RX500h to RX350h Comments
07-01-23, 07:45 PM
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
RX500h to RX350h Comments
Hi all,
First a little background. We placed an early deposit on an RX500h and took delivery of our early VIN 500h in January 2023. Unfortunately, ours had a software/hardware problem that resulted in recurring Check Engine Light(s) and an extended resolution timeline. So, that unit went back to Lexus and we ordered an RX350h which we received today. The RX is my wife’s vehicle.
We took it for a 100-ish mile drive and like it. Some immediate comments.
First, the 350h does not have the power of the 500h. This is obvious in their positioning of the power trains and clear in driving. The 350h isn’t bad, it just doesn’t have the surge/push of the 500h. This was the biggest feature I liked in the 500h.
Second, handling and ride are surprisingly similar. While we didn’t push the 350h in the reality of I-405 and surface streets they ride and handle very similarly. The seats in the 350h seem softer and have less aggressive bolstering so I’d say they contribute to a modestly more comfortable ride during routine driving.
Third, quietness is similar and different. It’s similar when cruising at stable speed. In these conditions it is quiet with low road noise and very little drive train noise. When accelerating it is different and the 350h makes more noise. Not objectionable, but just more noise as it revs to accelerate. I’ll attribute this to the 500h motor having a turbo and making more power at lower revs. The 500h has more electrical drive as well and they combine to it being quieter in acceleration.
Fourth, mileage. The 500h was settled in at around 28 miles per gallon. Really great for the amount of zip the car had. In today’s drive the 350h showed 34 miles per gallon. I consider this a minor improvement, but it makes my wife happy and it’s her car so that matters.
Finally, a comment on the HUD. The 350h is a Premium and doesn’t have the HUD our 500h had. While we liked the HUD we hated the steering wheel touch controls. No HUD on the 350h means it HAS REAL BUTTONS. So much better, even with the loss of the HUD. Totally would give up the HUD again.
Last comment, Color. The 350h is Nori Green. Looks great, visually much better than any 500h color. Why isn’t the RX500h available in interesting exterior colors? While waiting for the 350h we looked at a Cadmium Orange NX350h as there was one on the lot and it was available. My wife felt the NX350h would work well in town and when it was just the two of us plus 1 of our high school age children traveling. Since we have 2 high school age children at home the NX would not have worked well for our 500+ mile roadtrips. If the RX500h was offered in Cadmium Orange I think I could have gotten her back into a 500h. But she wanted to have a more interesting color this time.
So, she is happy, the 350h is nice and should give great service. I’ll miss the 500h zoom, but so be it.
First a little background. We placed an early deposit on an RX500h and took delivery of our early VIN 500h in January 2023. Unfortunately, ours had a software/hardware problem that resulted in recurring Check Engine Light(s) and an extended resolution timeline. So, that unit went back to Lexus and we ordered an RX350h which we received today. The RX is my wife’s vehicle.
We took it for a 100-ish mile drive and like it. Some immediate comments.
First, the 350h does not have the power of the 500h. This is obvious in their positioning of the power trains and clear in driving. The 350h isn’t bad, it just doesn’t have the surge/push of the 500h. This was the biggest feature I liked in the 500h.
Second, handling and ride are surprisingly similar. While we didn’t push the 350h in the reality of I-405 and surface streets they ride and handle very similarly. The seats in the 350h seem softer and have less aggressive bolstering so I’d say they contribute to a modestly more comfortable ride during routine driving.
Third, quietness is similar and different. It’s similar when cruising at stable speed. In these conditions it is quiet with low road noise and very little drive train noise. When accelerating it is different and the 350h makes more noise. Not objectionable, but just more noise as it revs to accelerate. I’ll attribute this to the 500h motor having a turbo and making more power at lower revs. The 500h has more electrical drive as well and they combine to it being quieter in acceleration.
