Rx400 V Rx450

[N5girl]

Hi

Unfortunately it looks like our IS300 SC will be written off by our insurance co. Our driving requirements have changed now and we need something capable of short journeys as well as the long ones. I would also quite like a higher driving position to try to avoid the old lady driver who wrote off our car.

Our budget (c15-20k) looks like it will get us a RX400 or RX450. I actually prefer the look of the RX400.

Are there particular benefits to choosing one over the other - i.e. does the RX450 drive better or was the upgrade larger cosmetic? Some of the low mileage RX400s seem very expensive (i.e. 2008/9 models more expensive than RX450). Is a higher mileage RX450 likely to hold its value better than a low mileage RX400?

Is there any models we should look to avoid? We tend to be buy and hold owners - i.e. we are unlikely to change the car for a good 4/5 years at least.

We will be doing 10k miles at most.

TIA for any opinions

[rayaans]

RX 450h has been improved in almost every way. Quality of the interior, quality of the exterior panels, gadgets etc. Sound deadening is superior to the 400h and it handles better. The 400h is more comfortable with serious waft ability but rolls around in corners. The 450h has a better balance imo. Both should be reliable but the 450h would be more so, mostly because it's younger so less chance of perishable items going eg bushings

[DanD]

I agree with Ryaan and also would recommend a 450.

Apart from the comfort factor, and more up to date gadgets (remember the 400h dates back to 2003!), the 450h is also cheaper to run with lower tax and improved petrol consumption.

Why not go to your local dealer and ask to drive both models back to back and see for yourself? - The dealer should be happy to oblige and a test drive does not commit you to buying from them...

[N5girl]

Why not go to your local dealer and ask to drive both models back to back and see for yourself? - The dealer should be happy to oblige and a test drive does not commit you to buying from them...

Thanks. I think that this sounds like an excellent idea. The more I read the more I am sold on the Rx450.

Also having had a look at various sites there seems to be a lot of stock of the SE-I but not the SE-L. Is it worth holding out for a SE-L - it seems like most of the difference appears to be the audio system? The other half is also desperate for a DAB radio - is it an easy upgrade if it is missing off a model we like?

Thanks

[rayaans]

Why not go to your local dealer and ask to drive both models back to back and see for yourself? - The dealer should be happy to oblige and a test drive does not commit you to buying from them...

Thanks. I think that this sounds like an excellent idea. The more I read the more I am sold on the Rx450.

Also having had a look at various sites there seems to be a lot of stock of the SE-I but not the SE-L. Is it worth holding out for a SE-L - it seems like most of the difference appears to be the audio system? The other half is also desperate for a DAB radio - is it an easy upgrade if it is missing off a model we like?

Thanks

I think the SE-L has air suspension and audio system as well as the kerb view camera - not really worth the premium but it depends on how much you value them. I thought all RX450h's had DAB?

[N5girl]

This is something I will ask a Lexus dealer. The reason I am confused is that some of the cars on the Lexus website that are SE-L do not appear to have the ML stereo and some do. Also one of them refers to having a DAB module whereas some don't. It might be that the dealer has not bothered to enter the info.

The SE-L appears to have a more adjustable seat - for me this would be a big selling point as my back surgeon has told me to choose a car based on driving position and seat adjustability. Ironically he drives an R8 which I cannot believe is good for your back at all.

[N5girl]

I had a chat with Louise at Hatfield Lexus. She was v. helpful.

The DAB module was an option on the SE-L so not all of them have it. It can be retro-fitted.

There will be a difference of about £1k between SE-I and SE-L so it really comes down to how much we want that side camera and the air suspension as well as availability of models etc.

[RXJasonRX]

Hi. I have an RX 400 at the moment, and obviously I will be changing to a 450 at some point,

But I must make the case for the 400 because it's a fantastic car, in my opinion is better shape than the 450 which I see is a more boxy shape. The 400 has a massive amount of room, more than enough to get my mobility scooter in the back with the hoist as well and the comfort is superb and the reliability is also first class mine is a 07 plate that now has done 82000 miles and as long as you get a good one as I have ,they will easily last you several years if not a decade or more thank you

[DanD]

SE-L over the SE-I

- 15 speaker Mark Levinson audio as opposed to 12 speaker (Pioneer?) audio. I tried the latter vs the Mark Levinson system fitted to my current RX400h, and found the 12 speaker audio a huge improvement

- LED headlights as opposed to Adaptive Xenon

- side camera (for parking only, not lane monitoring)

- Perforated leather

- cooling as well as heated front seats (heated only in the SE-I)

- Air suspension

- I'm pretty sure the DAB radio is standard on the SE-L

There was also a SE-L Premier that added the following to the SE-L:

- Head Up display

- Adaptive cruise control

- Sunroof

The rarity of the SE-L (and Premier) means that you may find it difficult to find the colour combination that you are looking for. I know that this is the reason I am buying a SE-I rather than a SE-L, as I did not want a silver car, or one with a black interior. At the end of the day, the SE-I is hardly a poor relative!

Also, I hear that the air suspension on the SE-L can be hugely expensive to fix when it goes wrong, and having driven both a SE-I and an SE-L, I can't really say that the difference is that noticeable.

[N5girl]

Thanks for the opinions - I will take a look at a RX400 too when we visit the dealer

DanD - in terms of the SL - I thought it had ML audio but it appears that some of them do and some don't. Also the DAB module is not standard on SE-L - only certain cars are listed with it. This was confirmed by the dealer at Lexus.

I would quite like the memory seat for the passenger but that appears to be quite rare indeed.

There are a lot of black interiors out there - not something that I am that bothered about but difficult to avoid if you don't like it.

[rayaans]

Passenger memory is not worth it tbh. It's not really hard to move the seat from one position to the other as its electric anyway

[N5girl]

My physio will set up both seats for my back so if it can be stored in the memory that would be better.

[mick4545]

Adaptive Cruise Control. Not something I thought about until I had it. Now I would never buy a car without. It makes motorway driving so much less stressful.

[rayaans]

Adaptive Cruise Control. Not something I thought about until I had it. Now I would never buy a car without. It makes motorway driving so much less stressful.

Town driving is more stressful than motorway driving due to taxi drivers lol. I find motorways are the easiest part of driving, but then, I do mostly drive in the third lane