TomT127

The RX is a premium car. You cannot compare it to anything other than premium cars. We had a Toyota RAV4 previously. Although the RAV is a very reliable car and shares many of the same components you just cannot compare the two.

kitlz

How about 12 visits in less than a year and not once for routine maintenance. I always had to bring a list because the amount of problems were that numerous, ranging from water leaks to the transmission. And they don't fix the vehicle the first time. Parts had to be 'special ordered,' requiring a second trip to be installed. Racked up a few hundred dollars in rental car bills too. Loaners were rare. I settled with Ford at the lemon law hearing. We agreed to an MSRP swap. Turned in the lemon, took delivery on the second Ford, then traded it in for my first RX - all in one day. The other Ford vehicle in the family is currently in the lemon law process - transmission problems and a gas leak coming from somewhere in the engine. Not cool.

Marqevans

I have a 2000 Windstar that has 130,000 on it and has been very reliable. We did replace the Transmission after 10 years.

HWDRX

Hi,
I owned an Audi Q5 for three years. I put on 70K miles and I should be in a good position to review the car for you. FYI, I have a 450h and have about 3K on it after a couple of months. First, if you were to buy any audi do not buy the 2.0 and do not ever settle for anything less then Quattro. The four banger is a piece of junk and the front wheel drive in any of the Audis just ruins the handling. I had a 3.2 Quattro. First off, it gets about 18 MPG average in 50/50 city / HWY. It gets into the high 20's on the highway, even going very fast. It simply handles light years better then the Lexus. There is no comparison. However you if you have poor pavement you will feel it. Will not jar you and you may not even notice for the first couple of months. After awhile it will get to you. If you live someplace with perfect roads I would get the Audi, if not, get the Lexus. The Audi is quiet but not as good as the Lexus. Audi is smaller but if hauling people and limited luggage your not going to notice much. The materials in the audi are better then the Lexus. I work in my cars. After three years with cream colored leather in the Audi, not even a wear mark, NOTHING! I doubt the new Lexus will hold up as well, however time will tell. The paint on the Audi seems to be better then the Lexus. I had black. This is subjective however. The basic sterio in the audi is hands down better then the Lexus. I find the Lexus basic unit to be lacking and the quality of the display in the Lexus seems to be about what is was when they started. So much for the relentless pursuit. As for reliability, my audi was trouble free. I traded as warrantee was up and I was concerned. I could not extend the warrantee or I would have kept it. I bought into the Lexus reliability and mileage. I also liked the floaty ride and the quiet. I do not need the handling. I am in it all day! Want to be comforable. I do about 25K a year. If the audi had better mileage I would have bought another and bought the adjustable suspension. I like the lexus but it could use a better sterio, better display, mileage could be better, and the drivers door could be countoured better so my knee does not hit the section with the window buttons. Seems that left leg has noplace to go. Other then these items it is not bad. Good luck

gambit32

Why not buy the 2.0T with better mileage and get the drive select feature which you can adjust the suspension on?

Based on your experiences with both cars are this point, which do you prefer and why?

GQD_GS4

2.0T = high oil consumption. You will become a regular at the Audi service dept and they will try to convince you that burning 1 quart every 1000 miles is "normal." That being said, I will never buy another Audi. As for the GLK, we love it. It has not burned a drop of oil in 7500 miles so far. The only thing we don't like is the back seat is a little cramped. Also, 18 mpg combined could be better. German vehicles tend to be "driver cars" while Lexus vehicles focus on refinement and driver isolation from the environment.

We are planning to return to Lexus when the next gen RX (not the current spindle grill refresh) comes out in 2015.

Sevn86

All the things I was gonna say. Don't know to much about the reliability of Audi, I do like it alot though.

UCSB

If you are asking me about the how cushy the Subaru Outback rides, I can say that it does an excellent job of soaking up anything on the road. It is a feature of the car that even ConsumerReports.org noted when they reviewed the car. Check out their video review. Ride quality is very smooth. The car is tuned for ride comfort (with possibly a hit to handling). Drive it back to back with the RX and report back. I do not feel that I am at any disadvantage in terms of ride comfort when I am driving the Outback relative to my 450h. I know it sounds crazy ... just give it a try. They are different experiences, but just driving down the freeway and hitting expansion joints the Outback may even be better. The 450h will be quieter. Ride comfort, especially on the freeway, was my top criteria in selecting the car. I purchased it for trips.

kartah

Well, the fact that you are posting in a Lexus forum may suggest that you have made up your mind already? Have you actually test driven both cars yet?

