warminwisc

I have driven the RX 330 and liked it and my LS430 has 165k on it. Do alot of skiing so a softer riding SUV to load gear in makes sense. I am 60 years old and have a Touareg but am considering a 2012ish RX in the lower 20k range. Is there a sport suspension besides the F Sport which makes a difference at all in handling? How common is Sport Suspension if there is one besides the F Sport. Is Luxury package just firmer casue of the 19's? Gotta get out and drive some but help ahead of time would be nice, thanks.

Is Radar Cruise uncommon I think its a separate add on

lexusrus

I would suggest a RX450h instead.

​​​​​​We have a 2013 RX450h bought brand new at a heavy DISCOUNT since it was loaded with all OPTIONS EXCEPT for HUD and PCS. BC the MSRP with a "FULLY LOADED" hybrid RX450h was way up there it sat at the dealership for a long time (there was already some $8K premium when compared RX350 base to RX450h base).
The suspension on the RX450h is "tighter", more stable at highway speeds, and more refined (reminds us of the MB hardtop convertibles we have). Whereas the suspensions on the RX350 (even in F Sport trim) was just "sloppy" to us with too much sliding all over the place. I realized this is a too heavy SUV not a low riding sport car, but the RX450h just felt more composed (probably due to the heavy hybrid batteries behind the second row seats and ours had the "F Sport APPEARANCE PACKAGE with upgraded larger 19 inch wheels and tires and some other goodies which I can't recall right now. Ours did have the Luxury Package AND Convenient Package as I recall).

The PCS (which we have on our LX570, but not on the RX450h) really helps on long highway drives bc you just set it at whatever highway mph you want and set the following distance for the car ahead and the PCS will brake and accelerate automatically. You just need to steer the car (the new system on the upcoming 2018 LS models will steer for you!!!). One draw back on the PCS is when engaged and you accelerate to change lanes and there is a car ahead or a big sign ahead on a curve, the PCS WILL engage the brakes hard. My wife freaked out on her first use and since will not use the PCS feature on our LX570 again. I am OK with the PCS. Also the PCS (on our LX570, IDK about on other LEXUS models) when engaged, PCS uses the brakes to slow down and not by down shifting. This potentially can be a problem if on an extended down hill steep mountain pass where your brakes nay overheat and rotors get wrapped.

The PCS (at least back in 2013) was rare for the west coast (we live in SoCal). We had to wait and searched for 9 months for an LX570 for the RIGHT color combo with PCS. I would do it again and wait for it bc the PCS just make long distance drives way much better. The RX450h gets better mpg in city stop and go traffic (around 28+ mpg) vs LX570 (around 10mpg). So we use RX450h around town. The LX570 gets around 18 mpg on highway and it's a better ride on the highway anyway.

Now that the gas is CHEAP, NOBODY is really beating on the dealer's doors trying to buy a hybrid RX450h. So the RX450h is selling for the same price as the RX350 in the used car market. Just make sure to have the WHOLE CAR checked out at a third party Lexus dealership ( for around $150 to $250 inspection). Get a print out of all SYSTEMS checked, including the hybrid batteries.

If you are in CA, the hybrid batteries drive System is warranted for longer vs the rest of USA due to CA mandate.

Most (95%) of the taxis in LAX airport are Toyota Prius hybrids. I fly out of LAX on a regular basis and at the LAX taxi holding lot, all you see is a blanket of Pruis's covering the entire holding lot. It's very common for these Toyota hybrids to go 300K miles+ without any problems.

I would try to get the RX450h instead. But not the prior gen RX400h.

I hope the above helps. Good luck

kitlz

warminwisc, if you're looking for similar suspension to the F-Sport, then you might want to consider an RX with the sport package. It has less body roll than a regular RX. As far as the ride itself, it's a bit firmer but tolerable with the right tire IMO. VDIM is also standard. That'll certainly help in the snow. It doesn't come with the 8-speed trans like the F-Sport. I'd recommend driving both to see the difference. Just to point out, there's also the sport appearance package. It's just that, looks. The suspension is normal.

PCS/radar cruise control is more typical on RXs with the luxury package. They tend to have more options overall. But it might take a while to find one.

Good luck on your search.

Clutchless

The sport suspension package model was from 2010 to, I think 2012, and is very rare and after searching a year for a low mileage one, I gave up and got a regular AWD model with Nav. Only certain states had most of them, such as California and Texas, although I found one in upstate New York but it did not work out.
However, I learned the only suspension change was the sport suspension shocks. Plus the VDIM which is supposed to do something electronic to the brake/trans system etc, but which you will probably never notice the difference. Thus, you can just add the Sport Suspension OEM struts (front) and shocks (rear) to build your own and then you will have new shocks and struts!
When my rear shocks developed the famous leak, I replaced them with the sport suspension shocks and they did help the handling and reduce body roll while stiffening up the ride a little bit. I still have the original struts in front, plus the other stuff listed in my signature. I also recommend the wheel spacers if you want to reduce body roll. Well worth the couple hundred dollars and an easy install.

warminwisc

Wow awesome help, I like the reponses they where very helpful! My 2 LS's have been very bulletproof with onlu wheel bearings and subwoofer in 250k miles on 2 2004's. Is the RX 2010 and up and the 45oH gonna be just as reliabe? I will chekck other threads also