Hi all,

I have a Rav4 v6 sports. I have a long commute and want something comfortable. My wife drives a 3 series as her commute is short its a lease for 10,000 miles a year.

I am in a bot fo confusion, I still have 1.5 years of payments left on the rav4 but I am thinking if i trade it in and lease a lexus at least I will be getting some comfort in my long drives. Couple of things that I am not sure of, I love driving the BMW, but the comparable X5 is way too expensive and I feel the X3 is also more expensive than the RX350 and yet a little smaller.

The MPG on the RX350 will be lower than my rav4 buy at least 2-3 miles a gallon. If I want to keep my payments down, i have to lease, and do people even lease a lexus, because they are reliable i don't think it makes sense to lease them, or am i wrong?

I do like the leasing idea, coz I am the kind of person who gets bored easily and want something new every 2-3 years.

Now my current payment on the rav4 is $400? can I lease an RX350 and be close to that figure?


Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I doubt you'll find many people on a Lexus forum who will try to dissuade you from purchasing an RX. What I will tell you is that I have a '13 RX350 and it is perhaps the best car I've ever owned, though I haven't had it for long. It's just amazing and exactly what we wanted. Super smooth and comfortable. We get around 24 mpg on highway commutes, if that helps you at all.

As for leasing, I'd venture to say at least as many are leased as are purchased. Leasing is VERY big for Lexus, because they hold their value so well.

I hate to give specifics on leasing costs, because there are so many variables, but I can tell you that our RX is pretty much loaded and we pay under $500 a month on a 36 month lease.

Best of luck in your decision! I do like the RAV4s, but this would be a nice, natural step up for you!

 

Thanks for your reply. I am glad to know that you are happy with your car, under $500 a month, that's good to hear, although I know there are many factors that go into lease and it might be different for me. If you don't mind sharing how many miles a year do you have on your lease.

I would need at least 17,000 miles a year for lease because of my long commute.

Does anyone know how the BMW X3 would compare to this in terms of size?

 

Mine is 36 months and 10k miles per year. If you drive 17k a year, it might be difficult to make a lease work (though I think people worry about lease miles too much). Never hurts to consult your local dealer and see what they can offer in both a lease and financing. The RX is the most trouble free/reliable vehicle there is, so don't shy away from a properly maintained used one either.

I looked at the X3. It's a lot roomier inside than I expected it to be, but still a bit smaller than the RX.

 

If you drive 17K miles/year, then leasing is not for you. Neither is owning a BMW, as it will cost you and arm and a leg to keep running with high miles. Lexus or a Toyota is an excellent choice in this situation.
However, I always ask people why they want to have an SUV. If a sedan can fill your needs, then why not go that route? Lexus has some good contenders. I'd even go as far as recommending a CT200h to offset the cost of gas of the commute.

 

If you go to

cars.com

there is a comparison tool that you can compare the specs of up to 4 cars side by side.

C

 

As JDR76 said, we'll probably be biased.... but... for good reason. The RX facts speak for themselves. Besides the obvious best-in-class reliability and initial quality, it is also an excellent quiet and comfortable highway cruiser, noticeably quieter than a RAV4 V6 (my dad owned the 4 cyl model and tire/wind noise is prominent). The RAV4 has a smaller turning circle and is more nimble and quicker thanks to it smaller size and weight, but not as smooth, comfortable, and quiet.

An X3 or X5 are the sportier, better handling alternatives, but with stiffer rides, the highway ride won't be as smooth as the RX.

Good luck

 

I dont know if leasing will work if you drive so many miles.

 

Yes, I think its going to be difficult leasing with so many miles. Yes, I do like the driving/handling of BMW. I also realize that when you have to be in the car for long hours, you just need comfort more than anything.

I also had a question about the seats and leather. I have read somewhere that with lighter color leather and wearing jeans is not a good idea? is this true, that the lighter color leather absorbs the blue color from the jeans?

Whats the solution? can it be removed?

Also, what are some of the standard creature comforts that the lexus offers as standards that would be optional on the other SUV?

