corradoMR2

The Dunlops Grandtrek tires are subpar (in last place actually) and contribute to the harshness and noise levels some journalists have made reference too. The Michelin Latitudes which are also equipped on the F-Sport as OEM tires are much smoother and quieter. I have the latter and with over 1 year of ownership so far, I can definitely vouch for the F-Sport's sporty ride/handling and these tires. In fact, the F-Sport has been the quietest riding RX I've owned at all speeds.

SW17LS

He is, I think though that if he wants something sporty he would get more for his money if he tried something that has the right architecture to be truly sporty.

I had the Michelin Lattitudes on my Jeep OEM, just got rid of them after 38k miles. They are a very quiet tire, but they suck at everything else. The RX I believe comes with the Lattitude Tour HP which is the higher performance version but I've been told the same shortcomings exist, as you can see on the list the Tour HP is rated several rungs lower than the Tour. I can totally buy that the tires make a difference, the GS is a totally different tire on the Bridgestones/Dunlops and on the Michelins (why Lexus does that is beyond me. They have always stocked two OEM tires for each model. One awful, and one very good...then its just luck which tires you get). Thats a size where you don't have a lot of great options...the Lattitude Tour HP is probably the best option.

I replaced the Lattitudes on my Jeep with Michelin LTX M/S2 which is a much better tire for that vehicle, but it wouldn't really be appropriate for the RX...I don't even think they come in that size.

kitlz

LOL, I was going to mention the Dunlops on the F-Sport. Wow, last on the list! Personal experience, they're OK but nothing spectacular. Too bad that's all I've seen on the F-Sports around me. At least we know there's plenty of other options. I can vouch for the Pirellis

corradoMR2

Hands down Cayenne is top pick as I mentioned in an earlier post, if he can afford the extra $15-20K. If money (and reliability) are both factors, skip the X5/Q5, the RX F-Sport will work for him. I'm confident especially since he's coming from a Gen 2 RX and I can relate and say this with certainty since I've been there, done that!

Agree, the Michelins are not too good in other areas: on snow and heavy rain. I had the same tires on a Venza V6 fwd and traction was even worse on that vehicle. I too am puzzled why Lexus puts on a good tire or bad tire instead of sticking to the good one. It seems from my observation either online or in person, the US-destined F-Sports get the Dunlops and the Canadian ones get the Michelins, despite all F-Sports in N. America coming from the Cambridge Ontario plant in Canada. Go figure.

Yeah those Scorpion Verdes you have are sweet, near the top. If I still have the RX next year, I will seriously consider those tires, if the new NX doesn't get the better of me (but that's a whole new conversation)

SW17LS

I dunno about the Q5. Audi has been doing really well in terms of reliability lately (#4 overall), and I have a lot of friends with newer Audis that just love them and have had no problems. BMW still struggles, and out of warranty they can be astonishingly expensive to maintain.

I don't know if you've driven the Q5, but I REALLY enjoyed it. if the back seat hadn't been so tight (its considerably smaller than the RX) I seriously might have gotten one.

RX330inFL

As an educated buyer you can always ask for a tire swap if you see another vehicle on the lot with the tires you want.

corradoMR2

A4/A5/A6 have brought Audi up in the ratings. A7, Q5, and Q7 dragging it down still. RX is not only the best in class in reliability/dependability, but best in the automotive industry.

That to me is reason alone to buy it as it truly defines what a luxury vehicle/brand is all about = premium quality. Now that's prestige and something to be proud of!

http://autos.jdpower.com/ratings/dep...ss-release.htm

SW17LS

Sure you can, its just annoying. My Lexus has Michelins so I'm good. Why can't they all just come on the good rubber?

On that JD Power link you sent me, the Audi Q5 was #2 in the segment "Entry Premium Crossover SUV" below the RDX.

No one is saying the RX isn't very reliable, it certainly is. But, based on this link the Q5 is also reliable. The only two models in the Q5's segment that performed above average were the RDX and the Q5.

Anyways, reliability is one metric but not the only one, and reliability and quality are two different things. I've driven boring cars for a long time, I had two ES's and we had a Prius...now I've got two cars I really love owning and driving and I couldn't be happier. The Jeep's reliability sucks, but I still really enjoy having it and driving it. Something I don't think I could say about an RX.

Nowadays its more "degrees of reliability" vs reliable or unreliable.

corradoMR2

True, gone are days where every other mile on the highway, you saw a "Found On Road Dead" Escort . Cars are much better nowadays and a lot of the reliability problems are less major (electronic gremlins) than 20 years ago.

RX330inFL

Many reasons. I will mention just a few. First, it may not be possible for any one tire producer to commit enough resources and production capacity to fulfill the needs for the RX. Secondly, as a vehicle manufacturer it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. One strike, one major storm or other event could shut down your only source for that item completely tying up your production line. Just look at what happened with Ford and Firestone. If they had multi-sourced their tires they may not have had as large a problem as they did.

It is not always about what is best. Toyota/Lexus, as do all manufacturers, put these out for bid. They are looking for the right product at the right price. There may be other tires which are better for your RX, however, they were perhaps not available at the price Toyota/Lexus was willing to pay or perhaps they could not supply enough to fulfill the order requirements.

As for annoying, I guess that is your opinion. When I have done it I simply stated, "I want those tires on that vehicle" and they said "fine."

RX330inFL

Agreed. More concerned about what the failures are and any cost that may be involved if I owned the vehicle out of warranty. If a short term vehicle, as long as any problem is covered by the warranty I could care less.

Holt2008

Thanks all for the great discussion. I really liked the cayenne but it was about 20k more and could not negotiate. I may go try the hybrid this week as others have suggested as do want something a bit different. Thanks all again.

SW17LS

Then why is Lexus the only company that does this? Using my Jeep as an example. Every Jeep Grand Cherokee with 18s comes with Michelin latitudes. Every one with 20s have Goodyear Forteras. They sell more Grand Cherokees than any model Lexus.

I have honestly never experienced a carmaker other than Lexus that handles tires this way. Anyways, want to use multiple tires? Fine but at least choose good tires.

RX330inFL

I will not speak for all manufacturers or current practices. Perhaps some feel more comfortable single sourcing their tires. I do know for a fact that the vehicle I owned prior to my RX was an Infiniti which came with either Dunlop or Michelin tires. The vehicle I wanted had Dunlops on it while a different color sitting next to it had the Michelins. Otherwise, they were the same vehicle, same wheels, just different colors and different tires. Both sets of tires were rated all-season. This is separate from a discussion on vehicles which come with different tires depending on region.

Over my many years I have seen this on numerous occasions, with a variety of manufacturers and in many different regions of the country. Some of this may have been due to package variations or regional needs, however, I know some such as the above case were simply multi-sourcing.

Am also wondering in your example if all Grand Cherokees roll from the same production line? The current RX is produced both in Japan and Canada, so that may be one reason for some differences though I might suspect that with the majority coming out of Canada they are multi-sourcing there as well.

SW17LS

[QUOTE=RX330inFL;8277309
Am also wondering in your example if all Grand Cherokees roll from the same production line? The current RX is produced both in Japan and Canada, so that may be one reason for some differences though I might suspect that with the majority coming out of Canada they are multi-sourcing there as well.[/QUOTE]

They do...but all the Lexus models I've owned also come from the same production line and they all come with a myriad assortment of tires.