GS or RX ?

steveledzep · January 24, 2017

Mrs ledzep and I are both in our early sixties and plan to change the 250 convertible in the Spring and we have our sights on a 2013 vehicle. We both fancy something a wee bit more sedate and easier to get in and out of and the RX is our favourite at the moment. We consider the NX a bit like X3 or X5 and have decided that RX is the way to go if we take that route. We have some time off work in March and plan a trip to Cardiff Lexus to do some serious test driving.

In the meantime, I have been studying various options and some current threads on here are very interesting. What is concerning me is how a hybrid would perform on our daily work commute of five miles each way (we work together) on uncongested country road at 30 and 50mph. My current IS250 has just reached temperature when I pull in to the car park. How would a GS or RX 450h react ? From October to April the heating is required in the car, so the ICE would start immediately. I've read reports of 20mpg or thereabouts in an RX in similar circumstances ! This 2x5 miles 5 days a week is the majority of our use with a 40 miles return trip to the supermarket fortnightly and three or four 300 mile round trips annually visiting our daughter.

The boy racer in me would like a GS450h and the RX450h would satisfy my serene comfort aspirations. The GS300h is an option too, its performance isn't dissimilar to my current IS250, but how does hybrid work with a 5 mile commute with a/c and heating operating ?

With my limited knowledge, the GS250 is favourite at the moment as I'd expect similar performance and mpg as my IS250C, averaging 29.8mpg doing the journeys outlined above. The GS250 would be a good deal less expensive to buy too !

Apologies for the long post, just want to be sure of pulling the trigger on the right vehicle in 3 or 4 months time. Thanks in anticipation.

Zotto · January 25, 2017

I own a G3 300h, so my opinion is not neutral . About your concern, a hybrid engine reaches temperature like other petrol engines, so don't worry about heating in winter. If you expect a sedated car, GS 450h and also RX450h are NOT sedate, GS 450h is really a fast car, while GS300h is better if you give more importance to low mpg and maintenance costs, I love my GS 300h. Being only few years younger, I also considered to purchase a SUV, but comfort in GS is very good, better mpg and quieter. So, in my opinion about your choices, GS300h with all options (mine has leather seats with 18 different settings, heated and ventilated) is best, if you like speed GS450h FSport, if you need a bigger vehicle more thirsty but with higher seats and mpg go for RX. NX is interesting too, but it' s a step down, like IS compared to GS.

rayaans · January 25, 2017

^^ dont know what he's talking about but the RX is certainly relaxing to drive.

I believe the hybrids tend to warm up slightly quicker due to exhaust heat recovery.

I tend to go to work which is 2 miles away and takes 10 minutes (I do home visits so I drive the car much more than just the 2 miles). The car is not fully warm but its not far off and I regularly get 27-28mpg in the winter. In the summer that does creep up to about 32mpg and more if on a long run.

The GS sits low, at about the same height as your current car so I doubt that'd itd make it easier to get into.

steveledzep · January 25, 2017

5 hours ago, rayaans said:

I regularly get 27-28mpg in the winter. In the summer that does creep up to about 32mpg and more if on a long run.

The GS sits low, at about the same height as your current car so I doubt that'd itd make it easier to get into.

Thanks Rayaans. I could live with that mpg as the IS only achieves 24 or 25mpg on the work commute and up to 38mpg on a long run.

I have a feeling that the seats in my convertible are particularly low set as everyone who has a lift comments. Maybe lower than the saloons ? I'll pay particular attention when I visit the dealer (60 miles away from me, so not just a pop-in when passing).

Thanks Luigi, I have only ridden for a short journey as a passenger in an RX450h and I paid particular attention to the feel. I did find it a nice place to be, the only thing I noticed was the noise when braking to a standstill. to do with the Battery charging the driver told me. This was a lift into town from the Lexus dealership.

Anyone else have any opinions ?

Glover · January 25, 2017

I have an RX450h bought last May. Mpg in the summer averaged just over 38 with a best of 45.1 and worst of 36.8. Winter best of 36.2 worst of 29. My average since buying the car is 36.5.

I commute 5 miles each way combination of stop start city traffic (about a dozen traffic lights), just under a mile of unrestricted single carriageway and a final mile of reasonably quiet 30mph industrial estate. Heating and heated seats on. Heater kicks in fully after about 3 miles or sooner if lots of stop, start. On that commute I get 36-38 in summer and 29-32 in winter. I do the odd 20 -100 miler at weekends, occasional 100-160 mile work trips and 600 or so miles on holiday. I'm pushed to get it much below 30 at motorway speeds in the winter; add another 6 or 8mpg in the summer. My driving style is a combination of Driving Miss Daisy and Vanishing Point! I'm also in my early 60s so I think you'll probably remember that classic road film.

