WagonWill

I am considering purchasing a 3RX. My father, who is 96, recently moved in with me and I need a rig that he can get in and out of with relative ease. I had a S class Merc, which I sold recently, but I don't think it would have worked anyway. I only mention this because I was hoping the similarly sized LS430 would work, but it's too low, so now we're looking at crossovers. I have a VW MkV GTI 4 door and a Toyota Tundra 4x4 left in the arsenal, but the GTI is too low, too small and too noisy. The Tundra is too tall and too noisy. I have built a platform for him so he can at least get into the truck, but not only is it inconvenient, but a bit dangerous as it's 9.5" tall and he's not very strong or limber.

I'm thinking the RX might be a Goldilocks rig, but we live in the mountains and the closest one for sale is about 100 miles away, so I was hoping I could get someone to measure theirs for us. I am looking primarily for three measurements: the height of the seat bottom from the ground, the distance from the seat bottom to the top of the door and, finally the distance from the seat back to the dash. I'm thinking the seat should be in the all the way back and all the way down position as this gives us the biggest "hole" for ingress. I realize the the top of the door slants down as it goes forward, so perhaps a measurement of maximum height at the B pillar and then another measurement at the front of the seat bottom vertically to the top of the opening will give me the information I want. I am talking about the front passenger seat, just to be clear. I have tried to find this data online as the SAE has standards for all of this, but I simply can not find anything, which is a bit surprising to me as more and more of us are not as limber as we once were. The manufacturers talk a lot about the "H Point" (which is the height of the hip to ground) and whatnot, but no real data has been published as far as I can tell.

Thank you in advance!

Here are the measurements that I have for my current rigs.
<!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->Seat to HeaderSeat HeightDoor WidthVWGTI292127ToyotaTundra343628

Kansas

Toyota has "mobility" programs under both it's Toyota and Lexus brands that offer a variety of enhancements at low or even subsidized prices. Some Toyota-made vehicles are available with a remote controlled passenger or rear seat that extends out of the vehicle and drops down to ground level on a robotic arm to make it easy to get in to. And, depending on where you live, you might find local businesses that modify vehicles for handicap access including wheel chair lifts. Or look into a used vehicle with a wheel chair lift.

WagonWill

Thanks Jim! He's not quite at that point yet, but, yes, there is a company about 25 miles away that does van conversions for mobility impaired passengers. I'll give them a call as well as contacting a Lexus dealer to inquire about what programs they offer. Good suggestions, thanks!

I'd still like to get the measurements, if possible....

tkill

I don't have the measurments, but my mom has an RX and she uses it to transport my Grandma who is 97. Wheelchair to the side of the car, stand up, turn, butt down into seat. The height of the RX is just right for her so that she can scoot back into the seat without fear of falling and also get out to a standing position fairly easy (all with a lot of assistance of course).

N4TECguy

Hope this helps. My wife's RX was bought 180 miles away since we live in an isolated small town in the California desert. The car is in my driveway which is sloped, I don't think it will affect the measurements much. I am confirming that these are pics with the seat all the way back and all the way down, which is my preferred seating position
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Seat bottom to ground
Rough depth of seat cushion to top of the bolster. This pic looks like it's taken from a bit too high of an angle, so it may be half inch deeper than it says in the pic
Seat cushion to top of b pillar
Ground to top of b pillar
Ground to A pillar at the front of the seat cushion
Ground to front of seat cushion
Seat back right at hip point, to glovebox

WagonWill

WOW! Thanks so much!! The photos are great and are exactly what I wanted. Perfect. I have my eye on a '13 white/saddle example with most of the options other than Sport, HUD, and ML. 34K miles; $30K. I really like that saddle leather, but I'm a little apprehensive about the 19" wheels. I'll know more after my brother drives it (he lives nearby). He drives a X3, so it will be interesting to get his feedback. Assuming he likes it I'll go down, drive and hopefully buy it now that I know that the ingress is just about perfect for my father.

Kansas

I suggest that you take your father with you and "test fit" him into the vehicle to be certain.

One of the biggest impediments I've found when carrying people with mobility problems and especially with joint flexibility issues is the center console which can prevent people from sliding their butts into the vehicle far enough to be able to swing their legs in. A critical measurement related to being able to swing legs into the vehicle is the distance between from the lowest point of the seat back and the lower forward edge of the interior door trim panel of front hinged doors.

If your father is relatively short, the above probably won't matter.

