smd2972

I've had my 2013 RX 350 for a week and love it! I've been reading through the manual to become familiar with the vehicle and all the technology. I noticed that you can set the drive mode in the manual. When I press the menu button I only see the snow and park assist items. Is the Sport mode only available on the 450h? I didn't see anything in the manual indicating it was only for the 450. Thanks,

Samir

smd2972

took a closer look at the manual. looks like this a 450h setting and not a 350 setting.

Cruiter

When you put your tranny in the drive position it defaults to the right and changes gears automatically. You can move it to the left and change manually by ticking it up or down. That's the sport mode.

At least the 2010 thru 2012 models work that way.

BertL

...and the 2013 450h actually has a new unique capability as smd2972 suggests that changes the way the shifting automatically occurs. The capability is turned on via steering wheel menu button and selecting the option on the RXh only. Page 239 of this manual shows the function.

GrandSedanFan

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't call that "sport" mode. It's much more "semi-automatic." Select your gear. The car still shifts as slowly and sluggishly as in D.

CanadianRX

The auto isn't that sluggish when shifting, it's probably quicker than most people if they had a manual tranny. Maybe the response isn't immediate but by no means is it slow when performing the gear change.

chumsdad

Technically, the CVT in the 450h does not "shift" at all in the D mode, but I'm nitpicking.

Anyway, I just bought a 2013 RX 450h and it definitely has a new sport mode that increases the steering feel and throttle response. It makes the car feel more eager to jump into the power mode which is quite entertaining but will no doubt hurt gas mileage some.

Here’s an excerpt from the 2013 brochure:

The RX450h is the first hybrid vehicle to feature Intelligent Shift Control, a shifting system that can estimate whether you are traveling uphill or downhill and automatically provide the optimal engine response. Enhancing performance even further, a Sequential Shift mode enables you to upshift or downshift on the fly. And a new SPORT mode transforms the acceleration and steering response of the RX450h for more spirited driving.

I like the sport mode better but it defaults back to standard mode every time you start the car. I have not had a chance to check, but suspect the default cannot be overridden. It is kind of a pain to set the sport mode using the steering wheel buttons (it takes about 5 presses of the various buttons) but I am used to it now.

chumsdad

An RX 350 has a true 6 (or 8 in the case of the new F Sport) speed trans that definitely shifts gears. However, I have yet to feel my 450h shift at all in D. The CVT does not work that way as it does not have any gears to shift. In the so-called sequential shift mode, it mimics a 6 speed electronically which is useful mainly for added engine braking going down hills, for example.

As I noted in my previous post, the sport mode in the 2013 450h affects steering and throttle reponse but the CVT still works the same otherwise.

BertL

Right. I confirmed this a few weeks ago when I took delivery of my 2013 RX450h. Unfortunately there is no way to permanently default the truck to sport mode. (I like it too, even if it does probably lower my MPG a bit, but given I have to turn it on each time I do the truck, find I don't enable it other than as a novelty when I happen to think about it. Too bad.)

MachineMan

manually shifted the Tiptronic lever, shifted down sooner, shifted faster/harsher and had a full 200 unique shift programs automatically seelcted by the transmission.

chumsdad

I am still learning about the car. I put it in Economy mode and it gladly stays set there until you manually reset it. They are obviously urging us to be green. I did manage 30 mpg on a stop and go 10 mile trip to run errands, that is until I floored it on the last stretch home to see if the back motor would finally kick in as indicated on the energy monitor. It did of course and I found myself going 75 way quicker than in our old RX 330. The mileage immediately dropped to 28 though.

All in all, this car is way cooler than I expected. I was going to get the new F Sport but my wife could not stand the ride. I actually like this car way better now that I have it.