ggravant

Hi all - my name is Gary and I am new here. Sorry for the long post, but what the heck. We purchased a 2011 RX-350 for my wife in early February, so I thought I would post some specs, mods to date and a few thoughts.

Specs: Stargazer black with black leather interior and most of the typical options such as nav, sun roof, 19" wheels, etc. It came with a few options that we did not need, but the color combo was hard to find, so we just went with it. It came from out of state, so took about a week to arrive.




Mods to date:

- Husky floor and cargo liners
- Front window tint and clear bra in the typical areas
- Removed Crossbars
- Wheelshield on all the wheels inside and out
- Exterior treatment: Zaino (wash with dawn, clay bar, wash with car soap, Z-AIO, Z-8, Z-CS and Z-8)
- Interior treatment: Zaino Z-10 for the leather and 1Z einszett "Tiefenpfleger" on the remaining surfaces.

So far vehicle is great - my wife really likes the "gentle luxury" of the vehicle, the visibility and higher up driving position. She came from a Honda mini van for reference. I personally am lukewarm about the exterior, but the interior is top notch. Before buying we looked at many of the vehicles in this class including the ML-350, Q5, XC60, MDX, SRX etc. before settling on this one. We almost did not look at a Lexus frankly because I did not think of it. But, after reading lots of reviews and comparisons and then checking all of them out it in person it came down to these three for her:

RX-350 - 1st place interior, 3rd place exterior
XC60 - 2nd place interior, 2nd place exterior
SRX - 3rd place interior, 1st place exterior

We are just leasing for 3 years, so long term reliability and a desire to put 250,000 miles on the vehicle were not a consideration - she just wanted to enjoy it on a day to day basis and the RX fit her perfectly. In fact we joke sometimes that it almost seems as if she was helping them design it to her liking. Her own little mobile Four Seasons environment ...

I on the other hand really liked the SRX and was hoping she would choose that - but I tried hard to not sway her one way or the other. Lexus no doubt has some outstanding engineering on display with this vehicle which being an engineer myself I can appreciate. However I am also a car/truck enthusiast, and how a vehicle looks both inside (less) and out (more) is a very important part of the equation. At this point RX is not a complete package for me, but maybe I will warm up to it over time. It just seems to disappear among the SUV masses which for an almost $50K car is a bit disappointing. I am sure this will be the best car we have ever owned, however, so all is good.

I think the wheels on the RX are pretty nice in general and normally I do not like too much chrome, but after living with it for a bit, and given the chrome accents around the windows and the bottom of the doors I was thinking that chrome might look pretty good so I did a couple of quick chops of some wheels I found out in the internets:







The first two chops are "brochure" pics, which I usually do not like to use because the lighting is never right and the angles are usually off. The 10 spoke looks classy, but may be too busy. The simple 5 spoke looks better than I thought and kind of gives it more of a mean look (is that even possible with an RX??). The 7 spoke is a real pic from an SRX - I just don't know what I would do about that extra lugnut hole . I probably will not get wheels anytime soon, but it is interesting to search and chop ...

I on the other hand drive a 2004 Dodge Ram regular cab/short bed 4x4 with a manual transmission, manual transfer case and a gas pedal with a cable to the throttle body - I am so old school and LOVE it haha! It has also had perfect reliability if you can believe that. Yea - I am the guy in the neighborhood with the truck that people borrow - if they are not too skeerd of the manual transmission. It is not a 5.7L Hemi - just the 4.7L V8 and does not get very good gas mileage as you would guess - only 13.5 in the city. But I only have a 7 mile drive to work so it is hard for me to put on 5-6K miles a year. So far the RX is only getting about 15-16 in the city, which is not much better, but my guess is it will improve over time (you would hope so at least)





Lexus likes to use the tag line "The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection" and "Engineering the Hard Way", and from an engineering point of view I can not argue. The design department (specifically the exteriors and especially the SUVs) ... well ... aaack! Hey guys - don't bust a nut designing those rear tail lights on the 3rd gen RX ... oh good, you didn't

SRX exterior + RX-350 interior = win!

