I've never felt the power transfer from front to rear over the past 7 years I've driven Toyota part time AWD systems on the Venza or 4RX. Unless I was driving through several inches deep slush I never even noticed wheel slippage.

However, I think the center lock is only functional for low speed , don't write me on this but I think something like 49 km/h.

 

How well does the RX350 handle snow? I've heard older RXs are pretty terrible when it comes to snow. Does the 4th gen have the same issues? This is coming from previous Jeep and MDX owners. Thanks!

 

Really, where did you hear that? I've had RX's steadily since 2001 and they have all been great in the snow with all-season tires. I am sure they would be amazing with dedicated winter tires.

 

definitely this is not a jeep or sh-awd mdx and i don't think anyone will claim it to be, the gx and lx are more snow geared with 4wd.
this didn't stop me at all living in minnesota from purchasing a rx450

snow tires would help. not sure what your needs are for snow. if you are looking to raise the vehicle, lock differentials and a transfer case, and plow through tons of backcountry snow, this is not the vehicle of you.
hope this makes sense,

 

Not sure about the speed limit but yes, that is what my salesperson told me at the delivery, only at low speed.

Mine went into snow storms last year (12 inches and more), and never felt any slipperage unless I pushed hard on the gas on purpose. I was testing the it how much it was sticking to the road (using winter tires).

 

I live in the snow belt of Ontario and last night we got a foot dumped on us. Just went to coffee and no issues with the snow. Just lock the differential and you can drive locked till 40 km/hr. after that the intuitive AWD will take care of the rest. Oh btw I have 20s snow tires on.

 

Yeah, that's what I wanted to confirm. The MDX and Grand Cherokee I've driven would get through just about anything with the standar all season tires. I've heard the RX350 inspired less confidence and slips/loses traction more often. I thought it was just bad tires but maybe the RX is just less rugged/capable in snow.

What's the best combination of ECT SNOW mode and the gear selector when driving through snow? Should you just leave it in D or shift into 4, 3, etc.
?

 

skarface, decent all season tires on the RX are plenty good in the snow. It's all I've used and I'm about to go into my 19th winter with the RX. In all that time I haven't been stuck once. My commute involves lots of hills, some with curves. You can stay in D and downshift as needed. It's a trick I learned from many years driving manual and works on the RX too. The 350 F-Sport and 450h get the added benefit of VDIM. That helps by taking away power from a wheel that slips, among other things. Plus it works seamlessly with no input from you. I wouldn't discount the RX that quickly.

 

Had fun in the snow last night, what an accelaration it had compared to many other cars in the snow storm we are having!

(I brought my son to his hockey practice which involves a little bit of highway)

 

Granted the RX doesn't have the capability of a Jeep, then again neither does the MDX. Maybe those were FWD RX's they were talking about ???

I drove a 2015 F Sport on OEM A/S tires through 3 NY winters and actually I was pleasantly surprised how well it did. And this is coming from someone who has owned/driven a SH-AWD MDX, and (2) ML350's with 4MATIC through snow in the past.

One time there was approx 5 inches of unplowed snow on the ground and it was snowing heavy and the F Sport tracked fine. Several times while coming to a stop on an incline I locked the diff, not because I had to, but because it made me feel more secure starting on the incline with it locked.

If you want to get the RX I say go for it, but get a set of dedicated winter tires which will give you more peace of mind..

 

There is no such thing as a FWD RX in Canada.

In fact the only model FWD is the ES and the IS, but the IS has the AWD option, not the ES.

 

One of the display options on the F-sport information panel is the power (torque?) applied to each wheel in roughly real-time. I haven't tried the center lock to see what the display looked like when applied, but in normal mode it does show drive power being shifted to the rear wheels mostly during initial acceleration. In snow conditions, there are short fluctuations for individual wheels. There is no other indication that this is happening (unlike my old highlander). Sometimes the VDIM light appears when it's obvious that the car is sliding around some.

So far, the 350 seems to do well in the snow, but it's just the start of the season.

 

In the IS Forums, the canadian owners say there are now RWD IS's available in Canada either. Only AWD models are available.

 

If you lock the diff, the Torque graph will show the same amount of power going to all 4 wheels at the same time.

 

I just checked, in 2018 models they dropped the IS 250 (it was only RWD).

NOW you have IS 300 RWD 8 gears, IS 300 AWD and IS 350 AWD both 6 gears.