Wouldn't "somewhere between the older GL and GLK" mean the ML (now the GLE)?

 

Maybe. I did a review on a former ML, but haven't driven the latest GLE version yet. Good point, though.

 

Awesome review! Thanks so much for taking the time to inform us. Also love your Christmas graphics, and Merry Christmas to you too! Can't believe the season is already here.
I'd have to point out it's not the bean counters at all who omit the body side moldings. They are left out on purpose, as 99.99% of the buying public dislikes their appearance. This has been the case for quite a while now.
Not sure about brown seats with red piping. I'd leave the red trim to black seats.
I really hope I like this vehicle more in person. The floating roof and wild anteater snoot has not grown on my one bit since seeing this unit online a half year ago. I take it they are now for sale, so I'll be heading down to my dealer to check one out.
Thanks again for the great review on a very important vehicle.

 

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. The Holiday Review has been a tradition with me for some years now....usually on a new/redesigned Lexus product or other upscale vehicle. One of the most interesting I did, several years ago, was on a 60K SRT Chrysler 300.

(BTW, 99.99% of the buying public also dislikes what careless kids and door-openers do to unprotected panels)

Call me stubborn if you want (though I certainly respect your view) , but I'm not totally convinced it's isn't the bean-counters. A few vehicles still DO include them as standard today...but not many. Also, IMO, another sign that it's profit-driven is that a number of manufacturers that don't include them standard now charge extra for them as either a factory or dealer-installed option. Or, you can just do what I did for my Verano (and what I may do for my brother's new Sportage)....run down to Advance Auto Parts (or a similar place), spend maybe $15-20 or a little more, buy an aftermarket moulding, measure and trim it to fit each body panel (it's not that hard with a good sharp blade), and stick it on yourself. Most are held on with effective, all-weather, peel-off 3M adhesive, and stay on for years.


There are a number of different seat and trim colors/patters/materials available, depending on the specific model. Here....I'll re-post the link for you:

http://www.lexus.com/models/RX

Wasn't my cup of tea either, but I found it less of an eyesore in person than in the pictures/images. One thing that helps take your mind off the gimmicky styling is when you see how much nicer it is, both inside and one the road, than the more or less similarly-styled NX. Although the lack of standard heated seats (they are a $440 option....even more if you want heated/cooled seats) is a minus, in general, Lexus did NOT cut corners with this vehicle, and did a quality job inside and out.

Yes, they are on sale in the D.C. area......they may or may not be where you are. Just a couple of tips....I'd check first at the dealer you plan to visit and see if any are available (this can be done on the phone, on the dealer web-site for new-car inventory, or at everycarlisted.com). Then, make sure those listed vehicles haven't been sold (demand is very high for the vehicle right now)...and try and visit the dealer in the middle of the week or on days/hours when there isn't likely to be a lot of people there. (I did my review on Veterans' Day, and it was like a zoo LOL)

Good luck.....and let us know how it turns out.

 

The lack of side moldings is a styling decision, not a bean counter decision. They're simply out of style. Take my LS, it has door moldings/garnish, they're just down at the bottom of the door. Thats no cheaper than putting them up on the door.

Nice review. I look forward to driving one myself, I was going to do so today but I always hate to take up a salespersons' time on a busy Saturday, I'll pop by sometime next week when nobody is there. The more I see them in person the more I like them.

As for the hatch, my Sedona has a proximity hatch so if you stand there behind the hatch for like 3 or 4 seconds with the key in your pocket the hatch opens up. I too would prefer to sweep my foot under the bumper to that or how Lexus does it. For one...I may not have a free hand. For the system in the Sedona standing there is annoying, and if i just walk behind the van it starts beeping and if I stand there talking to a neighbor or something I have to dart out of range or the hatch will open.

 

Yes, I agree....a number of new vehicles do in fact put the molding way down on the bottom of the doors...where it does no practical good at all. Chalk another one up for form over function.

Thanks.

I checked Lexus of Rockville's new 2016 RX inventory in stock for you. As of today, they have 16 regular 350s, 2 Hybrids, and no F-Sports....but how long those will last is probably anyone's guess, especially on a weekend.

