ciparis

2010 RX350 AWD, Premium w/Nav (pictures are in this thread)

Test drive:
Keyless entry, woo! Given the massive '08 and '09 incentives, I was planning to seriously consider those models (350 and hybrid), but when I grabbed the handle and realized it had a keyhole, I stopped, looked at the keychain, and threw the keys back to the dealer: "forget it". After almost 3 years in my IS250, there is no way I'm going back to fumbling for my keys to get into my car. Now if I could just get my house to do the same thing...

Maneuverability getting out of the lot was good (more on that later).

Interior first-impression: A+

The seats and steering wheel do that wonderful lexus "get out of the way" thing when entering and exiting. I didn't have this option before, and it makes a big difference. Full tilt+telescope is nice as well. The layout isn't as much of a personal cocoon as the IS, but the family resemblance is there. It's very comfortable. Everything is placed for easy visibility.

Remote-drive: A+++

This is easily the most intuitive control I've used in a vehicle. I turned the sound off and increased the feedback one notch. The joystick motion is incredibly smooth, and the haptics are really well-implemented. I would probably like it to have 2 feedback levels though: one for general use, and a lighter one for use within a keyboard screen.

Navigation system: A+
It's much faster than the generation-4 in my IS. There is a higher level of detail as well. Great clarity. Traffic is a God-send. The weather implementation is useful but a bit annoyingly implemented (you have to manually clear the alerts that pop up and obscure most of the display; there may be a time-out, but if so it isn't fast enough for me to have seen it yet). I haven't found the weather screen to be useful yet, but the forecasts are nice. I'd rather have seen them implement radar right on the main map display the way the Ford Sync system does.

Road noise: A+
This was my biggest complaint about the IS 250: too much tire noise, especially on the crappy California grooved highways. The RX is much quieter. There's a little more wind noise than the IS had, but this is because the IS is practically silent in that regard. Overall it's a big improvement for me.

Engine: A++
This thing is surprisingly quick for a 4500 lb auto. It's got a decently gutsy rumble coming from the exhaust, and that sound isn't just pretense. It feels faster than my IS.

Handling: A+
It isn't going to carve up a road the way the IS does, but wow, this thing is composed, and handles surprisingly well.

The above was enough to get me to make a purchase.


Day 1: just driving around
The weather alert came in handy twice; the second time, we managed to beat a weather front up the western coast of the SF bay along highway 1. I still wish the alert would go away on its own a bit sooner (or be less obstructive), but it's at least proving itself useful.

The wet weather performance is strong. Other than the windshield wipers, there was little difference in road feel. It's very reassuring.

Braking and hill performance: A+
Cruising through the hilly areas of SF with wet streets, I was never concerned about a hill's steepness, whether climbing, descending, or stopping-and-going on an incline. Traffic stopping abruptly was not much of a concern -- the RX remains well under control during breaking, and stops quickly. Good pedal feel.

Stereo: B++
The capabilities are very good: XM, iPod controls, 12 speakers. The sound is not that inspiring... there's nothing offensive or off-putting, and it does sound good, but it doesn't make me go "wow". The interface could also use some work. For getting through a few channels, the satellite controls are adequate, but there's no way to manually input a channel number (as far as I can tell), leading to some rather cumbersome "switch genres then scan" requirements to get where you're going.

The iPod capability is extremely welcome, but it should have been more playlist-centered. Nobody just plays from their list of songs, right from the top, but that's the default behavior; you have to hunt a bit to find the playlists -- they're not accessible from the main control screen. I'll update this as I use it more -- we've mostly been using XM so far.

ciparis

Parking: A-
There isn't much you can do about vehicle size, but the RX makes it easy to deal with. I park in an underground garage, and I back in next to another SUV. It's almost as easy as the IS was. The mirrors are better, and they pan into perfect backing-up position whenever the RX is in reverse. The backup camera still needs some way of dealing with water drops, though. The turning radius is very good. I'm not quite as fast at parking this as I was with the IS, but this is mostly due to the size difference; the mechanics and level of assurance are similar.

ciparis

Day 2: the commute

Suspension (highway driving) : A++
This thing is just remarkably composed. Combined with the commanding road view, the unflappable suspension is reassuring during rush-hour. Take your best shot, highway 101.

Did I mention how great it looks? Every time I drive past another RX I notice the driver staring. This shape really grows on you, and pictures don't do it justice.

Mileage: B-
So far I'm averaging around 19 in mixed use. I'm probably driving a bit more spiritedly than I should will update over time.


