w4rjd

I drove a new RX 330 today with all the options. The interior was nice, but the rest of the car left me cold. Am I missing something?

jeffknet

yeah apparently the temp gauge

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

You need to mention why the car left you cold, and be a little more specific.

And, how can you be missing anything if you have all those great options, great reliablility, and great style car, and good pricing for it?


Dave

Nickv

w4rjd,
Well, maybe it left you cold because of what kind of vehicle your are coming from? As for me, I went from a 2002 Honda Odyssey mini-van, that I had come to hate--too noisy, terrible radio/speaker system, lousy gas mileage, and rough ride to boot, plus zero on styling. So for me, the RX300 shouts quality! I am getting better gas mileage, much quieter and smoother ride, absolutely wonderful stock-OEM-stereo system. The only real knocks that I have with the rx300 are that is does have a wide turning radius, though we can sure live with it, and the back storage space is smaller than I would like. But again, my wife and I can easily live with those deficiencies, in return for the quality ride we get. Oh, we love the leather seats.
NickV

cotmc

It all depends where you are coming from. The RX 330 is not the driver's sports car like a BMW. But when you compare it to most other SUVs, and if you plan to do all your driving on pavement, then it is very difficult to beat it. Contrary to some opinions I've read in other forums, I think Lexus did a very good job of updating the RX for 2004.

RickC

I dumped our Dodge Grand Caravan that I came to hate also, and we love the Lexus. No, it's not a sports car, and it's not the fastest thing I ever ever driven either. If I want speed and stares, I jump into my Harley F150. But the Lexus SUV is a nice car for the purpose it's designed for. I would say the best out there, although I only compared it to the Acura, because I'm getting tired of the **** poor Detroit quality....

RickC

w4rjd

Time to expand my earlier thoughts on the RX 330.

The interior is first class. My wife thinks it is miles ahead of all the others in the classification. The rear door remote is a welcome addition for short people and those who just don’t want to try to reach that high. The seats are typical Lexus and very comfortable. Rear seat configuration is excellent. The navigation screen is easy to read even with polarized sun glasses. This is not the case with the BMW X5 or Mercedes M Class. This car is an excellent upgrade for the soccer Mom who is tired of the mini van and does not want to drive a monster truck that sucks gas at a 10 to 15mpg rate.

Now what don’t I like. First the 18 inch Goodyear Eagles are noisy and not a smooth ride. The engine seems louder than the RX 300 and the power is still not great. The shift is just pure strange and the metal trim on the sides of the center is a bit unusual. The main problem with the RX 330 in my mind is the price. It is $10,000 over the Honda Pilot and just too much for a Camry / Highlander based cross over.

jeffknet

I believe Lexus made conscious decisions to make this new RX330 more sporty - and less about soccer moms - it certainly caught my attention, I'm a guy in my late 30s who disliked the RX300 but was really taken by the new design, features, gizmos and accents of the 330. We needed to replace an old SUV and wanted something as sporty and luxurious as our IS but with cargo space... as for price I'll agree the RX330 is on the high side but with the high level of service we receive from our local dealership it's worth it.

RickC

Well, I compared the Lexus to an Acura MDX and the Ford Expedition. The list on the Acura was 42,500 decked out, the Expedition loaded was 47,000. The Lexus has more than both vehicles option wise, so I really didn't think the price what that out of line. The only thing that I didn't like, is I could have gotten the Expedition for the X-plan price due to who I work for. That X-plan price would have put me in the Expy for around 41k. I chose not to do that however, because I have a Harley Davidson F-150 sitting in my garage with the infamous paint problem that the Ford's have, and I decided that I'm not buying another Ford or Dodge until the quality of those vehicles change. Ford has an attitude, and Dodge just plain sucks.

RickC

w4rjd

I also dorve a FX35 this afternoon. That will convince anyone the RX is the better product. Fit, finish, glass area, blind spots and more. This is a concept car that was not ready for prime time.

jeffknet

agree 100% on the FX - I looked at those before pulling the trigger on the 330 - about the only thing Infiniti did right was the Nav and the Rearview Cam, everything else was disappointing...

nineback

I have noticed the same thing about the Goodyear 18" tires. I made a post earlier about this.

Tom
KQ5S

w4rjd

Tom,
I asked the dealer about 17 inch standard tires and wheels and was told that it would be 60 to 90 days for a special order. I guess I don't understand the reason, but I am not in love the 18 inch tires.

I will drive one again and veify my feelings.

Stu
W4RJD

Rock

True, they did right on the NAV and the Rearview Cam, however, they did a bad decision on having NAV system option included in their so called "Technology Package" which it costs over $9k. That mean you have to pay extra $9k if you need to add NAV system regardless other side options you like it or not.

sxylxy

Alight guys, I'm from the SC forum, drivin my pimped out 92, however, I blew the trany (one of 5 ppl to ever do this LOL) racin, so I got an rx330 2004 as a loaner for free of coarse. 500 miles on it, and damn.... very comfy, I miss the sporty feeling and all of the SC, but for an SUV, it's got real good pickup, nice seats, lots of features, the HID's are great, auto wipers, even the little lit up lexus logo's on the bottom of the door. It's pretty quite, def more quite than my sc but that's cause of the pipes. And louder than my pop's 94 LS, but still nice and smooth for an SUV. Maybe it's because I drive a 92 sc, however I have put lots of money into it, but the RX330 is real nice, and wayyyy better than the 300. So enjoy, anyone thinkin about it, def test drive it!!!