MEP7557

I live in AZ and I insisted on having AWD. The price difference isn't that much and you never know when you will need it, it does snow in northern AZ. When you accelerate aggressively it sends some of the power to the rear and helps with torque steer. I have never once felt 'torque steer' in this car.

kitlz

AWD isn't just for snow. It helps in the rain too. I'm thinking resale on a FWD for an area that gets snow would suffer, negating any real savings.

MEP, snow on cacti must look pretty cool.

MEP7557

It actually did snow here in the valley a few weeks ago. Well I don't know if I would call it snowing. We did have a light dusting/ flurry that lasted about 15 min, no sticking, no build up.

Northern AZ does not have cactus, just pines. They got a fair amount of snow.

Sandi_k

I got AWD, because you could not get the Tow Prep package unless you had AWD.

Since towing was a major reason I was buying the car, it was a requirement.

Sandi

EMSLEXUSRX

I'm surprised to hear that. My 2010 RX is FWD, and it has the tow prep package.

In regard to build quality, both my '07 RX and my '10 RX were built in Canada, and I've had no problems with either vehicle.

I did notice that the 2010 FWD RX doesn't have a "Snow" button like it had in the '07 RX. Has anyone that went from a second gen FWD RX to the third gen FWD RX noticed this? I'm wondering why Lexus did this. Although living in Florida, I never had any reason to use the "Snow" button when I was driving the '07.

jskennedy

i was under the impression that fuel economy loss in awd vehicles was due to the additional equipment weight, not the actual use of the equipment

jskennedy

@ the same time the awd kicks in & adds engine load for rear tires, it reduces some engine load for less needed power to the front tires

generally speaking, you will lose 1mpg for every additional 150 lbs of added weight

i'm sure there is some fuel efficiency loss in the mechanics of awd as you say

but i believe the major loss is due to the weight of the additional equipment

edwa

Maybe for the RX350 its the weight, but the is250 it definitely is not just the weight of the equipment. The actual difference fuel consuption in an IS250 between the AWD and the RWD is greater than 5mpg in most cases.

Lex2133

Jskennedy - I completely agree..

Edwa - Comparisons of gas mileage between RX350 and IS250 is like comparing apples and potatoes

JimH2

The bottom line is whether one sees a benefit to have the AWD on occasion, and if they believe the extra cost is worth it. For me, the AWD is valuable, on occasion, for treks in the rain/snow/ice in the winter time and the extra cost is warranted. It is hard to put a price on "safety", but a few thousand dollars extra is worth it to me in the long-run.

Mdkellys

I agree with you.

Mike

BlueSurf

Talking to mechanics at the dealership I was told AWD was a waste of my money. FWD with the traction control perform as good in every day conditions and some rain and snow. AWD is not 4Wheel drive as in a Ford Explorer. It doesn't perform any near 4Wheel. Unlike 4Wheel AWD will not stay on but will switch on + off like traction control. Over the long term you will have costly repair issues with AWD. What most folks are looking for is what you find in the Lexus GX. Try going off the pavement in AWD.

07LexusGuy

^^ "The X Men" has a point

Have you driven in snow and got stuck on an incline in a FWD vehicle? The difference between AWD and FWD+TRAC is quite noticeable. FWD+TRAC is effectively only if ONE of the front wheels still has traction, if both are on ice, you're out of luck. With AWD (which still has TRAC by the way), when both the front drive wheels slip, that little extra push from the rear when you need it can help get you out of trouble.

My ES350 had a hard time getting up my driveway with 4 inches of snow whereas our AWD RX350 had no issue. Same driveway, same conditions.

JiniJazz

This discussion reminds me of HID. I myself was sold into HID(I admit I was more sold into the look ) early days, now all my other car has HID. There has been a long discussion everywhere how safer it is. Does it really help? Maybe in deep mountain, but not where I live.

My salesperson told me the same as BlueSurf said, and he offered me to test drive both AWD & FWD (luckily it was rainy day, but we never have snow). I tried them at sharp corner, honestly I haven't noticed any significance. I guess the traction control does good job to narrow any difference. I always use winter tires when we go snowy mountain area during the winter, I know it makes huge difference by experience.

I also heard AWD makes night and day difference when you stuck in deep snow, so I guess it all depends on where you live. Like HID, there is a good reason it's an option. My RX is AWD & HID free, but I would buy AWD if I still live in Chicago.

JimH2

RX350 AWD demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY7pt...eature=related