tin369

Hi all,

New here to the fourm, so first wanted to say "Hi" to everyone.

We have never owned a Lexus but last year I got to drive a RX350h and althoug I liked the comfort of the car and the luxury aspect of it, driving was not so fun.

We have aBMW 3 series and a Toyota rav4. wife drives the bmw and i drive the Rav 4 V6.

I have a long commute of 1+ hr one way everyday and want a camfortable car. The bmw 3 series is great car but we leaased it,dont want to own t after ist out of warranty.

I have always liked the interiros of lexus, it's so refined and the setas looks so comfortable.

I am also thikning about the new ES300h, but I don't know if we will have 2 sedans. We don't have kids yet, but the SUV comes in handy for stuffing in things to move etc.

I like the look and the interior of the 300h and the biggest gas milage. but its a sedan, the RX350 is also what we like, but the gas milage is not so great, the hybrid is little pricey and don't know the gas milage it gives.

Can you guys (owners) of RX give me some insight to the car.

I will be trading in the 2009 rav4 for this.

Also, I am not in a hurry so when is usually agoo dtime to get the best incentives on lexus.

Anyone from Delaware? which dealership have you had good experiennce with? which SA?

UCSB

Just a few comments. I think that your assessment that the RX is less fun to drive than other possible cars is correct. The size, dynamics and visibility in the car will all limit its performance / fun. This is one of the most important aspects of the vehicle to think through prior to your purchase. Given your reference point of the RAV4, I don't know what to recommend. I don't really consider that vehicle fun to drive either and would find the RX more enjoyable than the RAV4, but much less fun than potential sedans. In terms of comfort, I think that the RX is a quiet, comfortable SUV (regular sedans can exceed its performance here, as expected). Not everyone finds the seats really comfortable. You will have to evaluate that yourself carefully given your long commute. Bottom line is that the RX is a great SUV, but given your situation and expectations a SUV may not be ideal.

If I was commuting for 2+ hours a day, I would much rather be in an ES300h. It will just be much easier to drive. Plus the gas mileage makes sense for heavy commuting. In terms of the sedan not being able to haul anything, I think you would be able to rent a truck for a day for every single tank of gas that you put into the RX350 in contrast to the ES300h. When moving things, I would much rather use a rental than one of my luxury cars any day.

Something to factor into my comments, I live in the SF Bay Area where gas is expensive. Currently, regular is $4.30 a gallon. But, has been above $4.50 lately. I'm not sure about your commute, but around here it often means stop and go traffic where RX mileage can drop into the 12.x-15 MPG range. The Prius or Prius Plug-in are very popular commuter cars in this area. My brother is a high mileage driver / commuter. He has a Prius Plug-in that he has tweaked and is a pretty ideal commuter car. My daughter has a Prius and it works great for her. This leads me to believe that the ES300h would be very nice as a commuter vehicle.

The RX 450h can return mileage in the the 27 - 28 MPG range for AWD and 29 - 30 MGP range for FWD. It works well in urban / suburban driving and commuter traffic where the normal RX 350 will give you low gas mileage.

MY100thcar

Good point ! I also have a Tahoe so that is of no concern to me, but I like that thought.

I had a 2012 RX350 I avg'd. 21.5 MPG for 6,607 miles...appox. 80% highway

I now have a 2013 ES300h so far I avg'd 40.5MPG for 409 miles...appox. 80% highway
The ES300h rides softer & quiter plus it looks much nicer than the RX.

With 2+ hr. commuting you will save a lot on gas with a 300h.

cossie1600

I returned a 2013 ES350 last week. I am not a fan of it, well not for the price anyway. For one, gas mileage (on the gas one) is only slightly better than the RX. The car FEELS sporty, but it handles slightly better than a Camry. If the car was $35K, then I would be all over it. For $45K, I can almost buy two Prius. Oh yeah the car is quiet below 50mph, but above that the car has almost as much road noise as my Prius. Based on my cell phone sound meter, the ES350 was registering about 4db more than my RX. The wind noise is totally unacceptable in a 45K car. I do have to say the interior is very nice, I just don't think it is worth the price.

kitlz

tin369, welcome to the RX forum. UCSB summed it up nicely. I would add the RX is AWD vs front wheel drive in the ES. Might be another thing to consider with winter coming up. The RX is fantastic in the snow - never been stuck once. I don't have any experience in the ES to offer an opinion.

We have mileage threads for the 350 and 450h to give you a better idea about what to expect. It'll go down during the winter months. I average low to mid 20s in the 450h doing short city commutes. It's better with highway driving since the engine will stay on and keep warm. The ES300h is still too new to predict.

The next big sale for Lexus is December to Remember. But it seems deals are available more often now. You can check out this thread to see what people are paying for their RXs. If you decide to move forward, I would suggest expanding your search beyond Delaware to maybe Virginia or the tri-state area for the best deal.

Good luck.

BobBass

Cossie,

What decibel meter app do you have?

cossie1600

Bob, I think it just says Sound Meter, free on Android. The # are probably off when it comes to absolute figures, but what I do is run on the same road, at the same speed and take measurement.

BobBass

THANKS. I'll give it a try.

tin369

I think all of you make a good point about recommending the 300h in my situation. If any of you have a 300h what do you think of the car in term of driving dynamics.

I know it wont get me the feel of a bmw, but my ideal car would be drive like a BMW and the interiors of a lexus.

well that car does not exist, so there has to be a compromise.

I will have to test drive myself to find out how the ES300h is. Another car thatI was considering was teh IS250 but it was very underowered and small and the next contender is the Acura TL. but they messed up the exterior design.

cossie1600

the new es corners like my Prius with slightly better steering feel and nicer driving position

Drtdvl

I recently purchased an RX350 F Sport and pick it up this Friday. My current vehicles include an M3 Sedan, X3 35i and a Jeep Wrangler. We have Lexus owners in the family but I have always leaned towards the German vehicles (Jeep excepted) as I really enjoy driving and not riding. The Lexus products tended to be a bit too soft in terms of steering and the suspension.

I was looking for a winter vehicle and decided to check out the product line at Lexus again. I liked the new spindle design grill and the Mica Claret RX 350 caught my eye. I took one out for a drive and although still quite soft riding, the vehicle had a bit of an edge to it and I actually enjoyed driving it.

Compared to my other vehicles, the RX mileage is pretty good and has the added bonus of using regular fuel. I would suggest the other vehicle to check out as a good compromise between the RX and the BMW product is the Acura MDX. Good handling crossover but the interior in my opinion was not as nice and where I am, the MDX surprisingly costs more.