And anyone know why my daughter keeps calling the RX "Toothless"

Cheers

RXSF

I think out of all the above, the OEM wheels on it now look best. I can appreciate how other SUVs have their own unique and more overstated design, and it is easy to confuse the shape of the RX to the previous generation. However, I feel like its the most balanced of the group, it doesnt offend anyone. Hope you warm up to the looks.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I agree with RXSF on the wheels.

I see you're a Zaino user.
I've been using Zaino products for over 13 years.
Great stuff!!

ggravant

I have been a Zaino guy for many years also - I do like it too!

I don't disagree that the OEM wheels look good - I mainly was wondering if chrome in general might complete the look. It is a bit of a mixed bag because the roof rails are painted silver, then you have the chrome on the windows and lower doors, then painted silver wheels again. I did see that this company will chrome wheels and they even have this particular wheel:

http://www.calchrome.com/wheel_info....&x=1&type=exch

I guess I wouldn't be an enthusiast if I just left well enough alone, right?

calgold06

I have been thinking about the same...chrome or no chrome? I wonder how the non chrome wheels will look after 3-4 years...will they still have the same "wet" look?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I'm not a fan of chrome wheels on a RX.Actually not a fan of chrome wheels on just about anything but chromed stock wheels are much nicer than the ones you posted.
That's my opinion but opinions are like a*******,we all have one.

calgold06

How good is the Wheelshield? No polish for one year as claimed?

ggravant

I am usually a skeptic for most of these products, but this stuff is not bad. I first used it on the polished alloys on my truck. I would do the typical Mothers power ball and power metal polish on them and they would last for a while in the summer, and not long at all in the winter - especially with the mag chloride they use around here now.

I started using the wheelshield just before the winter of 08 and after that first winter they were not perfect, but way better than nothing. I polished them one more time and have not had to do them again since - I just re-apply the stuff every spring. But - I now only use the polished wheels from about April to the end of October because I have some winter tires/wheels now. For just brake dust and dirt it works very well. Not sure if it will make much of a difference on a painted and clear coated wheel, so only time will tell. I actually removed each wheel and coated both the front and back of them.

ggravant

I agree that chrome is hard to pull off and I normally do not like them either. It would really have to look "right" for me to buy them. I saw this black SRX with chrome and thought it worked on that vehicle, so that is what got me wondering ... plus chops are cheap

MEP7557

I have Chrome 19" OEM's on mine and I think they look great. They are easy to take care of and like you said, with all the other chrome on the car it finishes the look. I took of the roof rails as I have no use for them and it makes it much easier to wash.

Check out 'my garage' pictures and see what you think.

I too was not excited about the exterior of the RX when I first got it. It has grown on me and besides, most of my time is spent on the inside and I feel that is where the RX shines. Love Zaino products.

ggravant

Those do look good. Are those OEM? I did not see them as an option on the Lexus website. If you get a chance sometime, would you mind snapping a direct side view of your RX? As I mentioned chops with real wheels always are best if I can find them.

RXSF

Chrome rarely works in my opinion. What I prefer is the finish on the sport Lexus models, kind of like a darker gray finish.

ggravant

I will have to check them out - do any of them fit on an RX?

Evitzee

I agree about chrome, I just don't find it looks good on cars or trucks, but to each their own opinion. I, too, like the 'liquid graphite' finish on the sportier Lexus' models. Here are the G-Spider wheels on my IS350, this color of finish would look good on the RX, and they are easy to keep clean. I don't think Lexus makes this finish for any wheels for the RX series. Too bad.

ggravant

That is a sharp wheel and nice color - and nice car! Just not sure how that would go on a black RX - especially since the Stargazer black has what appears to be a gold flake in it.