The car is supremely comfortable and relaxing; great for a sedate cruise, surprisingly nimble in urban areas, whisper quiet at motorway limit on smooth roads and goes like the proverbial if you need it. For a big car it gets up to speed very quickly but with no fuss whatsoever.

I also considered the GS but having had a Qashqai I liked being that bit higher up so as soon as I sat in the RX I didn't bother with getting in the GS. Hope this helps

rayaans · January 25, 2017

2 hours ago, steveledzep said:

Thanks Rayaans. I could live with that mpg as the IS only achieves 24 or 25mpg on the work commute and up to 38mpg on a long run.

I have a feeling that the seats in my convertible are particularly low set as everyone who has a lift comments. Maybe lower than the saloons ? I'll pay particular attention when I visit the dealer (60 miles away from me, so not just a pop-in when passing).

Thanks Luigi, I have only ridden for a short journey as a passenger in an RX450h and I paid particular attention to the feel. I did find it a nice place to be, the only thing I noticed was the noise when braking to a standstill. to do with the battery charging the driver told me. This was a lift into town from the Lexus dealership.

Anyone else have any opinions ?

I think the MPG that @Glover has been getting is certainly achievable. The only problem I have is that my journeys are too short - 2 miles to work, 2 miles to 1 house, 2 miles to another house, 3 miles to another. Therefore the car doesn't get chance to warm up fully. Ive achieved good MPG on a run however. It gets about 33-35mpg at motorway speeds which I think is OK for a 2 tonne bohemoth!

The seats in the GS are very low as well. I believe they lowered the hip point on them for a sportier feel.

The noise when braking is due to regenerative brakes charging up the Battery. You soon get used to it but it does sound odd at first.

Ive never dropped below 27mpg though which I guess is good, especially since my 2RX did 16mpg!

Zotto · January 25, 2017

About mpg, my GS 300h does 40 in winter and more than 45 mpg in summer with no attention, easy to stay over 50 keeping hybrid driving techniques.

In winter, heated seats are very useful, really don't worry for driving warm.

steveledzep · January 25, 2017

2 hours ago, Glover said:

I commute 5 miles each way combination of stop start city traffic (about a dozen traffic lights), just under a mile of unrestricted single carriageway and a final mile of reasonably quiet 30mph industrial estate. Heating and heated seats on. Heater kicks in fully after about 3 miles or sooner if lots of stop, start. On that commute I get 36-38 in summer and 29-32 in winter.

My commute is the same distance, but on uncongested roads, I may come to a standstill briefly at the pelican crossing or the roundabout. On that basis I should do a little better than you on my commute. You have encouraged me towards an RX450h

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

The only problem I have is that my journeys are too short - 2 miles to work, 2 miles to 1 house, 2 miles to another house, 3 miles to another. Therefore the car doesn't get chance to warm up fully.

Your reported mpg is excellent based on that usage.

22 minutes ago, Zotto said:

my GS 300h does 40 in winter and more than 45 mpg in summer

Thanks for your contribution, but meaningless without describing the type of journey.

Zotto · January 25, 2017

Mpg are average, I drive almost 50% in city traffic, of course first minutes are worse till engine warms up, but because of hybrid traction in city you pass almost half of miles with engine off , nonetheless climate control works.

steveledzep · January 25, 2017

3 minutes ago, Zotto said:

Mpg are average, I drive almost 50% in city traffic, of course first minutes are worse till engine warms up, but because of hybrid traction in city you pass almost half of miles with engine off , nonetheless climate control works.

Being in rural west Wales, I have the luxury of very little city driving, occasional visit to Swansea that's all. Most of my driving is on single carriageway A roads at between 30 and 60mph.

That's why I'm also considering a GS250 which I would expect to deliver same mpg as my IS250C. A GS250 would be considerably cheaper than a hybrid (GS or RX) and I can buy a lot of petrol for £5,000 !

Zotto · January 26, 2017

GS 250 is a good choice, but driving a Hybrid car is a totally different experience, not necessarily positive (some people don't appreciate it):

sparing fuel is only a feature, but you discover silence, no gears, sound of thermal engine not linked to increase of speed, smooth acceleration without steps, less components that could break or need to change, brakes lasting more. The feature of engine motor sound steady during acceleration is the biggest reason many people dislike eCVT hybrids, a century of cars with gears accustomed us to associate speed growing with rpm.

So, my suggestion is to try it and see if you like; with your driving hybrid obtains very good mpg( my personal record is 70 with hypermiling techniques). And if you like speed, a bigger engine could surprise you, I sometimes miss my former GS 450h with 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds, and you can obtain 39 mpg with it. RX has same engine, a little underpowered , and performs very well too, also good mpg with your driving, mpg go down with motorways at speed over 70 mph because of bigger air resistance of SUVs.

