I'm curious as to what you were driving before. The only ones I've driven have been the 350 or 350 AWD with standard suspension. I thought they rode nicely, certainly even softer than our X3.

 

2000 toyota camry and 2017 audi a6. Both were leagues better in handling less than perfect roads. This car literally feels like it has no shock absorbers. Every crevice and bump in the road is transmitted to the cabin like someone is punching under you.

i agree it doesnt feel normal or what you would expect from a new lexus

 

it was very rushed since it just came off the truck and apparently multiple people were interested. Yeah took it on perfectly paved roads and it rode fine.

should have taken it on a wider variety of roads but would have never expected a brand new lexus to drive this way on slightly imperfect roads

 

Our 2024 RX450h+ certainly rides firmer than our 2013 RX350 did, but also handles much better. There are certain roads that give the 2024 a harsh ride, where the 2013 glided over them. Roads with large cracks, uneven heights or frost heaves are particularly bad. With typical roads for California, it rides fine. I do notice that impacts are much smoother with the 19" wheels in the lesser equipped loaners I've driven, vs the 21" wheels.

I was hoping that Michelin would produce a CrossClimate 2 in the OEM size, as that tire does well over impacts, as well as just being a phenomenal tire, but they didnt have plans to make one as of a few months ago. Out of the current choices, the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady 2nlools like the best option.

 

i had 21” then downgraded to 19” specifically so i could get those michelin crossclimates for a potentially better ride. Still feels terrible

have spoken to some others and they dont have any of these issues. Starting to think i may just have a lemon…hopefully they find something wrong and fix it

 

The only way to know for sure is to go drive another new RX and see if it rides the same.

 

How and where did you learn that Michelin has no plans to produce CC2 for the 21 inch RX dimensions?

Asking because I read from a Reddit poster that Michelin said over phone that they will start producing CC2 from Sept 2025 - albeit, I’m quoting hearsay here…

Also, Geolanders from Yokohama is an available option, even from Tirerack. How do the Geolanders compare against the Goodyears in your view ? I seem to think Geolanders would be a better bet than the Goodyears, but that’s just a non-data-driven impression

 

There are always a few "unicorn" escapes.

The wife and I are looking at a different premium hybrid SUV, had one that matched what we wanted but a bad vibration, very obvious on the center console armrest.

Dealer has checked tire pressure, balance, actual center console attachment, shocks,..., can't find what causes it. They say they ran into this on another couple of them over the last 18mo, escalated it to higher tier engineering support without success.

We drove several others of the same trim/package/tires (just wrong color schemes), no vibration. That tells us it truly is not "normal".

Fortunately we caught it on the test drive, flagged it, dealer acknowledged that it's real. Since it's pre-sale there's no harm to us, just a drag to have to keep looking.

 

There has to be something wrong here. My in-laws bought the car and only have the highest praises for the ride. When we bought our's for my wife's daily, she loved/loves it and she would have mentioned any issues with the ride. Both have 21" wheels.

I noticed an odd "thumping" feel on smooth roads when I first test drove the one we bought, but I also test drove a couple others, felt the same thing and chalked it up to suspension design. There is a review of the suspension by a youtube channel called SavageGeese. They are one of the few reviewers that put the car on a lift and discuss suspension design and engineering. Their takeaway was that for a vehicle branded as luxury, it shares the same less sophisticated stamped steel components as any Toyota using the same platform. I agree with this since compared to my Macan, the handling is no comparison but I think it rides at the same comfort level. I enjoy taking the RX on drives with the family and have no true complaints about the ride.

 

In my case, for the non-Lexus hybrid, my local dealer got back to me today. They ended up changing rims and tires, vibration gone. We'll check it out tomorrow.

 

R350h with 21" wheels driven mainmly in northern NJ but plenty of trips into Manhattan, midtown, downtown where as you may know some roads are horrendous. This is the smoothest, quietest silky driving car I've ever owned. If yours feels so horrible, something must be wrong.

 

Yeah, something must be wrong. I drove every version of the RX back-to-back at the 2023 RX press launch, and the 350h has the softest suspension of the entire lineup. That being said, I didn't drive it anywhere where the roads were terrible. Driving the sportier RX 500 around Los Angeles, which has terrible roads, produced some unwanted results, but it was still reasonably comfortable IMHO.

 

ha, if you think LA has terrible roads try driving in New England...

 

I have. I grew up there and can assure you that most LA roads -- the ones not called the canyons that you'll see in lots of car reviews -- are horrendous. Like driving through New Hampshire in the spring after the latest round of frost heaves, hahahaha.

 

You mean "Mud Season"? When the frozen earth begins to soften?