Lexmex

Someone asked me the other day at the track why I bought the RX300 and if I had a second choice if I had not bought it.

I actually had fallen in love with the RX300 well before I bought one (always loved the rear of the vehicle whenever I drove behind one and a good friend of mine in law school had one. However, since Toyota wasn't open yet in Mexico (and would have a limited range and experience), we gave consideration to the Acura MDX (Honda had been here, but the MDX waiting list was 6 months at the time), Infiniti QX4 (likely second choice since almost identical to the Pathfinder), BMW 3 series wagon and Nissan Pathfinder. We gave some minor consideration to a 4Runner and Rav4. Only after we got some assurances from Toyota and Lexus regarding warranty and servicing did we make our choice on the RX300. Turns out my Uncle has been the king of Lexus service down here.

I am curious if there was a second choice, if any, after your RX300 for the members of this forum?

TunedRX300

Acura MDX. It was not avaliable at the time when I bought my RX300. MDX is undergoing major renovation, pictures of the concept car is now avaliable at acura.com

rx300mm

I was also debating between MDX and RX300, and the reason I went for RX300 was it uses regular gas (in Ontario it is 11c more per litre) and it looks a little smaller and less heavier .. and not to mention it looks great.

Fern

Hey,

what a co-incidence, I was also looking at the MDX before purchasing the Rx300.

Decided on Lexus since I was hearing some trani rumours on the MDX.

RX in NC

Jeep Grand Cherokee. We've had three of 'em and they've all been workhorses that don't suffer from the myriad of problems that our 2000 RX300 has experienced. My wife caught "Lexus fever" so we got the RX. From a multiple failures situation, it's the worst vehicle we've ever had (and I've been driving since 1969). I'm glad it's her primary vehicle instead of mine. I would have pushed it over a cliff long ago....

TunedRX300

Looking back, might be "pick your poison" choices. Ask RX in NC about his tranny problem, looks like both RX300 and MDX have poorly designed transmissions. The difference is Acura offers 7 year 100K extended powertrain and Lexus has not done it for RX300.

salimshah

Back when I was looking for one, the choices were Toyota/Lexus LandCruiser/LX, Mercedes ML and then station wagons [Other models that were available but not even considered Suburbans, Gimmys, Broncos, Expedition, 4 runner, Honda/Isuzu mix etc].

RX floated on top very easily. I did test drive the ML. Merc pre-sale dealer experience was better than 2nd vehicle pre-purchase experience at Lexus. But the ML only had the 3 pointed star which shone better than the "L".

Salim

Lexwang07

If my second choice be 01 GS430! GS430 fast sport sedan back 90s. Previous GS430 engine carryover new GS! I love the looks old and new!

TunedRX300

Acutally the new 2GR-FSE on GS350 is amazing and I plan to buy it when Lexus brings it to U.S. I lost interest in RX350 as soon as I found out the scaled down 2GR-FE is the engine. MDX is a concept car now, Acura just took RDX off the concept. I hope the next generation MDX is a turbo V6, not a bad hope since RDX is a turbo I-4.
The word "Turbo" is the cure for Lexmex's racing appetite.

Lexmex

I agree with you on the RX350. BMW and Mercedes have had some powerful SUVs for a few years, MDX actually has more hp (but its weight gave Lexmex the victory against one not too long ago). The Porsche Cayenne is interesting but I don't like its cooling system or the intercoolers (too small). I mean does anybody not agree with me that the term performance and Lexus should be synonymous?

My friend with the RX-7 was mentioning how his wife (she was the one with the broken Murano transfer case I posted a picture of in another thread) didn't like that the Murano got a scaled down version of the 3.5 L V6 engine used in other Nissan applications. (Probably should be happy it didn't have more power or that transfer case might have gone sooner).

I am also looking at something (though having a hard time of it) called an Aerodyne Aerocharger Turbo. However, I can't get a hold of this company. Doesn't need oil lines (which is something I am trying to look into to see if any issues with this setup). From the design it also appears it has the BOV valve attached. No turbo timer necessary. That is huge. Then all I have to mess with is a manual boost controller and the intercooler for the amount of psi I want to run. I have seen some Miatas and BMW Z3s running this design. Here is one link to this turbo, http://members.aol.com/periokid/turbo/aerodyne.html

The T25 is still on the table, but I am trying to finalize stuff and want to make the simplest and safest system possible so that others could do the same.

I actually hope someone else beats (or has beaten) me to the turbo project. You would think if TTE could make a supercharger, they could come out with a turbo kit for our RX300s. That goes for the rest of the aftermarket companies. Our 1MZFE engines are used in the Camry, Highlander, Sienna, Solara and unlike the twin throttle body issue we have with the TRD superchargers, a turbo design could be run across the 1MZFE spectrum.

HarrierAWD

My second choice would be the Toyota Harrier V6 AWD LHD.

hksimpson

Second choice was BMW wagon. Specifically the 528it. Not very quick, but good gas mileage an contrary to what some people think, pretty darn reliable.

We ended up liking the upright feel of the RX300 and ease of getting in and out of it. Also that Toyota reliability.