Premier or not

Flashie08 · January 27, 2016

Hi all,

In the next few months I should be in a position to finally get my hands on an RX 450h. My current car is a Jaguar XF and it has served me well for 6 years and 100k miles but I've got a bad back so need a higher car and the RX is one of the few that the wife approves of.

The question is; which one? I have a bad back (only 34 but years of sport and being 6'4" and 19 stone doesn't help!) but don't do a lot of mileage. I was always planning to get a Premier due to the air suspension which will probably help the back (and I love gadgets!) but wanted people's thoughts on whether it is worth it?

I'd be looking at a used one, about 2-3 years old.

Thoughts/advice welcomed!

Alex

rayaans · January 27, 2016

OK so yes, the air suspension would probably benefit you but only you can decide how much as im told there isn't a huge difference in ride. If you're after gadgets then the Premier is the way to go however, take a look at the Advance models as they are well specified too but miss out on certain things such as the heads up display, cooled seats, wooden steering wheel and kerb camera view.

Id assume the only way to know if you really need the air suspension is to test out a Premier and a Luxury/Advance (same suspension as Advance but marginally lower spec). IMO the RX450h rides well and I have an F-Sport with the stiffer suspension so you should be fine.

Let us know how you get on!

Bodmeister · January 27, 2016

Agree with Rayaans. Test drive all of them. Advance, F-Sport and Premier and then decide. I bought a Premier NX but after driving the F Sport NX the Premier NX seems crashy, but it doesn't have all the toys.

I am 6 ft 4 inches and 37 and also suffer from a bad back ( through playing too much tennis) and that's the reason I chose a NX , making entry/exit really easy. The RX is a tad higher, so taking into account your height it will be a doddle .

January 28, 2016

Hi and welcome to the forum,we have a 2014 Advance and the ride is very comfortable and it has enough gadgets to please,also remember the Advance has the added bonus of a sunroof or panoramic roof fitted as standard.

good luck with your search.

DanD · January 28, 2016

The Premier does have all the toys, but not everyone is sold on the air suspension. I tested cars with and without and eventually decided against. I found the air suspension a bit too floaty on the motorway, but also a little unsettled and jiggly on bad roads. Others find it brilliant, so I think it is very much down to personal preference.

I also suffer from chronic back problems, but have found the conventional suspension excellent. In truth, I think the seats themselves are probably more relevant than the suspension itself.

Do let us know what you end up choosing and why. Good luck.

Flashie08 · January 28, 2016

Thanks everyone for the advice. I only test drove the Premier when I was last buying 6 years ago and still have the memories of the comfort. It was a reason why I bought the Jag - I felt it wasn't as engaged and also could see myself dosing off on long journeys! With my back now and having had my fast-ish car, this weakness becomes an advantage.

The better half doesn't like SUVs too much (despite being German, she hates BMW and any of their x-range or the Audi / Merc equivalents) but she instantly gave her approval with the RX. The only other one to have got that was the new XC90 but that's too pricey and I don't need the size.

I will heed your advice and give them both a go. The Advance is quite a bit cheaper and there's more second choices out there. Though I did like the HUD! (I know this is in the F-sport and might try that out too).

Flashie08 · January 28, 2016

P.S. When would be a good time to buy? Is it worth waiting until the new one is delivered so the market has more trade-ins?

Flashie08 · January 28, 2016

My first second hand car purchase....

rayaans · January 28, 2016

2 hours ago, Flashie08 said:

P.S. When would be a good time to buy? Is it worth waiting until the new one is delivered so the market has more trade-ins?

The prices have already fallen from what I can see due to the delivery of new models. I think you'd get a great discount on them. A good strategy would be to go in asking for the new RX and say you want a 10% discount. Obviously they'll say no and then they might say "oh but you can have 10% off on these" and show you the 3rd gen RX which is a bonus for you!

Bodmeister · January 28, 2016

They WERE giving massive discounts on the old gen. I was offered a brand new old gen RX F Sport ( unregistered)with £9300 off in Nov 15. Most of the old gen's are now pre registered with silly high prices. The one I was offered is now for sale for more than £2500 than what I would have paid for it brand new! Try to source an unregistered one if you can.

Flashie08 · January 29, 2016

18 hours ago, Bodmeister said:

They WERE giving massive discounts on the old gen. I was offered a brand new old gen RX F Sport ( unregistered)with £9300 off in Nov 15. Most of the old gen's are now pre registered with silly high prices. The one I was offered is now for sale for more than £2500 than what I would have paid for it brand new! Try to source an unregistered one if you can.

Wow! That's a huge discount. Puzzling why they'd think pre-reg would fetch more.

I'd written going for new / pre-reg but may have to reconsider now

Bodmeister · January 29, 2016

They price it lot above what it would realistically be sold at. Old gen Rx Premier is still advertised for £49k, which is ridiculous imo. They will either be sat on the lot for a long time or the dealership will give you £8000 deposit "contribution" to take out their pcp package.

Personslly I would go in with a really lowball offer and take it from there. Get the finance and deposit contribution and pay it off within the 14 day cooling off period.

Flashie08 · January 29, 2016

I find out in the next few weeks if I get the pay rise in expecting which I've earmarked for this. I think I'll wander down to Milton Keynes or Cambridge Lexus and look at everything RX!

Bodmeister · January 29, 2016

The RX has aged well bodywise. The interior hasn't unfortunately. It's a superbly engineered car that's for sure and will last a long time.

rayaans · January 30, 2016

16 hours ago, Bodmeister said:

They price it lot above what it would realistically be sold at. Old gen Rx Premier is still advertised for £49k, which is ridiculous imo. They will either be sat on the lot for a long time or the dealership will give you £8000 deposit "contribution" to take out their pcp package.

Personslly I would go in with a really lowball offer and take it from there. Get the finance and deposit contribution and pay it off within the 14 day cooling off period.

I did check with my dealer. Apparently the idea is to have them listed at a high price and then give a huge discount on it. They're talking £5-8k off the listed price that they put it on which is already about £49k or something. Essentially you can get a nearly new car for £42k or so.

DanD · February 1, 2016

I would suggest that you visit your dealer mid-Feb: if they have not met their quota, you might be able to get a sizeable discount off an old gen car.

I did this with our local Peugeot dealer for our second car. I was offered £5k off a new car (new facelifted model too on a 65 plate!) in the last week of August, so long as I signed all the paperwork before September 1st. According to the dealer, they were a few cars off target and were canvassing all their regular customers to grab a few sales.