Test drove some RX varients today
11-07-15, 09:57 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Test drove some RX varients today
Got a chance to test drive the RX350, RX350 F-Sport, and the RX450h. Little background, I've driven an Acura TL, BMW 550 (just sold), and currently have a Lexus IS250 (wife's car). I was looking at the MDX, X5, and decided to wait on Lexus to see what they do with the RX. After driving it, it's a much more refined car than the MDX. I haven't been in a new X5 yet to compare but it holds up well from what I know about BMW.
Exterior: The difference between the regular and F-sport isn't that pronounced which was a huge relief after looking at the NX. The floating roof isn't that noticeable and isn't that distracting if you didn't care for it like me. I didn't get a chance to test the motion detection for the trunk since none of the models had the feature so I can't comment if it's slow.
Interior: I went in expecting to fall in love with the noble brown, but it's just too red and didn't speak to me. The leather feels great as expected and the stitching was all well done. The F-sport seats were very comfortable, but my fat American thighs are just too wide for the seat. I end up sitting on the top of the side bolsters which is too uncomfortable and rules out the F-sport for me.
Storage: I would give storage a B- for this car. The center console storage is below average and the glove box is very typical. One disappointing thing is that my iPhone 6 wouldn't fit in the phone storage that's directly under the hand rest for the cursor. The fold down seats were easy enough, but they didn't fold flat which was a disappointment.
Display: Simply put, getting this car with the 8" display is a major mistake. The 8" display is almost identical in quality and functionality as the one in my 2014 IS250. Which is our biggest disappointment with that car. The bezel is huge and it would be a constant reminder that you opted for the lesser option.
The 12" display is beautiful and is really easy to read. The software is a little prettier, but it's still sluggish at times and moving the cursor from button to button is as annoying as ever. The full screen map is nice, but it seems like they designed this monitor for people with poor vision. Wish the map had a higher resolution, because it looks a little too blown up. I was told it had siri on it, but I didn't get a chance to try it out. I wish it had carplay and I think we all know lexus won't update this software.
Instrument Cluster: I preferred the non F-sport cluster. The digital gauge works well in an IS, but in a big SUV like the RX, I feel like it's silly. What I wish they did was have a fully digital cluster like Tesla. I would gladly play $1000 for that as an option.
Climate: I'm in Southern California so I tested the AC and ventilated seats. AC in all models cooled down the car pretty quickly. I couldn't notice any difference between the hybrid and gas models.
The ventilated seats are much stronger than the version in my IS. You can really feel it cool the seat down instantly.
Heads Up Display: I tested it a little, but the white lettering on a sunny day were a little hard to see. On my BMW I was able to increase the brightness, but on a test drive I didn't have the time to figure out how to do that. I was told very few cars in California would be built with it by the dealers, so best way to get it is to order the vehicle.
Panoramic Roof: So a big concern was that the vehicle doesn't come with a moonroof since it's an option on lexus.com's build a car. The dealership informed me all RX's come standard with the moonroof. I got to sit under the panoramic roof and on a hot afternoon in LA, the sun was too strong through the glass. I ended up having to close the shade. I can only compare it to a Tesla and the Tesla wins. The protection on the Tesla allows the glass to be fully exposed throughout the day, while on the RX, I just couldn't deal with the glaring sun after 2 minutes.
Backup camera: It works well and the guided lines are nice. The panoramic view though is unbelievable and worth it. You can even do a 3D view of the car and check around your surroundings. Hopefully someone can take a video of it, because I was very impressed with it.
Audio: I'm no audiophile so I was very content with the stock system. The bass didn't sound great, but it will do the job for 90% of buyers. The ML does sound a lot better and if it's important to you, then I would spend the extra money on it.
Driving: While driving the FWD version, I felt like driving a boat and dealing with the tires chirping constantly. The hybrid AWD was really the way I hoped the car would drive and has me leaning towards an AWD option.
Engine noise: I expected some noise from the engine, but strangely I could feel a heavy vibration in the wheel and peddle when I gave it some gas. You can hear the engine no problem in the cabin and the 350 sounded a little louder than the 450h.
Visibility: Was easy to weave in and out of traffic and didn't feel like I had any trouble seeing around me.
Lighting: Only got to see the LED lights from the outside. They look cool, but I didn't get a chance to test them out because it was day time. I have LED lights on the IS and it's nice how they instantly turn on. But it doesn't always mean visibility is improved. Our biggest complaint about them on the IS is that they don't illuminate further down the road. Driving on the highway late at night means you have great visibility where the light is, but there's a distinctive line where there's light and then there's pure darkness. Hopefully the RX doesn't suffer from this.
Exterior: The difference between the regular and F-sport isn't that pronounced which was a huge relief after looking at the NX. The floating roof isn't that noticeable and isn't that distracting if you didn't care for it like me. I didn't get a chance to test the motion detection for the trunk since none of the models had the feature so I can't comment if it's slow.
Interior: I went in expecting to fall in love with the noble brown, but it's just too red and didn't speak to me. The leather feels great as expected and the stitching was all well done. The F-sport seats were very comfortable, but my fat American thighs are just too wide for the seat. I end up sitting on the top of the side bolsters which is too uncomfortable and rules out the F-sport for me.
Storage: I would give storage a B- for this car. The center console storage is below average and the glove box is very typical. One disappointing thing is that my iPhone 6 wouldn't fit in the phone storage that's directly under the hand rest for the cursor. The fold down seats were easy enough, but they didn't fold flat which was a disappointment.
Display: Simply put, getting this car with the 8" display is a major mistake. The 8" display is almost identical in quality and functionality as the one in my 2014 IS250. Which is our biggest disappointment with that car. The bezel is huge and it would be a constant reminder that you opted for the lesser option.
