My wife's 15 year old Ford Windstar was dying right when I was in the middle of leasing a 2015 RX 350. We purchased a 2015 Highlander Limited to replace it. So now I am in a position to compare the two as they were acquired a week a part. The Highlander list price was about $10,000 less than the RX. Both have 19 inch great looking wheels. Early impressions are that the Highlander Limited on the road is just as quiet as the RX. The Highlander comes with 2 years of free maintenance. The power rear door is much noisier than the RX. So much so that I am tempted to take it in and have it checked out. I have registered with toyotanation.com and apparently there are other people having problems. By the way clublexus.com from what I have seen is a much better website, both in content aand ease of use. That's all for now, but will follow up from time to time.

 

At the time I checked out the new Highlander, I was impressed with the fit/finish and reviews about near Lexus RX-like ride and NVH. Seeing it's a gen ahead of the current RX, it's also testament to how good the current RX is, yet how much better the next RX will be. Would love to see a comparison review.

 

Very interesting. Please post your impressions as you drive them more. Other people might be contemplating which one to get. And don't worry, it doesn't have to be as detailed as corrado's NX/RX review, LOL!

 

I just hope my wife lets me drive it once in awhile ! Right now it's her baby and she doesn't seem to like when I drive it. LOL

 

Corrado's NX/RX review qualifies for a Pulitzer prize!
Ray A.

 

Very true Ray. Now you know why corrado is a mod now. His contributions to the RX forum and CL are phenomenal.

 

Should be a Vice President Of Marketing at Lexus Corp!

 

Forgot to say again, Marqevans, no pressure

 

Ok this is going to be a little bit at a time. The Highlander seems bigger than the RX. You feel like you are riding higher. I think it is because the hood doesn't slant down as much as the RX. The interior/cargo space seems larger also. But here's the thing when you look at the specs by the book there is very little difference in size. In fact my wife and I argued about this. I wanted to just buy my 2012 Rx out of the lease and then lease the 2015 RX so we would have 2 RX's. I didn't push it because it had been 15 years with the Windstar and I thought she should get what she wanted. She cried a lot though when we left the Windstar behind.

Back to the comparison, the RX premium stereo simply blows away the JBL stereo in the Highlander. I just cant seem to adjust the balance, base etc to come close to the RX. By the way I am not an audio expert by any means. In addition the Highlander has a bigger NAV screen but it is touch controlled. I find the radio pre-sets too small to reach over and press. I feel more comfortable
using the mouse now with the RX.

That's all I have for now. It's going to hit 40 degrees tomorrow and I plan on dragging out the hose and washing both of them. Perhaps more will come to me after going over every inch of each car!

 

Ray, Anita, azinn, too funny, though I wouldn't mind the VP position

Marqevans, smart in giving us a bit at a time as it gets us to keep coming back.

One small thing though I want to point out is the Nav screen size is the same as the RX's at 8", but you probably perceive it to be smaller on the RX since it's recessed a few inches further back and higher up so that it is in the driver's line of sight.

You're right about size differences being minimal since as you may know, the RX is based on the Highlander. Only 3 inches separate them in length...

 

Good point about the Nav screen. The recess makes the screen farther away, but it also eliminates sun glare.

 

Another difference, the RX from the factory has the ability to lower the windows and open the sunroof useing the smart remote. The Highlander has this capability but it is not programmed from the factory. You have to take it to the dealer to get it customized. Why would they not program this cool feature in?

 

The ability to open the windows and moonroof with the remote is the default setting for Lexus. Maybe it's not for Toyota. But they can take care of programming it pretty easily. I'm glad you didn't lose that handy feature with the Highlander.

Yesterday I stopped by the local Toyota dealership to pick up wiper blade refills. I had a few minutes to spare and stepped into the showroom to check out the Highlander. Unfortunately they only had a '12 without nav. I wanted to see what the screen looked like compared to the RX. The dash layout was nice otherwise. And it has lots of room in the back. The door opening seemed wider. The RAV4 and Forerunner were nearby. Of course I had to look at them too. Have to say, I like the dash on the RAV4 more than the NX. The radio is above the protruding part of the vertical part of the dash instead of below. The seats were nice, two tone. I couldn't get a decent look at the Forerunner. I opened the door and wow, is that a step up to get in there. I'm not short either. It's so much bigger too. The Highlander is definitely the happy medium.

 

I haven't seen you mention but I read somewhere Highlander Limited comes with RCTA and a better back up camera. Is that true? RCTA is one thing I think really useful. BTW, I think Toyota did a good job on the Highlander. Looks really nice for its group.

 

We looked at a used certified 2012 Highlander Ltd. in blizzard pearl with 32000 miles on it. It was a good deal. We decided to go home and sleep on it. Came back the next day to buy it and it was off on a test drive. That couple bought it! My wife was in tears over losing it. I couldn't disappoint her so we bought a new one in blizzard pearl.