PCM · January 26, 2017

Test drive them both.

I always feel very SAFE in my RX...

rayaans · January 26, 2017

14 hours ago, steveledzep said:

Being in rural west Wales, I have the luxury of very little city driving, occasional visit to Swansea that's all. Most of my driving is on single carriageway A roads at between 30 and 60mph.

That's why I'm also considering a GS250 which I would expect to deliver same mpg as my IS250C. A GS250 would be considerably cheaper than a hybrid (GS or RX) and I can buy a lot of petrol for £5,000 !

Thats true. Definitely worth getting in and out of both the RX and GS to make sure which one is better for you.

You could also go for the 3IS250/300h as they are the same as the GS in terms of step in height.

steveledzep · January 26, 2017

Thank you all for your contributions. I am encouraged to our first choice of RX450h.

I'll report back after our test drive experience in March.

steveledzep · March 1, 2017

It's only just March, but I collected our new (to us) RX450h yesterday. The contributions on this thread helped me a lot, with particular thanks to Rayaans and Glover.

Only had it a day, but I agree about the warm up time of the engine, I'd say half the time of the IS. The seating position in the GS is not very different to my Convertible, but the RX requires a slight step up to become seated instead of a fall into a bucket !! No meaningful mpg figures yet, but I'm fascinated watching the graphic telling me where the power is coming from, hope it doesn't become the guide to my driving.

After collecting it from Wolverhampton yesterday, I rang Mrs Ledzep from Newtown (halfway). She of course asked about the car, I replied "It's like driving an armchair".

It's a 13 plate RX450h Luxury in Garnet Red with black leather, Lexus fsh and 55k miles. Looking forward to my day off on Saturday so I can have a play with the car. I'll take some photos so I can prove it really happened.

rayaans · March 2, 2017

1 hour ago, steveledzep said:

It's only just March, but I collected our new (to us) RX450h yesterday. The contributions on this thread helped me a lot, with particular thanks to Rayaans and Glover.

Only had it a day, but I agree about the warm up time of the engine, I'd say half the time of the IS. The seating position in the GS is not very different to my Convertible, but the RX requires a slight step up to become seated instead of a fall into a bucket !! No meaningful mpg figures yet, but I'm fascinated watching the graphic telling me where the power is coming from, hope it doesn't become the guide to my driving.

After collecting it from Wolverhampton yesterday, I rang Mrs Ledzep from Newtown (halfway). She of course asked about the car, I replied "It's like driving an armchair".

It's a 13 plate RX450h Luxury in Garnet Red with black leather, Lexus fsh and 55k miles. Looking forward to my day off on Saturday so I can have a play with the car. I'll take some photos so I can prove it really happened.

Very nice!

Particularly impressed by your colour choice - I think the Garnet red looks much much better on the Luxury with the silver wheels and silver front grill rather than on an F-Sport.

Can't say you'll be disappointed!

Zotto · March 2, 2017

Compliments for the purchase and let we know your experience with RX

steveledzep · March 8, 2017

I'm still feeling my way around. First chores were checking wheel nuts (why should I need a 6' bar on the brace to slacken the nuts ?), damn air guns ! Fluid levels, tyre pressures and safety stuff.

It's on 55k miles with 6 service stamps from Lexus and it had the 60,000 service with plugs at 53,000 !

Had a day of good stuff today, changing the plates and giving it a wash. It's an easy vehicle to wash, but it's huge !! Here's a few pics.

Farqui · March 8, 2017

Yeah, my wheel nuts were REALLY tight too. Bonkers and no use if you had a roadside repair. So well done easing them off.

The car looks great.

ISJason · March 8, 2017

Wonderful example of the RX. Well done. Enjoy it.

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rayaans · March 9, 2017

The colour looks great on the Luxury. Good choice!

Do I see a matching number plate border or am I going blind?

steveledzep · March 9, 2017

Nothing wrong with your eyesight Rayaan. Yes, I thought the border on the plates would set them off a bit. Glad you like it .

steveledzep · March 10, 2017

Had another day off and another day of fettling today. Fitted my dashcam very discreetly behind the rear view mirror with the lens just poking out beneath the shaded bit.

Took some advice from another thread and used a bristle brush with Dodo Juice on the leather....worked a treat ! I thought there were some marks resembling paint splashes, but they were just blocked holes in the perforated leather, soon sorted those out with a pin and a bit of patience.

It is a very sedate drive that we're both enjoying. We're taking a drive up to Scotland in June, exploring our old haunts, lived in Callander for a while about 30 years ago.

rayaans · March 11, 2017

On 09/03/2017 at 7:24 AM, steveledzep said:

Nothing wrong with your eyesight Rayaan. Yes, I thought the border on the plates would set them off a bit. Glad you like it .

Thought so - looks good, brilliant idea!