Anyways, I saw one in the new movie, Orphan, and I have to say it looked really cool from the inside. The wooden trim, and leather seats was really nice. It was truly luxurious, but unfortunately does not have a great exterior. The SUV, is good for luxury, if you have the money, but I believe you can do better.

I have a 2002 RX300 that didn’t need replacement tires until 40,000 miles.

What were Lexus engineers thinking when they decided to build a car with tires with such a short lifespan? I’m having second thoughts about a purchase that I expected to be a no-brainer.

I saw your post that said this: “By the way, on the Gen2 RX you CAN use the NAV while the vehicle is moving for most versions of the software…there’s a series of 5 keystrokes (one is a hidden button) that enables that. Once you’ve done that, you can even turn on the rear view camera while you’re going forward (which makes me a little nauseous, oddly enough).”

Can you tell me what these keystrokes are? Thanks

2nd, at least with regards to the Acura.

My mother-in-law has an ‘08 RX350, and it’s better than our ‘08 MDX in exactly 2 ways: It’s a little quieter, and the interior wood trim is nicer.

Other than that, it rides worse (surprising), while at the same time handing worse (not surprising), the seats are nowhere near as comfy, and it won’t hold half the stuff (or people) the MDX will. MPG is about the same.

IIRC, RX and MDX are #1 and #2 in sales in their category (whatever that is), so lotsa people obviously think they both offer good packages for what they are.

The rear boot space is severely limited by the longitudinal and lateral arching hatch design. Rear passenger leg room was ok; my wife’s Prius has more leg room in the rear than the FX 35 it replaced.

The passenger and driver are separated by a massive center console and you feel like you are in a cubicle.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the FX but it is not really a practical vehicle and is suited for those who prefer form over function.

On a related and ironic note, I always wondered if the aftermarket came out with regular red brakelight housings for cars that come stock with clears (i.e. Ford Fusion, Mazda 6, etc.). Such an odd choice for the RX. I hope they’re not planning on using bronze rims for the refresh.

Infiniti FX please

It’s a bad time for Toyota, so I’m pretty sure they’ve cut corners to maintain profitable. Hopefully in better economic times, Lexus will be able to afford to engineer and design a more luxurious car, given the price premium isn’t really justifiable anymore.

I’m familiar with the Toyota Altezza and yeah, Lexus has the right to do what they wish. I still ain’t buying it!

I’d rather have the GX.

Also, I’m not sure this swoopy interior is all that great. Reminds of the new Audis a bit until you get to the dash mounted shifter. Seriously, just have buttons like an Aston.

Oh and I think it’s the D-pillar.

Unfortunately this overall interior theme seems to be the future for Lexus, with the HS and this RX having a lot of carryover.

They rolled out a 2010 RX at the hockey arena the other night and I thought it looked pleasant enough but hardly inspired.

I tried the current RX 350 when I needed a carry-all type vehicle, but opted for the Mazda CX-9, which whilst not quite as luxurious, was a 3 row configuration and could carry more cargo. The Mazda also feels taut and handles more car like. IMHO the CX-9’s interior is the nicest of all the contenders. So far, I’m happy after 16k miles – no problems at all.

I also speced it against the Highlander and except for weight the specs for the RX350 are as close to the V6 RAV4 as to the Highlander.

And comparing an RX to a RAV4 and saying that it’s overpriced by comparison? Really? Ever sat in either?

Yes, and driven both. I guess it just matters what the mission you envision for the vehicle. I personally would get an AWD CUV/SUV to use it as a AWD SUV. That doesn’t require leather, wood, etc. I also have trouble with a 2WD SUV/CUV. If you want a luxury vehicle get a luxury sedan.

OK, using your logic, a Hyundai Genesis is as good as, if not better (in terms of reliability) than, a Rolls Royce 200EX. And much cheaper.

Exactly! It may not be great logic but it is my logic. Everyones milage may vary.

For one, perhaps we may be dealing with a disparity in Canadian and US pricing, but here goes:
* The base Edge is CA$30.5K, the Limited AWD is $39.5K, which is about where you need to be to equal the RX’s content. Or you could buy an MKX, which is a lot more
* The RX is CA$46K, adding leather (which adds all sorts of other crap) is $50K, and the Edge is still not as well-equipped. Again, you need to move to the MKX, which is cost-parity with the RX.

Don’t get me wrong, I happen to like the Edge: I think it’s much better looking—actually, it’s quite attractive—seems solid and reliable and I wouldn’t need any of the extra crud that the RX offers. But I don’t think that saying the RX is a slow, expensive Edge is accurate.

$10K buys you a much nicer interior, more compliant ride and higher feature content. And yes, the residual value is much, much better.

I also have no love for the “altezza” tail lights. I’ll never own a car with those.

Lexus, unlike most, actually has every right to use this little stylistic quirk. The term “Altezza” came into popular use because that style of light was popularized on a JDM Toyota of the same name; a car we saw as the first-generation Lexus IS.

Thank you. I see too many pimped out Civics in my neighborhood driven by crew-cut teenagers barely sticking out from behind the wheels of said rap-blasting Civics with such lights (apparently it must be very fashionable in that crowd) to be ever caught dead driving a car with those.

FoMoCo RX equivalent is NOT the Edge, it’s a Lincoln MKX. Base price for base price the MKX AWD is $690 MORE than an RX AWD. The Edge competes with the Venza. Tick every option box on each car, and the Edge is $565 MORE than a Venza. Interestingly, the $38K they both top out at is about $1K less than their respective luxury branded base model. And comparing an RX to a RAV4 and saying that it’s overpriced by comparison? Really? Ever sat in either?

You can always pick out something that one car has over another (yay, an Elantra gets better fuel mileage than a 911! It must be better!), but it certainly enhances your credibility if you at least use proper comparisons to support whatever pre-drawn conclusion you came to.

1.
http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lexus_lf_vh_concept_suv_image_1.jpg

2.
http://thepassionatepursuit.com/images/weblog/08-06-12-lexus-lf-xh-matte-black-4.jpg

WHY DIDNT THEY BUILD THE CONCEPT THEY SHOWED US!!!! WHY? I loved the concept and was genuinely excited about seeing it on the street. When I saw the reveal for this 2010 version, I lost my breath. It’s like they their balls and decided wimpy was better. This one really pissed me off. Seriously, the way the concepts A-pillar blended into the hood/fender was an amazing design touch. This thing lost every bit of the concepts flare.

A freakn joke…

OTOH, ToMoCo engineers need to sit down with their counterparts at Lotus. What’s Japanese for “light weight”? First, the Scion xB adds 600 pounds and now this RX adds (I’ve read elsewhere) 400 pounds. It wasn’t like the previous RX was a tin can.

My folks are now on their third generation of ES and you can see the costs being incrementally engineered out of each succeeding generation. The first ES300 was clearly built at a time when the yen could support “indulgence” while their current ES330 is really little more than a leather’d Camry.

Every time my dad bought a new ES I’ve pointed out that he could have saved a lot of money by getting a Camry –but he always mentions the Lexus customer service– and I think my mom prefers the cachet the Lexus name has over the Toyota name. And then I point out to my mom the dime-a-dozen presence of the ES. She just shrugs.

RX350 costs $10K more than the RAV4 Limited and $15K more than the RAV4 base.

The Toyota version of the RX is the Highlander, not the RAV4, although the RAV4 has grown in recent years to make the difference between it and the Highlander less.

OK, using your logic, a Hyundai Genesis is as good as, if not better (in terms of reliability) than, a Rolls Royce 200EX. And much cheaper.