Tom H

I've never remotely considered the concept of status in buying my Lexus. I really have no interest in what anyone thinks about what I drive, what I wear or where I live. I don't need to have others accept my personal choices in life to feel good about myself. I bought the RX for one reason only. I have a substantial and dangerous health condition making reliability and dependability my main concerns in choosing a vehicle. The RX is one of the highest rated cars on the road in America today in terms of those factors. Other than that I consider it to be a so-so design. It's not a very comfortable car to drive or ride in and in terms of utility (The "U" in SUV) it's very close to being useless. Yes, the build quality is top notch but there is nothing inherintly special about it in terms of functions or features. Considering shear bang-for-the-buck, the Highlander offers more versatility, functionality, features and the same quality of build at near the same price point. If the Highlander wasn't locked at MSRP, coupled with a lowball trade offer on my last car I may have gone that route instead of the RX350.

kphu

iTrader: (8)

Wow! What a thread! Have to put in my $.02.

The other thing to consider is when you bring your car in for maintenance. At a Lexus dealership they typically kiss your a$$ as soon as you walk in the door. You won't see that at a Toyo dealership.

I've owned Toyotas all my life until 5 yrs ago when I purchase my first Lex. the comparison between both dealerships is like night and day.

RXSF

i second that. i dont even get a car wash when i bring in my sienna. When i go to the lexus dealership, theres complimentary soda and coffee, loaner cars, of course the car wash, but at double the price. lol

Ron_Texas

This is an interesting thread indeed, it looks like some people like Toyota's, some Lexus, to me buy what you can afford and go on. That is why they sell both, to each his own.

The other day some clown said to me that my RX-350 is a Camary, LOL . I looked at him said "If it was a Camary it would say so!" Besides it does not even look like a Camary! Some people think they know so much about cars I guess but this guy was an idiot.

RXSF

Ron, hate to break it to you, but the guy probably thought that you were the idiot. The RX350 is based off the Camry platform, so really underneath, it is a camry. However, this is also the case for the ES350. With that said, this is basically the lexus formula, using toyota cars and redressing them to sell as a lexus.

That doesnt mean that you paid almost 50K for nothing though. it really is just the platform, something that nobody ever sees, but everything else is strictly lexus. lexus and toyota are starting to separate as well.

Tom H

I haven't experienced my Lexus after sale performance but I do agree with you on Toyota's service. With the exception of one outstanding dealership Toyota service has been just average.

I have to report though that my sales delivery service at Lexus was a major dissapointment. During the final delivery stage, on the walkthruogh, we noticed that the entire roof of the RX was filthy from its time setting on the lot. The sales rep appologized and sent it back to get cleaned again. When it was returned we noticed what appeared to be glue residue on the hood, presumably from the material used to protect the car during shipment. Again, back to detail to be cleaned a third time. It looked better so we finally took delivery. Upon arriving home and looking under different lighting conditions it turned out that what we and the sales rep thought was glue residue was in fact a very large scratch across the hood. At that time I also realized that when they re-cleaned the roof they neglected to clean under the crossbars. What more should I expect when they pay minimum wages for that job. I then discovered the rear hatch window was coated with some kind of residue as was the inside of the sunroof. You could still see the sucktion cup marks on the sunroof created in the factory automation process. I later decided the residue must have come from the new seating materials outgassing in the hot sun. I ended up spending 5 hours of my own time completly detailing the car. During my detailing I opened the hood and found a packet of paperwork that had been left by the technicialn. At least I new they had probably checked the fluids.

I had to return the RX to the dealer and drive home an ES350 loaner for 2 days while they had my hood buffed out. They did a great job buffing the hood but the whole delivery experience sucked. I thought I was moving up a notch in qualiy and professionalism when going to Lexus but that has not been my experience to date. To top it off, they said they would take care of me because of all the inconvienance I was put through. All they did was offer to install a set of mud guards at no labor cost if I paid them $150.00 for the guards.

The G Man

The Rx350 may share a platform with the 02 to 06 Camry, but by no mean is the RX same as a Camry. All Crossover are based off car chassis, Toyota has share platforms with Lexus for years. That is how they cut cost and speed up re-designs.

d6500k

Why buy an RX when you can save a lot of money on the Highlander? This is the same idea I had before I bought my RX.

After I drove both vehicles, I know I want the RX. It is the details/refinement that drove me towards the RX. Not that the Highlander is a bad car (it is a great car at its price), it's just not as refine as the RX. Be it the little blue LED light at the cupholder, the light at the footwell area, felt lining of the whole car, the placement of the motor for the power back door so it won't obstruct the rearview mirror, the near non existent engine vibe through the steering wheel, the engine undercover, the interior noise level (it's quieter than my bimmer 325ix), etc etc. The list can go on but I think you guys get the idea. Details are very expensive.

No doubt the 08 Highlander is going to improve a lot over the old model and the current RX. As the new RX is coming out within a year, only then it will be fair to compare the 2 models.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

again everyone values things differently. i personally could care less that i own a "lexus", hell up until a few years ago all toyotas were sold as toyotas all over the world,except for here in america. The dealership i go to up until recently had a very small cramped service department that was old and had a waiting area with an old tv and a waiting area the size of a walk in closet. when i used to own a toyota the local dealership which is down the street from the lexus dealership used to always give me good service, were friendly, and had a nicer waiting area, unil recently of course. and when i had long services they would give me a rental car. Get used to the fact that the RX is based off an stretched camry platform. Same with the mdx which is base don a stretched accord platform. many other cars are based off of cheaper platforms, who CARES? The way some of the people on the board act like its like sacreligious to even suggest the mighty RX could be based on a plebian toyota much less a camry. and i still think the new highlander is an styling nightmare.

kphu

iTrader: (8)

The other view in regards to platforms is that the camry is on the RX's and not the other way around. LOL.

I'm sure when the engineers are creating a platform they are designing it in such a way for use in other possible vehicles.

So who's to really say that the base is from this or that car.

Tom H

Most CUV and SUV are built on a car or truck platforms. However, the new GMC Lambda's (Acadia, Outlook and Enclave) are built on a new platform specifically designed for those vehicles and man can you ever tell the difference. They all ride and handle extremely well for vehicles of their size and weight. The ride characteristics literally put all the rest to shame. Too bad they surrounded the exception chassis and suspension with a lot of low grade finish materials. Still, they are grabbing a large share of the SUV/CUV market in a very short period.

TunedRX300

First generation of MDX is based on Accord platform, but the current redesigned MDX is a new platform. V3.7 engine, SH-AWD lead the huge difference of power generation and delivery.

Ron_Texas

The new Highlander look very nice, the last generation was not very attractive in MHO. When comparing the looks of the last generation Highlander to the RX it is a night and day difference.

With that said, if the Highlander looks this good I cannot wait to see the 'actual' pictures of the new RX, it again should blow the Highlander into the weeds (I hope anyways).

On a side note, I went out and looked at my neighbors Camery and my RX side by side, and nope, they don't look anything like each other so I will stand by my original statements.

The G Man

Personally, I like the design of the old MDX better.

LexusChris

iTrader: (1)

It's a Lexus not a Toyota plus even though it's an older design it still looks better.