Fourth, mileage. The 500h was settled in at around 28 miles per gallon. Really great for the amount of zip the car had. In today’s drive the 350h showed 34 miles per gallon. I consider this a minor improvement, but it makes my wife happy and it’s her car so that matters.
Finally, a comment on the HUD. The 350h is a Premium and doesn’t have the HUD our 500h had. While we liked the HUD we hated the steering wheel touch controls. No HUD on the 350h means it HAS REAL BUTTONS. So much better, even with the loss of the HUD. Totally would give up the HUD again.
Last comment, Color. The 350h is Nori Green. Looks great, visually much better than any 500h color. Why isn’t the RX500h available in interesting exterior colors? While waiting for the 350h we looked at a Cadmium Orange NX350h as there was one on the lot and it was available. My wife felt the NX350h would work well in town and when it was just the two of us plus 1 of our high school age children traveling. Since we have 2 high school age children at home the NX would not have worked well for our 500+ mile roadtrips. If the RX500h was offered in Cadmium Orange I think I could have gotten her back into a 500h. But she wanted to have a more interesting color this time.
So, she is happy, the 350h is nice and should give great service. I’ll miss the 500h zoom, but so be it.
The following users liked this post:
BCBrent (07-02-23)
07-03-23, 10:51 AM
#2
I too was considering both 500h and 350h. Ultimately got the 350h for a few reasons,
1) less complexity and more proven drivetrain. the a25a-fxs engine and e-CVT is now a near ubiquitous drivetrain in most toyota/lexus cars. this may not matter to those who upgrade their cars every few years but a lot of people buy Lexus/Toyota for their reliability and run them for several years hence calling it out.
2) don't forget you can safely run 87 octane on your 350h. a lot of forum members here have been using 87 with no issues noted (at least none yet, but it is stated 87 is the minimum octane). I imagine this is again related to my first point where this engine runs 87 in the other lexus/toyota vehicles (such as the rav4 hybrid and lexus es300h). so its sort of a win win on MPG and fill up costs.
3) the acceleration is potent enough but there's no getting away from the noise of the 4 cylinder. eventually you learn to just take it easy instead to keep that engine quiet. I've said it before elsewhere, if this was closer to 270hp that would have been more than adequate but that would probably rob the 500h of some sales.
4) cost, I couldn't swallow paying a lot more for what is still a 4 cylinder engine in the 500h. Yes it makes 100+hp more but it still has a 4 cylinder at its core and they will always have an unrefined characteristic.
The dream car for us at least was the 450h+ but no word on when that will be out last I checked. I believe that will be the same ~300hp drivetrain from the rav4 prime and run 87 presumably which is again a proven drivetrain. Of course price aside given we have no clue.
hope you continue enjoying the car...we are 1600 miles in and loving ours. also regarding the HUD agreed its gimmicky but we got use to it and don't mind it at this point.
1) less complexity and more proven drivetrain. the a25a-fxs engine and e-CVT is now a near ubiquitous drivetrain in most toyota/lexus cars. this may not matter to those who upgrade their cars every few years but a lot of people buy Lexus/Toyota for their reliability and run them for several years hence calling it out.
2) don't forget you can safely run 87 octane on your 350h. a lot of forum members here have been using 87 with no issues noted (at least none yet, but it is stated 87 is the minimum octane). I imagine this is again related to my first point where this engine runs 87 in the other lexus/toyota vehicles (such as the rav4 hybrid and lexus es300h). so its sort of a win win on MPG and fill up costs.
3) the acceleration is potent enough but there's no getting away from the noise of the 4 cylinder. eventually you learn to just take it easy instead to keep that engine quiet. I've said it before elsewhere, if this was closer to 270hp that would have been more than adequate but that would probably rob the 500h of some sales.
4) cost, I couldn't swallow paying a lot more for what is still a 4 cylinder engine in the 500h. Yes it makes 100+hp more but it still has a 4 cylinder at its core and they will always have an unrefined characteristic.
