I don’t know. I had snow tires on the Pilot all winter and could only get a tiny bit of tire slippage on salt/sand covered roads. Somehow the AWD in the Honda is superior as far as traction from a stop AND I still get significantly better gas mileage in the Honda (22 MPG mixed vs 19 MPG mixed).

Don’t get me wrong....I love my RX for what it is - comfortable and solid - but I do think Lexus needs to work on driving dynamics to catch more of the market. The most obvious place is the AWD system and adding torque vectoring at the rear which is starting to show up in more Toyota vehicles. Next is just sterling feel in general.

 

Re the AWD i agree I had a Subaru outback and there is no comparison, but again most RX will never see the terrain that a subie will.

 

I recently purchased a 2016 RX350 AWD. I noticed a 4x4 button close to the arm rest. Do you need to push this to activate the AWD or will the vehicle automatically shift to AWD when conditions deteriorate?

 

All automatic. That button engages an AWD lock mode for situations where additional power may be needed to free the car from mud etc.

 

That "lock" is only available up to 25 mph then it goes back to automatic allocation. There should be a graphic in your center display showing AWD automatically engage at start off, then 2 and 4 wheel depending on acceleration and conditions.

 

Thanks for the clarification!

 

Is this AWD full time or is it only full time on the f sport mode?

my 2010 rx350 is awd but not full time, turns off past 15 mph

 

As far as I know, RX is FF based thus not full time. Fsport same.

 

my dealer said this

For all AWD RX350
Variable Valve Timing 8-Speed Automatic Transmission Drive Mode Select Full Time Active Torque Control All-Wheel Drive

 

Said all of that, did they?

 

That's exactly it, actively adjusts the rear torque on demand depending of the road condition. When it's snowing or icy here, I see it always providing half of the front torque, and same torque for big snow storms when very slippery.

 

Full Time AWD is different than Full Time 4 Wheel Drive.

 

Yes & No, the RX350 is always AWD when under acceleration, once the selected speed is reached it reverts to FWD.
Easy enough to see by selecting the proper window in the instrument panel.

 

I dont think so. When it rains, hard acceleration from a complete stop slips tires unless you manually lock 4wd.

 

try sport mode. I noticed it used all 4 wheels MUCH more in sport mode versus regular.