It's a Ford based engine, but at least it's made in Japan now according to Edmunds:

"The 2008 CX-9 features a bored-out version of the "old" engine shared with the Ford Edge and other Ford family products, resulting in a 3.7-liter displacement, 273 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. The new engine, and its transmission, is also now built in Japan rather than in the United States."

 

My main problem with nissan and mazda are the rattles. On both my infiniti g35 and my old millenia, they both started rattling during the winter - after going through a hot summer. My g35 is especially squeaky when it's cold in the morning. My 07 rx350 has no rattles as of yet (2 winters and going on second summer). Am I lucky?probably..lol.

 

Lexus is not the only car company immune to rattles. My GS had a ton of rattles (and many other 3GS owners have complained about). It took the dealer two tries to get it right. The good thing is that the Lexus dealers treat you very well and fortunately gave me a rattle free loaner RX350 while it was in the shop.

 

I checked out the Murano at the auto show and the interior is 3 times better than the previous version and IMO on par with an Infinti. I was really really surprised.

The exterior is ANOTHER matter

I am also a fan of the CX-7, very good vehicle.

 

I took a look underneath one and it appears they did a better job on the transfer case this time. Had a friend who had her transfer case crack on the 1st gen model at only 30K miles.

 

man, this thread has a lot more legs than i thought it would when it got started. +1 on the Maurano being a pretty good value given the amenities you get. the exterior is either love/hate I guess. don't know how to describe it other than it doesn't look like a car that would be in my garage.

 

Lexus/Toyota is still at the top even if they have slipped a little. I don't know I guess a woman wouldn't mind driving this but why should a man feel less of a man driving an RX is beyond me.



just looks like a sharp looking SUV that will last for many years with allot of toys/comfort,and will not hurt my wallet in the future. my kinda car..

 

Love the RX, especially the smoked tails!

 

That looks superb!! I love that color, the chrome wheels/handles go nicely.

 

Those smoked tailights RULE!!

 

Thank you for the kinds words. much appreciated

 

Before I got my RX, I always thought the murano is a very good-looking SUV. After I test-drove the murano and the RX, I decided to go with the RX -- it was the essentially the ride that won me over. Price-wise, murano also didn't seem that much cheaper so I thought it's more value for money to go with the RX. I still like the Murano look though.
I also test-driven X3 and X5 and weren't impressed. The quality of the BMW Xs didn't seem as posh compared to their sedans -- not sure why, maybe the Xs are made in US and the sedans are in Germany?
Someone on this thread mentioned the mazda CX-7 which I thought really looked like a rip-off of the RX exterior. There've been a couple times on the road, I mistook the CX7 with the RX.