The 12" display is beautiful and is really easy to read. The software is a little prettier, but it's still sluggish at times and moving the cursor from button to button is as annoying as ever. The full screen map is nice, but it seems like they designed this monitor for people with poor vision. Wish the map had a higher resolution, because it looks a little too blown up. I was told it had siri on it, but I didn't get a chance to try it out. I wish it had carplay and I think we all know lexus won't update this software.
Instrument Cluster: I preferred the non F-sport cluster. The digital gauge works well in an IS, but in a big SUV like the RX, I feel like it's silly. What I wish they did was have a fully digital cluster like Tesla. I would gladly play $1000 for that as an option.
Climate: I'm in Southern California so I tested the AC and ventilated seats. AC in all models cooled down the car pretty quickly. I couldn't notice any difference between the hybrid and gas models.
The ventilated seats are much stronger than the version in my IS. You can really feel it cool the seat down instantly.
Heads Up Display: I tested it a little, but the white lettering on a sunny day were a little hard to see. On my BMW I was able to increase the brightness, but on a test drive I didn't have the time to figure out how to do that. I was told very few cars in California would be built with it by the dealers, so best way to get it is to order the vehicle.
Panoramic Roof: So a big concern was that the vehicle doesn't come with a moonroof since it's an option on lexus.com's build a car. The dealership informed me all RX's come standard with the moonroof. I got to sit under the panoramic roof and on a hot afternoon in LA, the sun was too strong through the glass. I ended up having to close the shade. I can only compare it to a Tesla and the Tesla wins. The protection on the Tesla allows the glass to be fully exposed throughout the day, while on the RX, I just couldn't deal with the glaring sun after 2 minutes.
Backup camera: It works well and the guided lines are nice. The panoramic view though is unbelievable and worth it. You can even do a 3D view of the car and check around your surroundings. Hopefully someone can take a video of it, because I was very impressed with it.
Audio: I'm no audiophile so I was very content with the stock system. The bass didn't sound great, but it will do the job for 90% of buyers. The ML does sound a lot better and if it's important to you, then I would spend the extra money on it.
Driving: While driving the FWD version, I felt like driving a boat and dealing with the tires chirping constantly. The hybrid AWD was really the way I hoped the car would drive and has me leaning towards an AWD option.
Engine noise: I expected some noise from the engine, but strangely I could feel a heavy vibration in the wheel and peddle when I gave it some gas. You can hear the engine no problem in the cabin and the 350 sounded a little louder than the 450h.
Visibility: Was easy to weave in and out of traffic and didn't feel like I had any trouble seeing around me.
Lighting: Only got to see the LED lights from the outside. They look cool, but I didn't get a chance to test them out because it was day time. I have LED lights on the IS and it's nice how they instantly turn on. But it doesn't always mean visibility is improved. Our biggest complaint about them on the IS is that they don't illuminate further down the road. Driving on the highway late at night means you have great visibility where the light is, but there's a distinctive line where there's light and then there's pure darkness. Hopefully the RX doesn't suffer from this.
11-08-15, 08:54 AM
#2
Great review.
Coming from a lifetime of Beemers, the biggest issue I currently have with Lexus is the cartoonish and old graphic interface. Everything seems to be built for ppl over 70, with huge fonts and buttons. Because of that, resolution seems poor and visual real-estate seems limited.
Coming from a lifetime of Beemers, the biggest issue I currently have with Lexus is the cartoonish and old graphic interface. Everything seems to be built for ppl over 70, with huge fonts and buttons. Because of that, resolution seems poor and visual real-estate seems limited.
11-12-15, 11:27 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: AL
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The wife and I drove a couple of 350's yesterday. The doors are bigger and heavier compared to the 2015. Side by side the 15 looked like a dwarf. Steering had a loose, swaying to the beat feel in normal. Sport mode made it feel nice and tight. As mentioned above, take off engine sound is noticeably louder, also a "roar/grind" sound just a takeoff while making a right hand turn. Very roomy inside and seats feel great. Rear Hatch proximity sensor works well, just hold hand for a second or 2 over "L" emblem. Dealer had just sold a Matador Red with cream interior. It was beautiful! It did have plastic wheel inserts in a black color. Did not like the plastic inserts. All in all very happy with redesign. Waiting till between XMAS and end of year for them to get more cars on lot. Dealer is giving some discount off sticker but did not ask $$ amount. Definitely prefer the 3 LED headlight. Front end will take some time to get use to. BIG BIG BIG grill
11-12-15, 03:30 PM
#7
Pit Crew
I did go test drive 2016 Hyrid FWD and regular 350 FWD. Interior was nice and huge upgrade to previous RX models.
I had e70 x5 50i so as far as performance and power/handling, hard to compare RX to that model.
Car drove nice and easy, and wife wants to get a hybrid. I told her extra money you spend will never equal the gas savings but she said she still wants the hybrid because she hates to go fill up gas. I guess time is money after all.
So, which socal dealer is willing to give a little discount right now? My guess is NONE.
I had e70 x5 50i so as far as performance and power/handling, hard to compare RX to that model.
Car drove nice and easy, and wife wants to get a hybrid. I told her extra money you spend will never equal the gas savings but she said she still wants the hybrid because she hates to go fill up gas. I guess time is money after all.
So, which socal dealer is willing to give a little discount right now? My guess is NONE.
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11-13-15, 10:22 AM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
One note on the LED headlights. The distance that the light shows is a factor of the projector and the lens used. If you're willing to change the lens, you can probably get it to project further. The problem is also, the taller you get, the more the projector has to point downward to prevent shining at the person coming the other direction. You wont' be able to gain much there OEM as you will probably hit the cutoff long before you reach the "ideal" location.
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