wrinkle

@StefanoS - would you rate the cabin noise in RX any better than the NX - or would you say they are in the same ballpark ? Any difference would be attributable to the noise insulation and its design, so wondering if the RX is better than the NX in that regard ? Thx.

StefanoS

The RX is definitely the quieter of the two cars. There is noise in both vehicles, which I am assuming is the eCVT. It's is not really that noticeable in the RX but, in the NX there is a whine which you begin to notice at about 12 to 13 mph. It gets progressively louder up to 22 mph and at 23 mph, it's gone. Rather bizarre, I think.
The reason that I believe it is transmission related is that it is audible in both EV and HV modes, although you notice it more in EV mode because that mode is so quiet. It does not bother me all that much but, it does bother my wife. Her hearing is pretty good, while mine is on the decline. I installed a Draw Tite hitch on the NX yesterday and am expecting to receive a Curt wiring harness from Amazon tomorrow. I have removed most of the items from the rear hatch area and the road noise is much louder, as a result. It is noticeable with all of the hatch stuff in place, as well. The NX has the towing package listed on the Monroney sticker, where the RX does not.

wrinkle

Thanks for all the feedback and data you are providing in this forum @StefanoS and @WellsB - I ended up getting the RX, after test-driving both. If it were just for my own driving - I might have gone for the NX (for the handling and cost), but since this one is for the family with many times having 3 occupants, I splurged on the RX. Loving it and learning from you and others in this forum - please keep it up !

djrees

Are you planning on adding a hitch to your RX 450h+ ?. Wish I could have ordered the vehicle we are getting with that option. Let us know if you find a way to do this please.

StefanoS

I am not yet certain whether I will install a hitch on the RX. Since it did not come with the tow package, I want to do a little more research before diving in. I would really like to closely examine both vehicles to see if there really is a transmission oil cooler and larger radiator on the NX and no cooler on the RX. I just found it odd that the RX has a wiring harness right up to the rear bumper and with the NX, I could not find one, even though the NX has the tow package. I would not be pulling a travel trailer with either car, as I have a very light weight folding utility trailer (4' x 8' bed) that I use primarily when I go to Lowes or Home Depot for lumber.
In any case, I would rarely ever approach the 2000 lb towing limit of the NX. It looks like all I would need for the RX would be the converter, part number PT725-48232, as I already have the Curt pigtail 4 pin connector.

WellsB

Motortrend found the RX450h+ to be quicker and handle better than the RX500h F Sport Performance.

"With test gear affixed to a fully charged RX450h+, we recorded a 5.8-second 0-60-mph time, which handily bested the Lexus internal estimate by 0.4 second. That time also barely beat the best time we achieved in a RX500h F Sport Performance by 0.1 second. (We've tested two of them.) At the quarter-mile pole, 450h+ and 500h F Sport recorded identical times (14.4 seconds) and trap speeds (97.1 mph).

The gap, however, widened out on our figure-eight course, where the RX450h+ put down a lap time of 26.8 seconds (a healthy 0.6 second quicker) without the sport-tuned suspension and rear-wheel steering system of the RX 500h F Sport Performance."




https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2...t-test-review/

wrinkle

Well, WellsB's review, together with StefanoS' that influenced by buying decision were spot-on then. Given the reliability aspect, I couldn't care less about the Merc with longer EV range that this article's reviewer compared it against.

I see the HUD fine through my dark, polarized sunglasses - not sure what this reviewer was talking about.

The knock against Lexus I find spot-on in this review are the facts that these 450h+ are only available at the highest trims, and then only with the port-installed options like Mark Levinson and triple-beam that I don't care about at all. I wish Lexus and its dealers didn't play the market that way.

WellsB

Yeah, the Mercedes is 1,100 lbs heavier, only gets 58 mpge and 24 mpg, and handles worse to boot. No thanks.

amshah97

this is the mode to use! only had the car a couple days but is there a way to set the custom mode as default upon restart?

WellsB

I'm afraid it will only hold Normal or Eco mode. Sport and Custom revert to Normal mode upon restart.

Carbuff2

You CAN set steering response, suspension dynamics, and firmness (and A/C operation) to more 'sporting' settings individually. These settings have been maintained for us despite two resets of the MM display.

Look at 48:36, in the Vehicle Features menu

wrinkle

Carbuff, I suspect, the 500H has this feature "sticking" across car power-down/up implemented, while the 450H+ either has it not "sticking" implemented by design, or as a result of a bug in the code. I have tested multiple times, and the 450H+ doesn't "stick" with the custom settings across car power-down/up (i.e. not even resets of MM display).

(As a side note, the 450H+ also doesn't have a suspension setting with Custom, so maybe Lexus has a different codebase for the 500H vs. 450H+ and they left a bug for the latter of the custom settings not sticking)

Carbuff2

Just another note of possible interest: Our steering and suspension settings were retained after the 2050 software update. The driving mode reverted to NORMAL, however.

WellsB

That sounds like the Custom Mode settings are being retained across a restart. That is exactly what we've been talking about. Custom Mode settings are retained, but not the last drive mode, unless set to Normal or Eco. Those individual settings are for the Custom Mode. If Custom or Sport Mode is set. It reverts to Normal Mode upon restart.