Rx450 in snow

[Carl911]

First time we had poor enough snow conditions to see how well the Lexus would handle.

i was a little dubious as I’m well aware the Lexus Rx is not a true 4x4 in the same way a Land Rover is.

however, I was quite impressed how well the car drove.

put your foot down a little and it pretty much accelerated off with minimal wheelspin. You can feel the computers cutting power to wheels etc. And it really works well. I went around a few corners and if the car started to slide it seemed to improve by applying a bit of gas which kicked In all the wheels which immmediaty had the car i straightened back up. Braking was excellent to, brake hard and off course you will slide, after all its 2 tin of car on four wheeels. 

Driving this car with care it handles impeccably and not once did I feel nervous of getting stuck. I  took it up and down hills and around back roads barely used and it felt good in all circumstances.

im sure you wouldn’t want to put the RX of road through deep mud but in snow it was great.

well done RX

 

[rich1068]

21 minutes ago, Carl911 said:

You can feel the computers cutting power to wheels etc. And it really works well. I went around a few corners and if the car started to slide it seemed to improve by applying a bit of gas which kicked In all the wheels which immmediaty had the car i straightened back up.

Enormous fun isn't it? I have to say that given the choice between the Nurburgring or the Nokian test track in Finland I think it would be Finland every time.

Not sure which tyres you have one but if you do feel like getting a little more adventurous it's worth turning the traction control off. If the car senses quite a bit of slip it will just cut power, cut power, cut power until you're stood still. Knocking the gearbox into manual can really help too. This goes for 2WD or (Haldex on a Lexus?) 4WD.

[grantwils]

My RX350 powered through drifts over the bonnet. We’re in Bishopton which was the 2nd worst in UK with 46cm in 24 hours. The only thing which was a bit disappointing was the lack of a diff lock made it poor at towing stuck vehicles. (Managed a Vito bus and a taxi but did nothing with a British Gas van which had bottomed out on a drift)
Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S always help though. Plenty 4x4s (with diff locks) got stuck where this powered through.




Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

[Carl911]

I’d have to look at tyres but I have Pirelli on front and Goodyear at rear. Both brands are all season tyres and seemed to cope well.

never thought to turn traction control off, thought that might be counter productive but I can see in some instances that could be a good option. 

[Carl911]

1 minute ago, grantwils said:

My RX350 powered through drifts over the bonnet. We’re in Bishopton which was the 2nd worst in UK with 46cm in 24 hours. The only thing which was a bit disappointing was the lack of a diff lock made it poor at towing stuck vehicles. (Managed a Vito bus and a taxi but did nothing with a British Gas van which had bottomed out on a drift)
Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S always help though. Plenty 4x4s (with diff locks) got stuck where this powered through.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wonder why it copes as well. In theory he Lexus should be awful but it just seems to work well

[grantwils]

I’d have to look at tyres but I have Pirelli on front and Goodyear at rear. Both brands are all season tyres and seemed to cope well.
never thought to turn traction control off, thought that might be counter productive but I can see in some instances that could be a good option. 

How do you turn traction control off in an S2RX350 and does it help? I was looking for a button but couldn’t find one. I’m not sure it would have helped. AWD system was fine. There were a few times I though “oooops I’m stuck now” but a liberal application of right foot fixed the issue. It was just the heavy bottomed out van that it couldn’t do anything with. Front left wheel just kept spinning.


Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

[ColinBarber]

Most series II vehicles don't have a button. Those that do, it is located at the bottom of the steering column just above the pedals. Near where Lexus put the tyre pressure reset button on most of their vehicles.

[Ian M]

My 3RX on Michelin Cross Climates has really impressed this morning, not even a hint of wheelspin getting up the hill out of my Dad's place and equally composed coming back in down the hill.  Very happy.

I still haven't figured out how to do a handbrake turn though.  😁

 

 

[rayaans]

Ive had some fun with my RX over the past few days. Still on Summer Bridgestones which seem to be a very soft compound - they're pretty much shot after 16k miles.

Anyway, no issues. Some wheelspin but nothing unexpected. No snow mode on the 4RX either so I used Eco instead which seems to do the same job. 

[jumbojake]

we had a good 8" here in Kent and was very impressed with the Rx450 .... bit slippy until I turned on the "snow mode", then it was amazing ... just worked... of course driving slow anyway, but otherwise would never know I was dring in snow

 

[Paulcp]

Well, one of the potential concerns I had with my recent move to a 4RX450h, over the previous LR Discovery Sport, was how it would perform in snow & ice. Off road is something that really doesn't bother me, but the ability to stay mobile in bad weather when you live in a small village away from major routes is something that always concerns us. No such concerns with both the Discovery Sport and the previous RRS, and now no concerns with the RX. I put it into the recommended Eco setting (no Gravel, Sand or Snow setting on it like the Land Rovers) and it pulled off our drive, slight incline in 25cm of snow, with no trouble and handled the uphill bendy stretch out of the village as though there was no snow around. 

A little bit of slip was present on the front wheels when exiting the drive but it was only momentarily as the AWD system quickly brought the rear wheels in to play. To be fair, the AWD system worked better than I thought it would.

Happy days