jimbosr1

My 2021 is a little rough with the 20" wheels, remember its not a luxury car like a LS how ever it is very quiet but does have road noise from the tires. I have the variable suspension and it helps alot with ride quality.
My 06 LS430 was dead quiet and rode buttery smooth.
You would like the ride so much better if you had 18" wheels and some good touring tires I may get a set of 18" myself.

bamalam

That's a good tire. I have them on a Honda Pilot and have found them to be smooth and quiet. Do you know how many miles are on the tires? Even a good tire will be noisy if alignment or other issues have caused them to wear unevenly.

I rode a lot in my brother's 2013 RX with 19" Michelin CrossClimate 2s last week, and found it to be quieter and smoother than my 2020. Part of my vehicle's issue is very likely cupping on the OEM Bridgestones, which should go away with replacement.

Lastly, Lexus did increase body stiffness with the 2020 model year with more adhesive and welds, according to their literature. I don't know if it made a real-world difference in ride plushness, though.

teatime

Thanks very much for your reply. I am definitely leaning towards the 18s as well. The 20s look great but may not be worth the bumpier drive.

teatime

Thank you for your reply and the information.
The tires are new according to my salesman.

The tires seem to have decent reviews but I read some from other RX owners that also complained about the ride and road noise with these specific tires.
That’s interesting to hear about the body stiffness. Perhaps that could have a minor effect on the ride.
I appreciate your input!

coolbrazz

I had a 2016 RX and put about 30k miles on it before trading it for a 2020. Both non F-Sport, FWD with Michelin tires on 20in wheels.
I have around 15k on the 2020 and both rode pretty much the same with a smooth and quite floaty ride. If those are the original Michelins with 49k miles on them that may be your issue. The OEM Michelins don't last as long. Normally they would replace the tires on CPO vehicles.
I saw the 2016 I traded on the Lexus lot and noticed they replaced the tires with 30k on them.

geoleo

My rx350 2010 has 155000 miles on it. None of the usual items that fail by now have (Starter-AC compressor-alternator- water pump-etc not even a light bulb anywhere!! So Im switching and looking for a 2016-17 350 and selling the 2010. One Im looking at has 20 inch wheels-Im concernern it will not ride as well as those of a lesser diameter. Comments ? Anything else should I look out for on the 2016-17 rx350s? Comments please?? Thanks.

autotech13

You might be better off with the 2018. There seems to be a little less problems with that year and beyond, plus the 2016 was the first model year for that change.

TechNut

My 2013 had 19” rims, but the 2021 has 20” wheels. I had an NX between the two RXs for 5 years so my evaluation may not be entirely fair. With those notes in mind, we were surprised with how well the new RX rides with 20” rims. The NX definitely had a rougher ride with its 18” wheels. This is my long winded way of saying that I think you will find the 20s to be very comfortable, but will 18s provide a better ride? Probably. A test drive is a better tool for evaluating the ride than any of our subjective opinions - just sayin…

703

Also consider the Rx450h. Better economy, no loss of performance.

Quantum501

I waited for the refresh in 2020 to get touchscreen and CarPlay, both of which I love.

I have 18" wheels and find the ride to be excellent. Agree the TechNut that test drive is really the only way to know.

Good luck!

websurfer

We have the 20" wheels and it's great still. Ride is soft on the non-F Sport models. No major issues beside the liftgate struts.