salimshah

Granted, vehicles are machines and handling is should be among the factors by which we compare one vs another.

Repeatedly, Lexus gets put down by statements like "lacks in handling" while it gets accolades in other factors.

So I want you to share when

a) You pushed your RX beyond its handling limits
b) RX's response (both positive and negative) to emergency maneuvers. [just in case you have always tried to "live" within the constraints]

Salim

The G Man

If one rate handling high in their priority, then the RX is the wrong car to buy. Since the RX is still the best selling luxury crossover out there, its safe to say most people dont care as much about handling as the car magazines do.

Lil4X

Coming from a long history of ownership of SUV's of all kinds, I knew what I was getting into. SUV's, especially those truck-based vehicles simply do not "handle" at all. Too tall, too softly-sprung (to provide some amount of ride comfort in a three-ton vehicle), underpowered and vastly underbraked for their size, SUV's are NEVER going to give even a Crown Victoria a run for its money.

Then came the crossover - the RX among the first and best of the breed. They still have to live with a considerable weight penalty, and their height is going to make them a challenge in transitions between corners, but they have come a long way in the dimension of power and braking. Electronics have made a huge difference in Anti-lock, VSC, and Brake Assist features.

I discovered the limits of the RX 330 on a fast-moving but crowded freeway when I was cut off by a car moving well under half the speed of the pack. A determined slam on the big pedal and a quick yank of the wheel while closing rapidly on this automotive chicane allowed me to avoid what would have been a multiple car pile-up in a lesser vehicle. The on-board computer systems did the best they could with the inputs given and saved me from so much as a scratch.

Whole story here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...39&postcount=1

RXSF

hmm...this thread requires some thinking. Well, my first of this kind was the RX300. god knows that car had less horses, less torque, less...everything than the RX330. yet my wife and i used it only for going to the local shopping market, or costco. it was a people mover, and did it with elegance, no real hard pushing then.

then when the lease was up, the RX330 came, and thats when i started getting more of a taste for pushing cars further. Let me just point out its nothing compared to my IS300. lol.

ill start with body roll. its bad, im not going to lie. but i have never thought i was going to tip over. ive turned so the tires squeal, and perhaps made sharp turns with too much gas, but never, never have i seen that VSC light flash. this would be a good time to say that i have AWD and the Performance Package with the "sport air suspension". (all these maneuvers were done in LOW mode, to lower center of gravity)

then theres playing in the rain. i love playing in the rain. full throttle in the rain is not dramatic at all. no wheel spin, nothing. part of that goes to the awd, and the other to the lack of power. lol. i tried making the car skid in the rain one time. i stopped, turned the wheel fully to one side, and gassed for dear life. sure the VSC light blinked, but i didnt feel a single thing. it let me go where i was suppose to without any drama.

so ive concluded that this is a drama free car in general.

brakes are just okay. i consider them too small and weak for a car this size and weight. but when push comes to shove, it gets the job done with some dive in the front, but what suv doesnt.

so no, the car isnt sporty, but when pused to some limits, it handles the situation with grace, no drama. and isnt that the most important thing in a car?

TunedRX300

Salim,
If I am correct, you want more objective answer because people have different definition of what is emergency maneuvers and handling limits.
You may check up on slalom time/speed and skid pad between RX and its competitors. This will take driver, brand loyalty (or ego loyalty), and have as scientific and objective data as possible... Radar and clock do not lie, people (esp those with motivations mentioned above) do.

dhamaka127

Definitely Positive.

I am very comfortable with my RX and its maneuverability. I had a experience in the snow where i was going sideways down the highway. All i did was counter steer and nothing else. No braking or acceleration.

but over all i am very content with the RX's handling capability :thumbsup:

AM1

iTrader: (6)

the car handles like a boat. the handling isn't all that great, the suspension is overly soft. But, then again i've taken freeway on ramps and off ramps at over 85+ mph and the car handled it pretty good, so eh......

The G Man

The RX is the best handling SUV in the Lexus line, how sad

Lexmex

Maybe I should move into drifting...drifting Harrier, I like the sound of that.

bngu1

i do feel that the handling on the RX is not that great. if you want a comfortable ride then you don't get great handling, but if you want great handling then you have to live with a stiff ride. i used to own a FX35 w/Sport and the handling is great, even better then cars, but i got tired of the stiff ride. during an emergency it's not how the car handles but it's how you handle the car.

salimshah

The lean, roll and a bit of passive response to steering (specially in rX300) are all there ... but during driving at spirited speeds on public streets (some twisties in Austin) I have never felt that RX has ever refused to go where I intend it to go. Granted the speed was never insane.

So is it ok to conclude that handling is overhyped for city/street driving and more so if you stay at or below posted speeds. A similar spec would be top speed.


Salim

The G Man

My view on all of this that handling and stiff suspension are ok when you feel like pushing your SUV around the corner hard. Which is not very often in my case. The softer suspension I can enjoy every single moment I am in the car. So it comes down to if I want to enjoy the car every once a while or all the time. Too bad we cant have the best of both world. With advancing technology in active suspension, in the future, maybe we can have a comfortable ride and have a little fun cornering too.

Kostyan

my .02 this is a chick car, not a man's car. It is not made to be pushed hard. This luxury crossover is made for safety and elegance, for affluent female buyers. It will haul your kids and groceries in safety and style.

TunedRX300

Such technology is already commercialized, just Lexus has not implement it because 1) does not believe RX drivers will pay for such feature 2) Lexus takes market following product strategy, esp with RX

TEIN already has a family of coilover products that allow the driver to control dampering rate for shocks on the fly with EDFC module.

http://www.tein.com/products/edfc.html


The new MDX has active suspension as an optional feature, which combines with SH-AWD and pulls a 0.86g on the skidpad. Control level not as granualar as TEIN EFDC but better than having only one setting.
From www.acura.com

LexFather

I have to say in driving 1RX's and 2RXs, while no Cayenne Turbo, the 2RX handles and feels obviously better than the 1RX.

The RX sells more than any other luxury SUV, no one else is even close. Lexus knows what the majority of consumers want.

There are those that laugh at the RX handling and then I laugh at super handling SUVs who have all the utility of a shopping cart. I think those vehicles misses the point and if you want THAT MUCH sport, get a wagon.

So best handling SUVs
Cayenne
X5 first gen
X5 2nd gen
FX 35/45

And the rest are all okay.