When we were looking to switch over from from a sedan to an SUV (given, we may be bias because our previous car was a Lexus IS300) it basically came down to RX and Q5 2.0T. After doing all the research and test driving few other SUVs (MDX, MLK, FX35, etc.) we narrowed it down to these two. We were really torn, we frequented the dealerships and test drove the cars several more times and kept a log of pros and cons. And we were glad we did. Every time we get back into the RX, it just felt right. Everything about it, from the size of the vehicle to the amount of space including cargo. It's not gigantic but it just felt right. The entire cockpit/control panel also seems to make sense and not busy at all compared to the Q5.

Personally, I loved the design and overall look of the Q5 on screen and paper when we were doing all the research. But everything changed after seeing the car in person and test driving it. The ride quality was not what I thought it would be, and not nearly as comfortable or quiet ride as the RX. If you do climb into the rear passenger seats, you'll notice how much more roomier it is in the RX. And if you do have to carry a 5th passenger, he or she sitting in the middle will be happy there's nothing obstructing their leg room. Moving around to the trunk, I felt the Q5 was a joke. It felt slightly bigger than the trunk space of my IS. The RX is not enormous, but it was at least a good size and adequate for an SUV.

I highly recommend test driving both cars and go back a couple of times if you have to. In terms of quality and reliability, it's a Lexus!

SW17LS

Tough decision, we just went through the same thing and wound up buying a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. We drove everything, Q5, Q7, Mercedes ML, RX, Highlander, Explorer, Edge, Lincoln MKX, X3, X5, Chevy Equinox, Honda Pilot, RDX, MDX, etc etc.

The Q5 is a very fun little SUV. It was my favorite out of the bunch, but they are small. Rear seat room is not good, and ultimately thats why we didn't purchase it. If it was to be my personal vehicle, it would have been hard not to go with that. I have had some bad experiences with VWs in the past, but I do know a lot of people with Audis and they are satisfied. I'm sure it wouldn't be as reliable as the Lexus.

I like the RX, but I think quite frankly there are more interesting offerings in that segment. If comfort is your primary concern though, hard to fault it.

Have you looked at a new Jeep Grand Cherokee? I am a long time Lexus owner and a huge fan, but I *love* this Jeep. I like driving it better than the Lexus. Very stylish, excellent materials, very comfortable and smooth quiet ride. For $45k you can get a loaded Overland Summit with leather dash, adaptive cruise, air suspension, real wood trim, bi-xenon headlights, nappa leather upholstery. I would check it out.

UCSB

We had a Jeep Grand Cherokee for many years as a family vehicle. I think it was the best overall family/fun vehicle that we ever purchased. It could easily tow boats, handle snow in the mountains or anything we wanted to do with it. The materials were high quality in the Limited version we had and held up very well to extensive family use. It had a V8 and averaged a little over 16 MPG when we had it. If it wasn't for the mileage on the new ones (16/23), I would have purchased a new one for my wife. But, she would have been using it extensively for city driving and we needed higher mileage.

SW17LS

Yeah the mileage is not great, but we have the V6 and get 19 or so in the city. Far cry from the RXh, but a gas RX wouldn't be a whole lot better.

gambit32

Can someone.check.if. lexus rx450h is bigger than audi q5? Im renting q5 at the moment and cam barely fkt my 9' longboard inside. Would the lexhs have more or less length room?

HWDRX

There are a couple of comments. First, I do not feel the 2.0 is befitting an expensive upscale car. Its too busy and makes too much noise. I see that most of German car companies are going to 2.0 fours and trying to hide behind better CAFE ratings. I say BS! I think the fours burn as much as the sixes in most cars and the only reason is to make more profit. If you think back, Mercedes and BMW did this in the 80's and when interest dropped off, they dropped the four bangers. It will take some time but it will happen again. BMW has nerve putting a four banger in a five series.

As for which car I like, it's a hard decision. At 47 my age is making it easier however. The Q simply out handles the Lexus but rides very firm on bad roads (bad roads seem to be all over lately). I did want a better ride and was willing to give up some handling to get it, thus the Lexus. Keep in mind I am in my car all day, its my office. If I was simply parking at a building all day I might not care as much about the ride. Heck, It would be another car altogether like an x5 or x3.

In short, If the ride is a priorty get the Lexus, if the handling does it, get the Q5. They may both be SUV type vehicles but they are both worlds apart. Really unfair to compare them.

HWDRX

I have owned both, the Lexus is much bigger.