BLK13X

Hi all,

Long time since I've posted on CL.

I currently own a late '01 GS300, '91 Soarer V8 and late '97 Soarer turbo. All cars have been fabulous.

My wife and I recently found out we are expecting a second child! Which means we will most likely be buying a new car, sad news is I have to sell one of my Soarers lol

Needless to say the main vehicles I'm looking at are either a 2007~ Toyota Kluger Grande (Highlander Limited) or RX350/400h of similar vintage. The car will be primarily for my wife; I personally like the size of the Kluger however we don't need 7 seats and she thinks that a Kluger might be a little big for her to drive.

Saying that we are kinda leaning towards an RX, seeing as the wife will only really be traveling within the 'burbs on the usual mum (mom) duties however I will be behind the wheel on the weekends and would like something that's decent on the freeway.

We haven't had a chance to test drive any at the moment but will be when we get the time, still a while until we'll be ready to buy so just doing all the legwork first.

How are these reliability wise, in particular the 400h, especially since they are getting on in age? Any charging/battery problems etc?

How comfortable are they? Our seats are upright but slid all the way back, is there sufficient room for a rearward facing babyseat or will it be hitting the backrests of the front seats? The babyseat is a Safe'nSound Meridian AHR (typically sized convertible baby seat).

Is there sufficient luggage space? Coming from a 2GS the luggage space was marginal with the pram that we were using when my daughter was a baby.

Is there anything in particular to look out for? We're looking at a late 07/08 model (both AWD).


Sorry if the post is vague, but any suggestions or pointers are much appreciated.



TIA,


Jose

katzjamr

400h is quieter, more powerful and gets better gas mileage, they have been reliable and the hybrid battery has been lasting the useful life of the vehicle. You get better mileage in warm weather with the hybrid, which should work in austrailia. As with any used car the lower the miles the better in my book, so a good low mileage rx350 is a great car also. the interior was updated sooner on the 350, so audio via usb jack is available at an earlier year on the non hybrid cars, check for that, and the service records on what ever you buy

draco

I enquired about the hybrid battery through Toyota and Lexus and from what the service centre techs have told me so far, the hybrid batteries are rare to show up with any problems. It would seem that way especially trying to find issues with the battery. If you are planning to do any long country road trips then there is no difference between the RX350 and RX400h for mileage. Around town the 400h is better mileage from what I have read on these forums.

Good luck with either as they are both fantastic cars. Remember 2006 was the first year release of the 400h in Australia, so might be good to get a 07+.

takeshi74

No problems so far with our 08.

You'll have to answer that with test drives. Comfort's highly subjective and not really quantifiable. I find our 400h very comfortable but YMMV especially considering that I usually drive an S2000 (so just about anything feels plush by comparison)

BLK13X

Thanks for the info fellas, hopefully within the next few months I'll be looking to be in the driver's seat of an RX (at least occasionally).

This makes the 400h a lot more tempting now. To be honest the car's not going to be straying much further than Sydney's boundaries, maybe except for the occasional 6hr trip to Coffs Harbour. At freeway speeds I'm not expecting there to be much difference in fuel economy, it's more the suburban driving that I'm interested in since that's where it will be spending the majority of it's life.

I've been reading up on people running low on fuel and the battery going into fault/protection mode? I mean it's silly to run a car down to empty in the first place but has anyone ever been in that situation before? I usually refill at around first sign of the low fuel light coming on.

gsenthil

MPG apart....the RX400H moves like a V8. Seriously! Floor the accelerator at 30mph and the traffic is a blur as you accelerate at warp speed. OTOH when I drive like a sober sane family man I get 4-cyl mpg.