 

JD, did you have to put any down payment? What is the sticker price of your RX?

 

But it's not completely non-doable to lease with a higher mileage allotment. You can supposedly "purchase" more miles if you need the extra miles. For instance, on my lease for my last two RX's, I have specified that I needed a 15,000 per year mileage allotment. It does raise the monthly lease payment a little more for mileage allotment. I believe you can purchase an 18,000 mile allotment per year on a lease of an RX. You'd have to check with your dealer and see if that would work out to a comfortable monthly payment and with your mileage requirements. Best of Luck on your car shopping

 

So I went for a test drive today. First the RX350, loved the seats and comfort, felt bigger and wider to sit on the seats specially coming from a RAV4. The usual test drive on a pretty straight road, will have to take it through some bumpy roads to see how well it absorbs the bumps and how well it does on the highway.

I am not sure, but I think I was expecting it to be quitter, had the radio off and fan off too, but I remember from driving a 450h a long time ago and felt that it was quitter. I wish it was more quite than it was, but not a deal breaker. Does it only come with a wood steering? Also, really liked the interior of the new ES and IS, would have been nice if they would do the same on the RX as well.

It drove like a lexus... and the size was good, but a little heavy than the RAV4 and a little slower than it too, I have the RAV4 V6, which is peppy and zips.

Does the lexus do a good job of getting off a Ramp?

Now need some advice on color and price - though would go with the parchment but read and was told by the sales rep that its hard to maintain and the seat taking some of the blue color from jeans.

So may be Saddle? would it fair better. Exterior would be Black, so what would be a good interior choice?

Price -
msrp - $41,160
comfort package - $1340
navigation - $2775 (almost thinking of not getting navigation but would like the other things that come with it, is is possible to just not get the navigation)

intuitive parking - $500 (is this a useful feature to have?)

Premium packg - $2760

wood leather trimmed steering wheel and shift **** - $330

cargo mat,net wheel locks and key glove - $255

delivery processing and key glove - $910

total - $50,030


Now the guy told me that they can do invoice would be around $47,000 and with the lease incentive going on they can take additional $2000 off making a net of $45,000

Is this a good deal? can I do better, if so by how much?

Now we also test drove the X3, but it was smaller than the RX350 and my biggest gripe was the seats were not as comfortable as I would like it to be. It drove great, but thats it.

So, its pretty much the RX350, but need to get a good deal. I would also be trading my RAV4, hopefully it will have a positive equity.

Please help with my questions above.

 

^^^ Check the tires on the RX you test drove. Did it have the Dunlops? If so, they are noisier and harsher than the Michelins. In your negotiation, request a wheel swap with the Michelins since you value ride quality and tire noise.

 

I love my RAV4 EV ( close to your RAV 4 V6 except no gas and instant Torque).

Do not expect a "sport SEDAN" experience (your wife 3 series) with an SAV ( X5 and X3).
You'll be disappointed.
So if i was in your shoes, im getting a 5 series instead.

My vote is to go with a 350 since i own one too, BUT reading your original post, it seems you'll better with a LeXus sedan. ES or GS will be my choice, and you'll enjoy higher mpg vs an RX.

 

I agree that a sedan would be ideal, better mpg etc. however I think we need an SUV, since it comes very handy to haul people visiting or getting some large items which would not fit in a sedan. Since we already have a sedan we want the other car to be a SUV.

I am just worried that the low mpg and my long commute is not a wise financial choice for the RX.

I had previously not looked at some of the other suv, but maybe I need to take a look at them as well. I think the low mpg on the rx350 is the biggest reason stopping me from it. I have a 100+miles commute and with only 20mpg it will be very expensive in terms of gas? How is the real world number, 90%highway 10%city.

The Q5 diesel would give better mpg perhaps, I have no idea about Audis to be honest. This is becoming more difficult that I originally thought.

Oh the Lexus RX that we test drove had 19" tires if that makes any difference, but I don't know if it had the Dunlops or the Michelins. I would defiantly look into that. Does 19" give better ride or the regular 18"?