MikeInOr

I have another thread on this forum asking about all things RX-450h related and received many great responses! After finding the right combination of mileage, price, lack of accidents and features I finally took the plunge last Saturday and purchased a 2010 RX-450h with 86K miles for $18,600 after flying from central Oregon to Seattle. I test drove the 450h three weeks but it took the seller 3 weeks to give up looking for the title and get a replacement from the DMV. If I had found a deal anywhere close to this 450h I would have jumped on it and said the heck with the seller... but it was worth the wait.

After closing the deal I made it all of 8 miles before being rear ended on the freeway in Seattle in stop and go traffic. ;-( Damage was minimal but I will let the insurance company take care of fixing it since the rearender has insurance.



The seller was a private party and the interior was not really dirty but very messy with a ton of dust and crap all over everything. My daughter and I spent Sunday detailing the 450h and it turned out as nice as I knew it would with a bit of elbow grease.

To top off I lost my wallet on the side of the freeway while getting the information from the person that hit me.

lexusrus

Sorry to hear what happened. Hopefully you get this sorted out soon

salimshah

Congratulations on the purchase.

Sorry to hear about the accident but does not look a major issue.

Make sure you slap the panels underneath to remove small rocks & pebbles.

Salim

Stoodo

iTrader: (4)

Sorry about the accident. What features did you get?

JT4

That stinks... Well congrats on the RX, the damage looks to be minor so you should ok moving forward.. Good luck!

Airbalance

So sad to read this

lexus114

oh man lexusrus, it can only get better from here...

vlad_a

Every car purchase goes thorough a minor incident. Now that you got that out of your way, enjoy your new to you RX450h. Great cars these are.
On a bright side, those scratches up on the bumper will be gone. Or you might be able to pop it in place and pocket the insurance money.

MikeInOr

I appreciate all the sentiment! I am not really crushed... stuff happens. The bumper should be easily reparable.

I love my 450h! I have read a lot of car reviews where the reviewer dogs on continuously variable transmissions... I think they are nuts! This is my first car with a CVT and I love it! I have driven other vehicles with CVT's and always liked them... now that I have several hundred miles (the trip home from Seattle) I can say I really love the CVT!

There are several small criticisms I could make about the RX's (mainly the headrest) but the 450h is by far the nicest car I have ever owned! After several hundred miles I can say that the acceleration and handling in the curves is more than sufficient for my heavy foot... better than I thought it would be. I also like that I can drive it at a leisurely pace and not feel the need to trounce on the pedal all the time.

I did end up with the cargo cover which I am happy about! WeatherTech mats (liners) are next on my list. I looked at the Lloyd rubbertite mats with the dimples for holding spills and they looked nice but I like the way the Weathertech matts go up the sides for a bit of extra protection.

I would like to thank everyone for there help in my purchasing process!

vlad_a

While technically a CVT, Toyota hybrids are better categorized as a Power Split Device.
Mandatory read here: http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

F250

Mike, congrats on closing the deal. I know how great it is to have this kind of research and purchase put to bed and then be able to finally ENJOY the thing! I HATE to hear about the rear end incident, but like you said, stuff happens. It's just frustrating, though, to have gone through what you have to this point to only have one more thing to resolve before finally settling into the new ride.

salimshah

I drove my mother-in-law's Acccord with CVT and being 4 banger, it was bit annoying [or needs getting used to rpm/power are different]. With 6 cylinder the peak power is not at the rpm of a 4 cylinder so it sounds and acts more in line. I too dont have any issue with the CVT on 450.

I did not enjoy the drive in ECO mode, so that lasted for few weeks.

How many have tried the manual gear over-ride. That thing is a bit of mystery as the throttle response (non ECO mode) is just fine. Maybe I should use that in ECO mode.

Salim

vlad_a

Salim, you're comparing apples and oranges. Try the Prius "CVT" and it will still be very different from the Accord because it is completely different technology. Little to do with 4-cyl vs 6 cyl.
Manual mode is nothing more than software keeping the engine RPM proportional to vehicle speed - all simulated.
Only good place to use it is to engage engine braking when driving through steep mountains... not that the RX won't do it for you when you let go of the gas pedal.
Eco mode, just like the Sport mode, is just there. I never use either. Snow mode is the only one worth checking out, as it changes certain AWD behavior.

MikeInOr

Most hybrids use a differential CVT... all gears, no belts.

Most gasoline engine only cars use a belt/chain based CVT with cone shaped pulleys that move in/out with relation to each other to provide the change in gearing.

These are completely different mechanical designs and do feel different in operation.

The other CVT cars I have driven were a Nissan Murano and Nissan Maxima, neither were a Lexus but neither were low end economy cars either. I actually liked the way both those vehicles drove. The differential CVT in my RX 450h feels very responsive, I hear no noise and I have no residual longing for the feeling of an automatic transmission hunting for gears. I do not understand what people don't like about CVT's? Or maybe it is just the auto writers that feel the need to whine about something... as most people that I know that actually own a CVT vehicle like it a lot and most others have no clue what a CVT is.