Traffic note: I only took the 101 because it was showing green in the traffic view. It was a mistake; there was moderate to heavy traffic right off the bat. Of course, it turned yellow on the display just after I reached the end of the first slow bit... almost like I was the guinea pig :P. It may have just been bad timing; by the time I was halfway to work, the display made it clear that 101 was something to avoid (as it usually is).

I used XM all the way in, and kept playing it after for a couple of minutes after I parked to let a song finish (that damn 80s channel...). I'm still looking for more evidence of decent wattage, but the sound is reasonably good. Pushing the fader to the rear is not helpful, but I still feel like there's more tuning to be done.

Orzel

iTrader: (1)

Many thanks for the report. Will be interested to hear more. I'm one of the skeptical, pictures have been less than flattering, still waiting to see the real thing.

The G Man

Same here, I ahve been one of the negative one as well. Maybe pictures dont do this car justice. My dealer will be getting them in anytime he said. Still cant get over that star trek dashboard and I amd a big star trek fan too

psu77

Ciparis, what brand tires are on your RX?

RXSF

i thought ive seen pictures where the RX does have radar like weather on the main nav screen...

and 19 is awfully good for an AWD 350. my AWD 330's computer consistantly hovers around 15

Orzel

iTrader: (1)

One question, given what appears to be slab sides, is there no rub strip/door protector on the new RX? My 05 has these and so far, after close to 45k miles, i have two small nicks in the right side strip, none on the rest of the car. Seems to me that the sides are going to be quite susceptible to door dings.

ciparis

There's nothing protecting the doors. Just like with my IS, I'll be parking on the boonies.

The tires are Bridgestone Dueler H/L.

Back-seat comfort: A
The seats have adjustable rake! I'll try and get some pictures of the variance.

The G Man

Some of these new cars without the side molding are suppose to have varible thickness on the door's sheet metal. The part of the door when its most like to get hit by another door is suppose to be thicker. I find the side molding to be better protection.

RXSF

the old RXs had reclining rear seats as well.

DigMyM35x

Not to turn this into a sound quality thread (there is another one already addressing the mediocre sound quality of the 09's) however, if you are using XM to judge the sound quality of the system you are really not doing it justice.

If you've never had satellite (especially XM) I can tell you that I have yet to find a system where it actually sounds good. The quality often times seems barely above internet streaming quality. Poor bass response and forget the talk stations. At times I can't even recognize celebrity voices - they compress the audio so much that the people sound like the computer recordings on AM radio warning you about traffic jams on the interstate!

So, back on topic - thanks a ton for the pics!!! It really keeps us excited if we haven't been able to see the 2010 yet. Your write-up is great as well. Please keep the diary coming!

Jay

ciparis

You, sir, are right. Tonight's update follows.


Day 2: commute home

Tonight started off with a test of the traffic redirection system. It's been raining in the SF Bay Area, and sure enough the traffic display on the nav system showed hw 101 all orange and yellow.

I set the destination (go home), and selected a course that would mostly keep me away from 101, except for a short stretch linking me to HW 92, which leads to HW 280 and a nice mellow drive.

I was a little surprised that it still sent me towards 101 at all -- it was yellow after all. When I got close, though, I said no dice: I could see the highway, and traffic was stopped. No way am I getting on that. So I turned around, and here's where the nav system broke script with what my IS would have done: instead of hounding me incessantly to get back on course, it instantly plotted a course through residential areas to the main highway I wanted to take (which was all green). Score 1 for the new traffic-enabled nav system.

101 is a no-go, let's head over to 280!


Once the route home was settled, I had a chance to listen to the audio system through the iPod connector (connected to an iPhone 3G). It resumed playing from where I last left it (so I didn't need to find the fiddly playlist controls).

In a word: it's time for a re-rating.

Sound system: A
In a way this is a bit of a slam against the XM support, but I just have to say it: with a good source, this sound system sounds GOOD. The separation of both channels and instruments was markedly better than my IS. I had a really pleasant ride home, and the surprisingly good sound coming from my speakers was a significant contributor. My music is all either 256Kb AAC or 320Kb AAC. YMMV.

Once again, though, I was struck by how solid this thing feels.

Vehicle Structure: A++

This is partly due to the suspension, but I am struck by the really solid feel of this RX. It's at once large and totally at peace with the road it's on. I went from an '04 4Runner to an '06 IS250, and this RX keeps on surprising me. My expectations are high, and so far they have been exceeded. Bravo.

encore888

Thanks for sharing your impressions, very informative and interesting read!

The G Man

I wish that silver radio trim piece comes in black, that would make it look a lot better.