robl45

My wife is considering trading in her 2006 rx400h for a 2010 to 2012 rx450h. As I understand, the differences are minimal between the years but enlighten me if I"m incorrect.

We are looking at AWD or maybe FWD. I'd prefer AWD and heads up display if possible. Anyway, just wondering if people are happy with these? The 2006 RX400H IMHO was a bit of a lemon. Never would drive straight, always pulls to the right, various other little issues.

kitlz

robl45, try reading this post from BertL. He went from an '06 400h to a '13 450h so it should be a good place to start. As far as differences between the pre-refresh 3rd gen RXs, I'd say the '10 is slightly different than the '11-'12. On the '10, some RXs may have a sunglass holder instead of Enform which was introduced in August '09. The Lexus badge on the left side of the tail gate was dropped in '11. But the brake override system was added. Other things disappeared like auto high beams and the compass in the mirror. I can't remember exactly when though.

I've been a happy RX owner since '98 and a hybrid owner since '10. No regrets here.

DunWkg

No regrets here.

Enjoyed the company of a 2010 and a 2012 now. Both AWD, they both travel(ed) in straight lines. I still have auto high beams, think they disappeared in the '13. No compass in the mirror, but it's in the GPS, if you get navigation. Which I wouldn't get a car without navigation. It's so much more than navigation. Really love the remote touch and any associated technology.

Read Bert's reviews, alway a good read.

robl45

so why did you switch from the 10 to the 12?

Personally I think the remote thing is kind of crappy, very hard to place in the right place. On the 2013 we have now, I'm lucky if I click in the right place. At least the older ones i have an enter button, but a rotary **** or something that clicked position to position would have been much better.

Droid13

I have a 2010 "sunglass holder" version with 45k miles, all good...

I'll comment a bit about your AWD vs FWD choice. Not sure what you have now in the 400h, but I think there is a difference which applies a bit more to hybrids then conventional RXs, regarding the regenerative breaking. While I've never driven an RX450h FWD (all Canadian models are AWD, FWD is not offered) I did drive a FWD hybrid Camry for many years.

The point I'm trying to make is with FWD, all the regen happens on the front wheels. The Camry was heavy for it's class, as is with many hybrids. That means the fronts handle a majority of the typical breaking. The issue I found with that car is that if the roads are wet, or dusty, or bumpy if either of the fronts loses traction just for an instant the ABS would kick off the regenerative breaking on the front wheels and apply mechanical breaking to all 4 wheels. But that instant of transition is disconcerting because for a 1/4 of a second it feels like the brakes are lost, then the mechanicals kick in fairly aggressively. I have never experienced this with the AWD RX450h, as the regenerative breaking occurs on all 4 wheels. I've found it's regen system to always be super smooth and consistent all the way to the stopping point. I've found this to be the most notable driving improvement over the Camry, from a hybrid specific point of view.

I'm not sure this was ever an issue with the RXh FWDs, but it was a complaint with the Prius too. Just something to consider...

Droid13

Did the 2013 get rid of the resistance settings on the remote touch to give you the feel of clicking between button positions on the screen?

Poisson

Mine (made in Japan, Australian version) has resistance settings. I found you have to set it at about 80%.

I've tried Mercedes and BMWs with their twiddle-wheels but I like the Lexus remote touch far better as a system. I'm not so in love with the menu structure and the fact that settings seem to be randomly scattered between the remote touch and the steering wheel controls, but I can live with that.

Poisson

FWD v AWD - not sure how the American RX450 is set up but here in Oz they're all AWD. Engine and one motor drives the front wheels and the second motor drives the rear wheels. Regeneration is by all wheels.

Even with a motor driving the rear wheels there is still considerable torque-steer if you plant your foot in sport mode.

DunWkg

The dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He was desperate for '10 model year 450h's. I'm guessing at the time due to the tsunami and a shortage of cars from Japan? Or he saw the word "sucker" on my forehead?

I've loved the remote touch from the moment I laid my hand on it. The feed back force (feed back to your hand) is adjustable in the settings. I do like the '10-'12 remote touch better than the '13. I prefer the enter button on the side, although I hit it with my leg every so often.

jrfiero

We moved from a 2001 HIghlander to a 2013 RX450h.

I'm just not that impressed with the h.

