it, or I'm just in denial of seeing it LOL

You mentioned Quattro. I always smile when I hear that word. I luv'd my A4 Quattro. I agree, based on my research the GX has a fine system too. Could you share any thoughts on the RXh AWD in the snow? I've read and understand its a completely different set up with the Hybrid and I tend to find myself a few hours away in Western MA at times and like to get home. I would be interested in your thoughts (or anyone's thoughts in general) on how it handles snow especially on long drives on unknown snow covered roads.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great post. the GX is mainly about off road / bad conditions capability and a smooth quiet ride. other than those nice things i think it's a dud because of, as you put it lol, the barn door, the narrow shape, the 3rd row seats that hugely compromise cargo space, and the bad gas mileage (heck my half the price V8 explorer does way better).

but still, if those aren't major concerns, then for a smooth quiet daily driver and 'go anywhere' vehicle, it's right up there with range rovers.

oh wait, this thread is about the RX... so i'd def. get the RX450h over the GX!

TripleL

lol thanks bit I appreciate your insight as always!

TripleL

Very good feedback, thank you.


You have excellent taste in cars I'll say that! I'll definitely will be test driving some Quattro's before I buy as I really loved driving my A4. I do keep my cars a long time so maintenance in the long run is a concern for me.

Back on topic!! Thanks for the description of the AWD. Both the RX and RXh don't have my first preference of permanent AWD. As you say its somewhat similar to my Pilot and I agree the new RX is probably better than the Pilot as my 04 has no stability control at all. Other than ground clearance my IS is far superior to our Pilot in dry/wet/snow. So maybe the difference of stability control in the new RXs makes a big difference in performance. That would certainly make sense to me.

Again, great conversation please feel free to share anything else you think might be useful.