I just bought one of these fully loaded in Pearl White with the Java interior for my wife. The interior is just stunning in this combo, leather and stiching everywhere, and in my opinion, really outdoes everything it competes against.

I mostly agree w/ MM's review of it, except for the point about the electronic nannies. You can completely turn off the intervention with a button on the steering wheel, and you can set up whether the car beeps at you or not through an interface in the gauge cluster operated by steering wheel buttons.

I do agree about the comments regarding the engine, as far as it concerns me, but my wife loves the CVT ("It feels like a Mercedes") because there's no gear changes, it's just completely smooth. And she keeps the thing in Eco mode all the time anyways, so the lack of pep isn't an issue. I will say, though, that in Sport mode, the thing can move even though it shows it's weight. This isn't a slow vehicle by any means, and feels just as fast if not faster than the Q7 TDI we test drove with its gobs of torque, it's just simply not as fast as the smaller, lighter, Lexus RX350.

Short version is : The JX does everything Lexus, MB, and Audi do, for maybe a little less prestige, but much better price and more mom-friendly features. I call the car a non-minivan minivan, and that's really exactly what it is - a minivan for the luxury car buyer who hates minivans. Don't expect a capable SUV here, this is a suburban family hauler.

 

Congratulations to both of you on your purchases.

A long formal break-in today is not as critical as in the past, but it's still a good idea to take it easy on the drivetrain and brakes for the first 500-1000 miles...and no towing. Don't accelerate or brake full-force unless you have to to avoid an accident....and keep the RPMs below 4000.

 

Did the one you drove have the Eco Pedal? That thing makes it near impossible for any spirited driving.

(For those not familiar - it adds resistance to the gas pedal to "force" you to drive economically; and it really works. Of course you can fight it and drive fast anyways, but it's easier to take the car out of Eco mode than do that)

 

I tried the ECO pedal and didn't really like it. I am not an aggressive driver anyway and I prefer smooth rolling to constant acceleration/deceleration. So the ECO doesn't do anything I don't do already.

The safety features on the other hand are very nice. They seem a little intrusive and over-protecting at first, but in just a week of driving the Front Collision Prevention feature saved our *** (or should I say "front") twice. One time a driver who had me in his blindspot suddenly moved into my lane right in front of me. The JX hit the breaks in an instant before I could react or even realize what's happening. The other time I got distracted when traffic in front of me suddenly came to a complete stop in an unexpected place . Again JX applied brakes just in time.

 

The Eco Pedal is one of those things that if you think about it, you'll hate it. It only really is good when you forget it's there.

 

I drove my sister JX few times, same color combo as yours and I like it. It is as smooth as my RX450h and quieter than my spouse's RX350, not as pepppy though. You can def. feel its weigh. I LOVE its NAVI, much much better than the ones in our RX''es. Lexus needs to have new Navi...too outdated. It costs as much or more than the RX lines with comparable equipments, of course it has an extra row in the back. The bonus....is that the second row can slide forward EVEN with the carseat attached to it.

 

I won't actually start a new thread on it, but I saw the new Nissan Pathfinder at the D.C. auto show (it was unlocked, so the public could sit in it and check it out). The new Pathfinder, which is essentially a less-expensive/decontented JX35, is pretty nice in its own right. The interior/exterior trim and standard-equipment level, of course, is not quite up to the JX35, but the difference is not much at all. Most people who check out the JX would probably also be (almost) as satisfied with the Pathfinder. Of course, paying extra for the Infiniti nameplate buys more than just cosmetic trim and equipment....the standard factory-warranties are longer, and the level of dealer-customer service is often higher.