The hybrid/ICE transition is not transparent to the driver as I was led to believe it would be. It is to my wife, the primary driver, but I notice it.

We don't get near the advertised mileage, and yes, we know how to drive it.

The driver's seat is not comfortable to me, and I'm average size. I get to drive it any long distance trips, and the Highlander seat was much more comforatable.

Ditto the steering wheel. The big spokes with the controls are right where I want to put my hands so I'm forced to use a higher or lower grip, annoying for long trips. I have an old SC300 with a perfect steering wheel.

The handling is a little soft for my taste. Big heavy SUV, I know, but still. It seems better in Sport Mode, but I don't think Sport Mode changes any handling except the steering.

The electronics are lost on me. I can connect my phone, but I really don't care, and I prefer a traditional radio control arrangement.

The backup camera is useless except to let you know you're about to run over a tricycle - you can't back up with it. Friends with Acuras have very accurate grids on their backup displays and are confident using the camera to back up, even into parking spaces in commercial garages with pillars. The proximity sensors (whatever you call them) beeped at all the shrubs in the driveway even on their least sensitive, so we shut those off.

Much less cargo space with the style of the back of the car than the Highlander - I don't know how that compares with a 2006. I tried to put a set of wheels and tires from my other RX (7) in the back, and had to fold the seats down. Couldn't believe it.

Given a time machine, I wouldn't buy it again.

Jonas

vlad_a

Technically speaking, there are 2 electric motors driving the front wheels. The 2nd motor is needed to offset the gas engine, all 3 of which are directly interconnected through a planetary gear set. It is simple and ingenious at the same time.

The 3rd electric motor drives the rear wheels. It is completely electronically-controlled.
It will drive the rear wheels when starting and will route some power to the rear during turns, especially aggressive ones. It does mask some FWD tendencies.

The regen braking is much better than on FWD Prius that I had. It is very smooth in comparison, which I attribute to AWD. Mind you, I never had complaints about Prius' brakes.

robl45

If you do some testing with the backup camera, you can get it fairly accurate, I don't turn my head when I backup anymore. But I see lexus still has annoying messages popping up at the top of the screen in backup view which renders it useless until they go away.

vlad_a

I do agree, the messages are annoying. I don't want to know my phone has synched-up when I'm backing-out of the garage, blocking top part of the screen. Gets me every time. Oh, well, might as well turn to look in the mirrors anyway.
P.S.
I'm perfectly happy with the choice I made. Love the RX450h as a family vehicle.

dflowers

Prior to buying our AWD 450h we had driven a Buick Rendezvous for 11 years. That car was very versatile but underpowered and handled poorly. It served its purpose well though. We averaged around 15mpg in that car. Most of the driving is a 10 mile round trip 5 days a week on city streets.

In comparison, the 450h makes a lot more power and handles a lot better. It has a lot less body lean going through turns and just feels predictable and planted. My wife mostly drives the Lexus and overall she really likes it but complains that the driver's seat is not as comfortable as in the Buick.

We are getting anywhere from 23-26 mpg depending on the routine. I assume the 29-30 mpg advertised was with the car warmed up on level ground. We get about 100 more miles per tank than we did with the Buick.

We have the intuitive parking assist, blind spot display in the mirrors, and backup cam and all are helpful. The Buick had none of that stuff although it did have heads up display which we did not get with the Lexus. I do not really miss it though.

The remote touch system works well and it pretty easy to learn. The voice command system is very primitive and mostly very frustrating although my wife has learned how to use it to make calls. It is easier to use the remote touch for me to program the GPS. Maybe if I used the voice system more I could learn it better, but some of the voice recognition on phones these days is so much easier.

We test drove a BMW X3 before the Lexus but the Beemer's second row seating was too cramped for our needs. It handled a bit better but both are SUV/Crossovers so neither is going to be like a regular car.

After 4 months of ownership I really like the 450h and plan on keeping it for a long time. It seems like the more I drive it the more I like it, and just really feel like we bought the best option available for our needs.

rsutoratos

I also had a 2007 RX400h and moved to RX450h last year. Loved it, except for that center console arm rest thing on the 450h. I was avging 25mpg on the 400h and up now to 32mpg. I'm 80% highway 20% local.

I just swapped out the snow tires, hopefully my highway mpg will go slightly higher