hey guys,

I am new to the Lexus ecosphere wo bear with me.
My wife, dog and myself just moved from Switzerland to California and now we need to get a car.
coming from a 1995 BMW 540 with 30k miles I need something with durability and reliability which I did not find in most recent cars I drove before. We are roadtrip people and have no kids. Now we looked at a 2010 GX460 with 75k miles and a RX350 with 40k miles and I am completely unsure on which one to pull the trigger. The GX is like a boat, slow but steady and super comfortable. The RX feels much more reactive and sporty. Yet one has almost twice the miles, which in Switzerland would mean a lot.
can anyone help me out with this thing?
very much appreciated

 

what is your budget? what do you use the car for? do you intend to drive a lot or a little.
ultimately the gx is a truck which means poorer mpg and worse car handling in exchange for space and better offroad or 4wd activities and ability to eat up road imperfections.
if you have no use for those purposes then get the rx.

Also would you consider a 2015 rx for which there is more inventory and you probably can get cpo.

 

You can view the brochures and check what was standard and optional on both the RX and GX at http://www.auto-brochures.com/lexus.html

Maybe it's a misconception but it has always appeared to me that a higher percentage of vehicles sold in California have a high level of optional equipment than vehicles sold in most other states.

If I was buying a new or used Lexus of any model today, I would consider only ones that have Pre-Collision System (PCS) and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC). Adaptive cruise control is wonderful on road trips. PCS is phenomenal in how it can react in a split second.

If your "road trip" adventures are to snowy/slushy areas and this being Winter, I suggest that you look for one that has headlamp washers - standard on some model years for the GX and in the optional Cold Weather package on the RX if I remember correctly. (At this time of year, I am especially perturbed about the vehicle we use most for road trips not having headlamp washers.)

 

Have you looked at the 3rd gen RX450h? We have a 2013 RX450h and a 2013 LX570 (Plus other Lexi we have currently).

I don't know where in California you are located, but if you are in SoCal (or NorCal) with all that stop and go traffic, you will really like the HYBRIDS as in the RX450h. Try to get either the 3rd gen RX 450h or the NEW 4th gen RX450h. Not only the MPG is way better on stop and go traffic with the HYBRIDS, the ride comfort is BETTER in the RX450h vs the GX460. Although our LX570 rides EXCELLENT too. The RX450h has FIRMER suspensions due to the weight of the hybrid batteries and different suspension setup. If you are used to "German" cars, then I would recommend that you check out the RX450h.

The GX OR LX just do poorly in stop and go traffic with MPG in the low teens and Sometimes only 9 MPG in real heavy stop and go traffic!! But in sustained highway speeds (75 - 80 mph), our LX get 18+ MPG.

GOOD LUCK. You can't go wrong with ANY Lexus. You just need to test drive ALL to find the right fit for you. A good place to test drive and check out a variety of cars/SUV's is CarMax. Just search online. CarMax will locate a car to another CarMax near you (sometimes free, but usually for a small fee). I've never bought from CarMax, but had test drove many. My wife opted to buy new, so she won.....and CarMax does not sell new cars☹️☹️☹️☹️

 

Can you tolerate the giant, swing-to-the-side tailgate of the GX? It makes a lot of things horrible in a garage.

 

I find the GX tailgate cumbersome in garages, unless you have the space for it