I agree, the interior and exterior are very disappointing. I am glad to see they are adding the Smart Key feature and most of all the power extending front seat cushions!! My parents have planned on getting one of these after having had great servie from the RX330 and 350, unless Lexus gets crazy on the price. The 350 has been a great vehicle for them. Frankly I would prefer the Q7 over the RX, but we know which one will never have to go back to the shop.

 

Any specs on the Rx450h?

 

I find the interior and the exterior of the new RX look great and in fact better than the current one.

Basically it follows the L-finesse styling and it is more consistent with the rest of the current Lexus lineup. Look at the front grille, the side mirror signal lights, the bumper, and the subtle body lines... I admit I am a great fan of the L-finesse.

Look forward to seeing clearer pictures of the interior. Though it looks like it is not a touch-screen, but does anyone notice there is a lump on the centre panel, just below the tranmission gears? Maybe it is some kind of NAV and other controls?

 

It is probably me who is pretty familiar with the 09' IS and GS, the new RX chrome grille actually has a close resemblance, especially the flares that extend into the top of the headlights. The flares are new design for 09' Lexus.

So in no way I would mistake it as an Infiniti. Infiniti has its own nice and unique design as well. Lexus still continues to use L-finesse.

 

Price? I hope it doesn't rise too much. http://thepassionatepursuit.com/ has a list of standard, optional, and deleted features. I haven't done the math, but I expect the price to rise slightly, just hopefully not too high.

 

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are other things that are much more important than looks, but god those side mirrors are ugly! I appreciate more than anything the dependability of these vehicles. It looks like the new side design could add some strength in the case of side impact. The A, B, and C pillars appear to have been resigned for added roof strength. It seems to have a lower center of gravity too, but that could be just in appearance.
I am told there will be a mouse type control on the console for the Nav system. The seat coushion extenders will be a great improvement. I am only 5'11" and find the current seat design much too short causing me discomfort.

 

you can sort of see the wheel/mouse Navi controller in some of the early pictures of this thread. The system looks set back far enough that a driver might not be able to reach it. Also has some voice control no doubt.

 

About a $3000 to $3500 increase is what we are hearing.

 

It will have voice control, and Lexus is finally getting around to decent voice commands.

No more "Dial by name", then 5 other commands.

You will be able to just say "Dial John" and the car will call.

They call it conversational commands.

 

OMG, a $3500 increase will bring teh RX into GX territory.

 

New GX coming out in a year or two will be more expensive.

I think they are trying to set the RX apart from the MDX, which is cross-shopped a lot, and absolutely kills us on leases, but is not as nice a vehicle.

 

kalvano, which dealer you with?

 

Not going to say.


By the way, just got a production update.

2010 RX's will be available to drive at dealerships mid-February, and will start arriving on the lots in about mid-March.

They will be $3K more expensive, but will have far more standard equipment. In the Southwest region, a back-up camera will now be standard, no matter if the car has nav or not.

 

do you happen to know whether or not it will feature a GS type where you get the lcd screen even without nav for the camera? or will it be more highlander type where you get that really small second screen?

 

It's going to be a rearview-mirror camera with no nav.

I think the non-nav cars will get a screen, but I forgot to ask, and even we haven't seen pictures of the inside yet. Lexus is playing it as tight as they can.

Oh, and I hear the new nav system is realy easy to use. Essentially, if you can use a mouse, you can use this system. No I-Drive type crap.

Also standard in the Southwest region will be the Premium Plus package with 19" wheels.

What was a $41K car will now be a $44K car.