I have way too much experience with these issues. Between my "young" wife and my parents who are in their 90's, there are eight artificial joints involved - six hips and two knees. (I'm the only one who still has all "OEM parts"!) It became very difficult for my father to swing his legs into the front seat of my last Lexus LS due to not being able to bend his legs enough. It was completely impossible for him to get into the back seat. He's only 6' feet tall. The vehicle he fits in best is his old late 1990's full size Buick with a front bench seat which allows him to slide towards the center of the car before swinging his legs in.

When I've measured the door openings of a number of vehicles made by Toyota, I found most were very close in size. The door openings of a Prius like my wife drives are about the same as on an LS460. I suppose this makes sense since people have to be able to get into vehicles no matter how big the vehicles are.

Funny you mentioned Mercedes S-class. Look at the rear door opening size of the current extra long Mercedes Maybach S-class: http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...h-person-2.jpg The rear seat compartment is huge with massive leg space but the rear door openings are tiny. I think the 450SEL I had in the 70's had bigger rear doors than that.

My current solution for hauling old people is what we call "The Geezer Bus". When the 2nd row seats are slid all the way back into what I call "4-passenger mode" there is incredible legroom and the sliding doors don't interfere with swinging legs in. I didn't realize how useful power closing doors are. Older people often seemed to have difficulty shutting/opening car doors and all they have to do in the van is to press a button. Here's a slightly altered photo of my wife in the back seat when I picked her up at the airport and she saw the van for the first time.

WagonWill

Good suggestions, all, thanks! Yes, I too have found that the width of door openings for many cars regardless of class are remarkably similar, but the seat to door header heights vary considerably; just think of a Lotus Elise vs. a Suburban or a Expedition, or the Sienna van, as you point out. We have considered the Sienna and may still go there, but I'd rather not if possible (selfish, I know....).. Taking my father for a test fit is a 5 hour proposition and not one to be taken lightly, hence my desire to collect data remotely. He still has all OEM parts (good phrase, thanks), but has difficulty bending his spine to get his head under a door header. He's 5'9", so that helps a bit with the search.

Mebbe a Sienna for him balanced with a Cayman S for myself? grin

Thanks again for your thoughtful input.

N4TECguy

You might see if you can call around and find an RX for rent. It'll cost a bit but then you'll know for sure. I know Hertz has a Prestige collection but don't know what that entails. The better idea I had is Turo, where you rent other people's cars, so you could get whatever year RX you wanted (Hertz only has pretty new cars by comparison). I agree with above poster that the center console is very close to the seat and makes it hard for me buckle the seat belt.

What you should consider if the 3RX doesn't work and you really don't want the sienna, is an 04-09 2RX where the center console is seat height, with a fold down armrest attached to each seat. The arm rests are very narrow, but you can buy wider ones on eBay - it's a popular mod. I drove a lot of these before I bought the 3RX on a whim and personally feel like they were designed with less bean counter input. They're just so old now that it's hard to find on good condition. But, I did drive an 04 with 90k miles at Lexus of Glendale that was absolutely cherry save for one dent. They were only asking 10k too - save enough for a Cayman almost . My caveat here though, and my wife and I both noticed this, is the seat back to glovebox distance is a couple inches less (at least) than the 3RX.

WagonWill

Thanks, I'll expand my search to the 2RX, but it's pretty old, as you say. At least they have timing chains instead of belts like the RX330. I'll also look into renting a 3RX as that would be a small investment, comparatively.

WagonWill

I looked into Turo; very interesting site! I didn't realize that so many great cars were available for rent! I found a couple of 3RX for rent for around $80 to $90 a day and unlimited mileage if I take it for a week. None locally, of course, but I could have my brother rent one and drive it up when he comes to visit. Good suggestion, thanks again.

N4TECguy

If the 3RX you're looking at is from a dealer, call them and ask if they'd let you take it for a day or something to see if your father likes it. Many dealers are ok doing that even with new cars. They shouldn't even blink for a used car - the extra miles means so little on a car with 35k miles, vs a 5 miles new vehicle.

WagonWill

The longer term loan from a dealer would be a good idea if one were closer, but that's the problem, they're not. Fortunately there's a well respected indy shop about 20 miles away, so I'm not too concerned about service once I acquire a rig.

tqh

The mobility program that Kansas mentioned is this: http://www.lexus.com/pdf/models/LexusMobilityForm.pdf
I've used it before and the whole process was easy and super quick.

tqh

I've used Turo to test drive a few cars, there are quite a few good deals. I once got a good one renting a 1 year old Land Cruiser at $90/day!