Are all RX350s Steel suspension ?....

[moriwaki]

Looking to buy one for the Good Lady.....and know my 400s ....but this is not a model I have any experience with....not keen on Air Suspension.

 

Are they as good as they say ?.

Thanks again lads.😜

[sorcerer]

Not sure about the RX350s. We had an RX300 SE which had traditional spring suspension and as far as I know, it was only the SEL version that had air suspension. I don't know if there are the same variants in the 350 but if so, just stay away from SEL and you should be OK.

[rich1068]

Even if some of them did come with air suspension I think it would be the VED at £555 that put me off!

[moriwaki]

Did not look at the Tax to be honest.....thanks for info....I am looking for a steel suspension model......but also wondered if any of the 350s have CVT ?....Something else I want to avoid.

There seems to be lots of different models on the Bay....and it's a little confusing.

Thanks for help lads.

[rayaans]

15 minutes ago, moriwaki said:

Did not look at the Tax to be honest.....thanks for info....I am looking for a steel suspension model......but also wondered if any of the 350s have CVT ?....Something else I want to avoid.

There seems to be lots of different models on the Bay....and it's a little confusing.

Thanks for help lads.

No they have a conventional torque converter

But why would you want to avoid a CVT? Dont say its something you've "read about" lol

[rich1068]

I only got my RX a few weeks ago after running an IS since last August. If the VED is an issue then either go for an RX300 (but watch out for 23/03/06 on ones, they're £555 per year too) or a 400h. Here I'm assuming the RX450h is too pricey.

RX300 is a traditional V6 with a regular auto. RX400h is a V6 with CVT and obviously a hybrid. I was told the RX300 could be a little sluggish and thirsty but the RX400h went like stink for a bus and the hybrid system took the edge off the poor fuel economy. I wouldn't have minded either because I don't regularly lap the Nurburgring and how a car makes me feel is more important to me than how often I have to stop at a petrol station. As it turned out I could stretch to a low mileage 400h and I couldn't find a bad thing to be said about the hybrid system's reliability. As was pointed out to me when I asked, if it's got air suspension it will have up and down buttons in between the heated seat controls and the ciggy lighter. No buttons, no air suspension.

I never gave a thought to the CVT because I've driven plenty of CVTs and know there's nothing wrong with them. Lexus, Toyota and Subaru really would be struggling if everyone believed what a motoring journalist thought after spending an extremely thorough 15 minutes with a car. And unfortunately the internet being the internet this nonsense is repeated as fact on every car forum out there. Ever driven an Outback with the 2.5i and Lineartronic CVT? It's a lovely thing.

I'm no expert on Lexus. I've been here less than a year. I'm sure someone else will chip in if I've got any of that wrong.

[Jaystar77]

I'm no expert but I've owned a 350 for almost a year now and love it.  Normal suspension, 25-30mpg and I don't even mind the tax bracket.  Seems to go quite well for a big armchair too!

[rich1068]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking the RX350. I'm sure it's lovely. It's the crackers post-06 VED system for some petrol cars that I object to.

Am I right in thinking the 300 is a 3 litre V6 but the 350 and 400 are both 3.3 litre? Is it the same engine?

[Jaystar77]

The 2006 one I have is 3.5 (2GR-FE).  Pretty sure they retained the engine for the third gen RX after that.

Yeah it's expensive although I don't expect anything less from our illustrious tax system 😉

[GrahamG]

Had my 2006 RX350SE  for 4 years and would buy another. Feels bullet proof to me and I love the easily maintained traditional technology. [steel suspension]

Strangely the faults that crop up on the USA club site do not seem to be issues here but must watch out for rain water ingress especially at rear.

It has a timing chain , therefore no belt to change.

Also has better acceleration and better fuel economy than the 300.

[rich1068]

10 hours ago, Jaystar77 said:

The 2006 one I have is 3.5 (2GR-FE).  Pretty sure they retained the engine for the third gen RX after that.

Yeah it's expensive although I don't expect anything less from our illustrious tax system 😉

Just had a look on Wikipedia. 3 different engines for the 3 different models. There you go. You learn something every day.