My friendly Lexus salesman called me on Wednesday, last week. He knows I'm looking for a new RX 450h and a Luxury Package model had just been prepped and was ready to go with the Blind Spot monitor and heads up display.

So I took it for a test drive. First off, the Blind Spot Monitor is too cool and is the best $500.00 you'll ever spend. A small orange LCD lights up on both driver and passenger side view mirrors to inform you of a car in the next lane that's near you. Frankly, I wouldn't want to drive without it. A great safety addition that will save lives. His feeling was that Lexus would eventually make it standard equipment and that will greatly drive down the cost at increased volume levels.

The Heads up display is nice, but for $1200.00 I wish it included more than radio station changes, current speed, and navigation directions. Would I order it? Without a second thought. Anything that keeps your eyes on the road and not on the dashboard is a very good thing. It will evolve over time to include more functionality.

Now onto the elephant in the room, the hobgoblin of my current disappointment with the Lexus RX 350, other than the poor aural quality of the standard radio. By the way, the car I drove was equiped with the Mark Levinson stereo, much, much better. The RX450h drove more comfortably than the RX350, perhaps do to the additional weight of the vehicle. It still seemed a little jarring to me. The salesman said it's because I'm used to the LS430, and nothing can compare to that. Perhaps. But what does he want me to do - dumb down my expectations? I told him I'll wait until the new RX450h comes out in 2014 as a 2015 model and hope that the redesign allows the Lexus engineers to fix the ride quality or at least offer the option of 18" tires.

 

Paul,
I wanted better fuel economy, higher seating position and a more versatle vehicle than my LS460, so I went test driving. Having owned many Lexus in the past, the RX was a natural. Like you, I also found the RX450h gave a better ride than the 350 and also fit my fuel economy requirement better. I did trade my LS and have been driving my RX450h for a little over a month now.

With several suggestions from other CL members, the ride has improved some, but I am still struggling with the bouncing and jerking movements and the minor rattles. Don't get me wrong, other than the ride, my RX450h meets or exceeds my expectations. From other CL members' comments, The RX rides better than other vehicles in its category, and every road test I have read says the same thing.

I wish Lexus would offer an adjustable suspension that would have a comfort, standard and sport setting. Guess I'm looking more for a higher riding station wagon than a luxury truck. Anybody want a Lexus version of the Venza?

 

Well, that depends. Did you by any chance test drive a Venza? I only say this because I have read that the V6 Venza with the 20-inch wheels has a somewhat harsh ride. Then, again, I've never had the opportunity to drive one, so I'm not sure if this is true. Maybe someone on these boards has driven a Venza with the 20-inch wheels and can tell us their impressions of the ride quality.

 

The Venza rides terribly IMHO. I drove a couple of them before we bought the Jeep...awful.

 

OK, well maybe not tha Venza.

 

I have not driven the Venza for about 18 months, but at freeway speed the ride is so noisy that you can not have a conversation with someone sitting in the seating behind the front seats. Outside of that, it was a nice vehicle. I expect that Toyota has or will have a fix in for this problem. I did like the crossover nature of the Venza.

I think that the problem with the RX ride is that Lexus looks at the RX as their entry level SUV. I think that is a huge mistake because due to the poor mileage the GX and LX just are not viable (environmentally or economically) vehicles for most people anymore.

 

The reason I chose the Venza as an example was because it rides slightly lower than the RX and seems (IMO) more car-like. Since the RX and Venza are kissing cousins through the Camry, just as Lexus can "Lexify" the Camry into an ES, it should be able to do the same with the Venza layout. I think there is a market for a vehicle with a Lexus nameplate that has a more car-like ride but has the functionality of a station wagon or crossover. Judging by the number of posts complaining about a choppy ride with the RX, I suspect others would agree.

 

I think that the second gen RX (2004-2009) was the one that had the most-carlike ride. I think Lexus tried to inject a little sport into the third-gen RX. It does drive a little sportier than the second gen RX, but there is a little bit of give and take with doing this suspension upgrade. My '07 RX was not as bumpy or jiggly as the '10 RX, but the '10 RX handles curves a little more aggessively, and I do feel that the '10 RX has better brakes than the second gen RX did.

 

^^^
what he said.