Wife’s 2010 RX is getting long in the tooth. 200,000 miles and running fine but she puts 400 miles a week on the car, interstate and through a state forest. She loves her Matador Red and tan RX but is getting wary of major issues on the interstate or the forest.

Which year RX should I look at for replacement? Usually have bought loaners from the dealer which are last years models and CPO long warranties. Also can usually talk them down the CPO cost at least.

I just don’t know which years have what and are better than others. Looking for guidance.

 

honestly... I'd look long and hard at the 450h... The CVT is butter smooth and 25 mpg is nice to boot, and I use nothing but 87 octane gas. The jerky transmission on the RX was enough to force me to trade my '17 RX to an '18 RXhL and I'm glad I did it.. That being said, any year with lower mileage would be fine for the hybrid as they are all built in Japan

 

Not sure that Hybrids are still built in Japan? That used to be true. If the VIN # begins with a "J", it was built in Japan. If not a "J" it was built in North America.

 

not sure what this has to do with anything ??
my 450h was built in canada

 

Thanks for the preferences on the hybrid. What improvements were made between 2016 and 2020?

 

My 2017 Rx450h was built in Canada. Smooth transmission and routinely get 33MPG.

 

On hybrids, it is the transmission being a CVT instead of 8 speeds that makes a difference, not where it was built...

 

This "shiftlessness" is what I like most about my 2010 450h. Just step on the gas, engine rpms come up, car accelerates as though powered by a jet engine. It actually feels strange to be in a car with a transmission and to feel/hear the shifting. So 20th-century.

And, as has been repeated many times on these blogs, the car is "CVT" only in that it is shiftless; it shares nothing else in common with the conventional cone/belt CVT concept. It's nothing more than an ICE mated with an electric motor through a planetary gearset. Nothing wears out.

 

sorry... I have a 450hL which was built in Japan. The biggest improvement I see coming from a '17 RX350 to an '18 RX450hL is the smoothness of the CVT. The RX350, jumped and stuttered with the transmission, especially coming from a dead stop. The hesitation was terrible. The RX450 has been rock solid, drives amazingly, and at my 20k service I still had brakes that were like new, because of the inductive braking, pads and rotors will last 3 times as long as the RX350. Kids and other passengers also prefer the second row captains chairs of the L version. They slide for extra room and they are heated as well.

 

To answer your question, 2016 is the year that starts the fourth generation. There are plenty of low mileage 2016s out there. The OP asked about RX 350s, not 450s....and CVT transmissions are one of the most hated developments in automobile history.

 

no mention from the op about 350 or 450
as far as the cvt, whew, glad we don't have what you are referring to, the 450 is a ecvt, or electronic , but it uses a motor and planetary gears, .......

there were changes between 16 and 17 with stock safety electronics package, as well as cruise control i believe, the 16 did not stop and go, i believe

 

My 2016 "stops and goes" using Radar cruise. It depends on the package. You need to have the Lexus Safety+ package, which wasn't standard on all 2016's, but became standard with 2017 and up.

 

got ya, thanks for the clarification.