New RX450hL owner saying hi

[London450hL]

Greetings from a forum newbie  

Just swapped our old RX for a new RX450hL Premier  

Overall impressions are fantastic thus far and really happy with the car.  Waited a long time for the seven seat version and glad I did  

If anyone has any questions etc please fire away and happy to answer. 

[DaveyBoy]

Hi, Lexus wannabe here. Weighing up a luxury Vs premier. Did you drive the luxury? How do you think it compares to the premier in terms of ride quality?

Was set on the luxury but now second guessing.

[London450hL]

Hi Davey

I did not have a chance to drive the Luxury version.  

I went straight for the Premier as its fully loaded with all the toys etc and Lexus gave me a good trade-in on my old RX  

Its an amazing car and perfect for our needs - highly recommend it 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Whilst I was picking up my car last week I looked at the 7 seater in the showroom. To be honest I thought it not very good due to the entry for the rear 2 seats. Maybe I mucked up moving the 3 seat. Anyway enjoy your car. Mines a F Sport which replaced a newer IS300h premier but it has everything it had less BLIS and rev counter. 

[London450hL]

Hi Vlad

Re the seven seats. 

In my view Lexus has scored a massive own goal with their global marketing of this car.  They are trying to sell the car as a true seven seater, all their advertising is geared to this message and as a result all the automotive press/youtube etc are reviewing the car as such.  I watched evey review of the car and bar none every one had a six foot guy trying to get in the back seats and failing totally. 

If you are looking for a true seven seater then forget this car.  It isn’t.  Go for a Ford Galaxy and be comfortable 🙂

The RXL is strictly a 5+2 with the rear seats for children.  Lexus should have been honest in the marketing of the car this way.  

I have three kids under 10 so having the option of a couple more kiddie seats is perfect.  There is always a play date, rugby/football team, car pooling for parties etc etc.  Having a couple of extra seats in the back for those types of trips is great for us. 

I haven’t even tried to get in the back and never will but for younger kids its fine.  You pull one lever and the seat folds and slides forwards so they can jump in.  The middle seats move forwards/backwards so you give the rear most kids enough leg room and the middle seat is still ok.  I am 6’1 and we had my wife (5’8) sat behind me and my 9 old daughter behind her.  Nobody was exactly stretching out but it was fine for a 30/40min drive.  Five kids in the middle and rear seats - no probs  

90% of the time its a 5 seater with the added benefit of a slightly larger boot.   The other 10% its works for kids as long as you are not doing huge journeys.  

So in summary: 

- 7 seater? - no way.

- Roomy 5 seater with a couple of emergency kiddie seats in the back - absolutely.

All that without any compromise on general Lexus refinement etc or having to drive a “bus” (try driving/parking the GLS in London....)

When the kids get slightly bigger then thats when we will prob end up in something like a Discovery etc but for now its a great choice

Hope it helps  

 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Excellently put Erik. The car I was waiting to pick up was the RX450h and I had a play with the hL in the showroom. My wife didn' reckon on it and even the sales guy agreed about the rear 2 seats.

Funnily I was considering the Galaxy but didn't like the boot area. Just looked Un finished. 

Hope you're enjoying your car as much as I am mine. 

[Guest]

Welcome to the forum Erik,i looked at the RX450hL a few weeks back when mine was in for service and i agree its a 5+2 with the added benefit of a larger boot space for most of the time.

Make sure you get some pics up i think your possibly the first on the forum to have one.