Rjkraz

I’ve been looking to upgrade my is350 to something bigger. I don’t put a ton of miles on my vehicle but do a lot of hauling kids around. I was leaning towards a 2015 but made the “mistake” of test driving a 2016 and fell in love (we have had a 04 rx330, my 07 is 350, and last year upgraded to 2013 Rx350 which we love). Now my turn to upgrade. Here in Canada most fully load3d 2016 are $45k ish. Found at dealer a higher mileage 106000km red series 3 for just under $40k. Love to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks.

DMPesso

How sold are you on the RX? Do yourself a favor and test drive an RX F Sport and also the new 2019 ES F Sport. I’m contemplating trading in my 2017 RX F Sport for the ES and I just got the car 3 months ago. There are some major defects that really have turned me off about the quality of the 4th gen RX. The biggest being the transmission and droning. Those are hard to live with and you don’t notice these problems until you own it of course. Don’t get me wrong, I love the car, especially how it looks. But it does not handle bumps well for such a large car (because it’s the f Sport I know), and these major defects just make me worried about having it after the warranty runs out. I came from a GS430 with 175,000 miles that had less defects. I was used to a certain level of Lexus quality. The RX is really not in the same level of quality as the chassis on the IS and GS. Since you have an IS I think you’ll be happy with the ES. I always hated the ES and said it was just a Camry with a Lexus badge but not the new one. Nothing but good reviews across the board. After driving it I realizing what the hype is about. They really nailed the new one. The new ES uses the new TGNA chassis which is much more solid then the old Camry platform the RX is built on.

mikemu30

We have a 17 RX non FSport and a new ES FSport. Apples and oranges. My wife likes the SUV feel of being higher up - I prefer the handling and smoothness of a sedan. Both great cars but careful with the RX FSport and make sure you are comfortable in the seats. I found them unbearable. Not the case with the ES.

DMPesso

Your the guy who made me want to test drive the ES lol. The seats adjust over time though, they annoyed me at first but now they’re fine. Besides the fact it’s apples and oranges comparing an SUV to a sedan I only mentioned the ES since he currently has the IS. It’s the perfect compromise if you want something larger but still like driving a sedan. Also, anyone who is going to purchase an RX should know about all these defects first. If I knew then what I know now I would have probably just gotten an ES F sport. I had a sedan and wanted something larger and didn’t even consider an ES since they were always just thought of as a fancy Camry, especially being that it’s FWD. The 2019 is on another level.

I thought I loved the interior of my RX F sport but the F sport ES is even nicer. Most notably the aluminum trim and that steering wheel they borrowed from the LS. Don’t even get me started on the seats. The ES F sport seats blow away the RX F sport seats. It’s the best seats I ever sat in besides the LS.

mikemu30

Im with you every step of the way. Our RX was manufactured after they modified the exhaust so the drone is minimal and I honestly hardly notice it at this point. As for the ES, I love it.

DMPesso

Yea I hardly noticed it also until I took a road trip and drove above 70MPH. I live in NYC so the car barely goes above 60. Some people have it even driving around the street. That’s crazy I would never be able to live with that

mikemu30

I get it probably more noticable in city driving.

markrivers

+1 on the observation about the chassis and the gear box
we have both a 2016 GS 350 F Sport and a 2016 RX 450h F Sport
even though the comparison is apples to oranges,
if i have to pick ONLY one, i will pick the GS more than the RX 450h
however, sitting high on the ground is a priority for my wife so that's why kept both

DMPesso

What is it with women and sitting high up. They all say that lol. I always knew the GS was a better car based on the chassis alone but now that I own an RX I’m really starting to miss that solid RWD platform.

Since you own both f sport models how would you say the ride is over bumpy roads? Is the GS better? I remember when I test drove the GS F sport before deciding to get the RX, the ride was very smooth over bumps. For some reason the RX feels more stiff then the GS did.

gnguyen

Be very careful with the Gen4 RX 350. Read up and understand all the defects before you make the plunge. I bought a 2019 RX 350. I tested it thoroughly and thought everything was okay. 200 miles later it developed the drone@vibration issue. Read this thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...vibration.html

Good luck!