The dream car for us at least was the 450h+ but no word on when that will be out last I checked. I believe that will be the same ~300hp drivetrain from the rav4 prime and run 87 presumably which is again a proven drivetrain. Of course price aside given we have no clue.
hope you continue enjoying the car...we are 1600 miles in and loving ours. also regarding the HUD agreed its gimmicky but we got use to it and don't mind it at this point.
07-03-23, 02:03 PM
#3
Rookie
Thread Starter
+1 on less complex is good. The RX500h will be sorted and I’m confident will be solid, ours was just a little too low in the VIN.
If it was available now we would have gone with an RX450h+. Our other option was a waitlist position we had for an XSE premium RAV4 Prime. Better half is happy and didn’t want to continue waiting so all good on the 350h.
If it was available now we would have gone with an RX450h+. Our other option was a waitlist position we had for an XSE premium RAV4 Prime. Better half is happy and didn’t want to continue waiting so all good on the 350h.
07-03-23, 06:22 PM
#4
I can speak for my experiences with my 2 weeks of ownership of my RX-500.
1) This sucker is FAST. I mean, this just speaks for itself.
2) I took the car on a trip today and it returned 29.5 mpg calculated at the pump. This was using the cruise and just flowing with traffic.
3) For all of the models I have seen that are hybrid or Luxury models, the sticker seems to be within 5k of the RX-500h. There are some discounts on the non-hybrid models but that would be like 1000-1500 off the sticker of around 65k.
4) Price-wise, when you look at the sticker price you can get a fully loaded model with the RX-500. The F-Sport is unlike any other trim and driving fun actually means something. There is stuff like 4 wheel steering that may cause issues later but the turning radius is tight.
Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase and I didn't purchase the RX for it's fuel mileage. If mileage was the only factor, many here would be purchasing Highlanders. If efficiency was the only way to go, my Mercedes 2006 e320 cdi at 41 mpg will beat any hybrid RX at any speed efficiency-wise.
Just my $0.02
1) This sucker is FAST. I mean, this just speaks for itself.
2) I took the car on a trip today and it returned 29.5 mpg calculated at the pump. This was using the cruise and just flowing with traffic.
3) For all of the models I have seen that are hybrid or Luxury models, the sticker seems to be within 5k of the RX-500h. There are some discounts on the non-hybrid models but that would be like 1000-1500 off the sticker of around 65k.
4) Price-wise, when you look at the sticker price you can get a fully loaded model with the RX-500. The F-Sport is unlike any other trim and driving fun actually means something. There is stuff like 4 wheel steering that may cause issues later but the turning radius is tight.
Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase and I didn't purchase the RX for it's fuel mileage. If mileage was the only factor, many here would be purchasing Highlanders. If efficiency was the only way to go, my Mercedes 2006 e320 cdi at 41 mpg will beat any hybrid RX at any speed efficiency-wise.
Just my $0.02
Last edited by aeubank; 07-18-23 at 05:52 AM. Reason: ae
The following 2 users liked this post by aeubank:
GlennAudio (01-05-24),
Tacoshawn (07-03-23)
07-18-23, 02:31 AM
#5
Pole Position
After reading the posts in this forum, I am glad I decided on the 350h. It has been flawless.
10-31-23, 08:03 PM
#6
Driver School Candidate
+1 on the e320 cdi. I was getting 45 mpg if I was easy on the throttle. In todays efficiency standards, you can't beat it with a comparable combustion 4,000 lbs mid-size sedan
We are looking to purchase an RX in the next 6 months or so. Looking for something reliable, but wasn't crazy about the engine choices for the new RX. Both the 350 and 350h felt like you need to spin the engine to get up to speed on a freeway onramp. The 500h was the only one we drove that felt like it had enough power
We are looking to purchase an RX in the next 6 months or so. Looking for something reliable, but wasn't crazy about the engine choices for the new RX. Both the 350 and 350h felt like you need to spin the engine to get up to speed on a freeway onramp. The 500h was the only one we drove that felt like it had enough power
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