Ford, of course, gives you the leg-sweep-under-bumper automatic hatch-unlocking (standard) at an even lower price, on the 28K Escape Titanium (the top-line Escape version). Unfortunately, it is not available, even as a option, on the other Escape models. (That's something that Ford, IMO, should reconsider, even if they charge extra for it as an option on the lower-line models)

At his request, I plan to look at and test-drive a couple of AWD Escapes locally here tomorrow, myself, for a minister-friend of mine, who lives far away in Nevada, needs AWD for the climate/mountains, and is strongly interested in an Escape. Looks like the choice (and the recommendation) will be between the SE or a Titanium model (base S models don't come with AWD). I might do a minor write-up, but don't plan a formal major review.

 

Yeah I drove through the parking lot at Rockville today since I was driving by anyways, they had 3 out in the front lot, one lower model, and two luxury models. Didn't get out of the car (there literally was nowhere to park lol).

They have a big garage behind the dealer where the rest of their stock is.

 

You've probably done a number of test-drives recently with your vehicle purchases, but just a reminder tip, because some people forget. If the ride seems stiffer than it should be, check the tire PSIs. Some new tire-monitoring systems display individual PSIs in all four tires; some cheaper systems simply compare wheel-rotations and flash a light when a low one is found...and you have to figure out which one. Anyhow, I bring this up because new vehicles on the transporter usually have 40-50 PSI in the tires from the factory (they are shipped that way to prevent tire damage on the transporters). At the dealership, when the new vehicles are unloaded from the transporters, the PDI guys are supposed to bleed the pressures down to at or close to the official factory-recommended figures (generally 30-35 PSI) before the vehicle is delivered to a customer or test-driven. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't....I've had to do it myself many times. (These guys don't make the kind of money Technicians do......I guess that's what you get when you pay at or close to minimum wage LOL)

 

I'm well aware.

 

That was exactly what I thought when I first read about Hyundai adopting this method, rather than the kick like Ford uses.

 

I just had a loaner Explorer while my RX was being fixed. The Explorer had the foot/open hatch feature, and I was surprised at how much I disliked it. Unfortunately, while loading things into the back, it would often pick up my foot as I stood behind the vehicle, and close the hatch on my head. Not sure if the one I had was out of alignment or what, but it happened about half the time I was loading, so it was really annoying.

 

They are finding, with that system, that sometimes the sensors underneath get messed up by corrosion from moisture and road salt.

 

Interesting. I never thought about that as an issue.

I wonder if you can turn off the foot sweep to CLOSE the hatch?

 

Okay, I'm just going to say the new rear end/glass design on the RX is UGLY. With the right color combo that chrome moulding looks like a landau bar on a hearse.




Not only is an ugly design IMO, it gives you a huge blind spot and the sloping rear glass limits cargo room.

Marshall, did you notice on your test drive if the rear hatch was as big as the outgoing RX? I know the outgong model had the same design with the sloping rear glass, but it looks from the outside like there isn't as much room inside as the old model. That's perhaps also my biggest complaint about the smaller NX, the rear hatch and back seat are siginifcantly smaller than the RAV4 its based on.

 

You bring up an interesting question. I didn't physically measure it, and Lexus only publishes a few basic dimensions for the new 2016 RX on both its regular web-site and brochure-download. Those, unfortunately, don't include cargo area in volume. I don't want to list or post any unofficial figures, since the different versions of the RX, with and without the rear drivetrain, and with and without the hybrid battery-pack, may technically have different figures in cubic feet (or cubic meters). And, of course, there is also a big difference with rear seats up or down....plus the question of how much of that area is usable due to factors like sloping rooflines or hatch-lids.

You are correct about the difference in the RAV-4 and NX from a styling/roofline/back-seat point of view....a comment that I believe I made about the NX when I reviewed it. But, for that matter, older versions of the RAV-4 itself were more squared-off in the rear (helping both cargo room and visibility) than newer RAV-4s. (I've got a friend/colleague, right now, with an old squared-off 1Gen RAV-4, still reliable, who is hanging onto it in part because he dislikes the outward-visibility on the newer RAV4s). Just chalk it up to the present craze in the auto/SUV industry to use anything in styling but a roomy, traditional box....today, form generally comes before function. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as the Subaru Forester/Outback and the large GM/Ford full-size SUVs.