il38694

Is the sequential-shift automatic transmission (in performance package) different than the standard automatic tranmission? Anyone knows?

lexuslover

if you are asking about the # of gears, then no, there is no difference - it's the same transmission.

the only difference is that there is an "S" settting and you can control the gears shifts yourself (only to a certain extent though; lexus sequential shift only allows you to select a max gear, but it will actually downshift for you if you slow down). but you can use S to hold the gears longer if you prefer driving aggressively ...

il38694

The performance package in RX350 has sequential shift transmssion + air suspension + others little things, it costs about $1500 more, is it worth the money?

mandyfig

This is tip-tronic right? Unless you were driving a car....it is not as attractive.

lexuslover

well it's a personal preference really. every lexus i've had other than the RX, the seq shift never gets used, maybe once in a blue moon. it's not a real manual transmission and doesn't feel like one (not that it's trying to be a real MT, but you get my point).

i don't know what model year you are looking at, but in 04 the package with seq shift was diff from the luxury/premium package so that with seq shift you wouldn't get the wood steering wheel. i prefer the wood wheel so it was an easy choice for me between the two.

as for the air suspension, some people have commented that it helps getting in and out of the car, but i'm a 5'7 woman and i have never found the RX difficult to get in and out of. it's built on a car frame anyway, so it never feels like you're climbing into a truck IMO.

so i think it's really up to you and your driving style. the "sport" features that come with this package are supposed to help in more aggressive driving situations, which i never do in this kind of car. that's what the other cars are for