RX450H Buying Advice - what version

[Rannsachair]

I am currently looking to buy an RX450H, ideally a 2014/15 old shape one.

I am unsure what model look for, so was after some advice:

1. Best not going for a Premier as air suspension wears out and is expensive to replace parts?

2. Does the F-sport suspension being stiffer not suit the car? It looks quite a good specification though harsher suspension puts me off. I live in a remote rural area and most driving will be on B roads and A roads.

3. what is the difference between Advance and Luxury? I saw a Luxury in my dealer yesterday and it seemed well kited out, is the Advance a lower specification? what is different?

I suspect I will be buying from a Lexus dealer, any advice on what to look out for would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Herbie]

The very first post in this forum will answer Q3, there's a link to a PDF file listing the various trim levels and what they have.

I purposely avoided the Premier because I didn't want air suspension for the same reasons.

I had a test drive in an F Sport and didn't like the stiffer suspension but I do have a back problem, you may find it better. I went for a late 2013 (63 plate) Advance and I love it. The Advance is in between the Premier and the Luxury.

One thing I can say is that you won't be disappointed whatever you choose.

[Rannsachair]

Thanks for that, the PDF attachment was particularly useful as I had mistakenly assumed the Advance was below the luxury as a reviews published list prices that indicated the Advance was priced as the SE-I:

Lexus RX 2009-2015 prices and specsPrices And Specs

Name	0-62mph	Top speed	CO2	MPG	Price
Advance Pan Roof	7.80secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£47 540
Advance Sunroof	7.80secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£47 540
SE	7.90secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£43 665
SE Navi	7.90secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£45 740
SE-I	7.90secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£47 540
SE-L	7.90secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£53 240
SE-L Premier	7.90secs	124mph	145g/km	44.80mpg	£60 190

 

I thought the SE-L was the luxury, which is priced above the SE-I which is the same price as the Advance. I was just confused by the review sites the attached brochure confirms that the Advance builds on the Luxury.

rx.pdf

[olliesgrandad]

Advance is basically Luxury spec with LED headlights, Mark Levinson sound system plus panoramic fixed roof or sunroof. Also has different wheels which are lacquered. 

If you buy an Advance check the lacquer coating on the wheels. Lexus just refurbed my wheels as a goodwill gesture. 

See if you can get a longer warranty factored into the deal. 

My car is a 2015 and unbelievably comfortable. 

I have just bought another 2 years Lexus Warranty which is well worth the cost. 

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

I thought the SE-L was the luxury, which is priced above the SE-I which is the same price as the Advance. I was just confused by the review sites the attached brochure confirms that the Advance builds on the Luxury.

 

You are confusing the pre and post facelift models.

Pre-facelift - SE, SE-I, SE-L, SE-L Premier. Then at a later date the Advance based on SE-I - essentially a limited edition to boost sales.

facelift - SE, Luxury, F Sport, Premier. Then at a later date the Advanced based on Luxury, and further revised a year later with additional equipment.

The following has this in detail:

 

 

[Rannsachair]

it looks like an advance would be my preferred option, though I am not a fan of sunroof's:  i have just changed the roof on my Landrover Defender to do away with the sunroof that dripped on me in the winter as ice on it thawed. So what are the pros and cons of the sunroof or panoramic roof? I am 6 foot 3" does it reduce headroom significantly?

The Lexus dealer i visited had an Advance for sale, though I did not look at it in detail as it had a light tan interior - have done that before - they look great, then you get a passenger in a waxed cotton jacket.....

[DanD]

My old RX400h had a sunroof. Never really used it. I found that, when open, it increased the noise level, but did not really make that much of a difference to the airflow, especially in the front seats. I found it much better to rely on the climate control to cool the car.

The following RX450h had neither, and I missed the additional light provided by the sunroof.

Current NX has a (fixed) panoramic roof. The whole family loves it, especially because of its size. Lets plenty of light in the car. Rear passengers get the most out of it, and enjoy being able to see out. When it is sunny and/or hot, there is an electric blind to shade the inside. No issue with headroom in the NX.

When visiting the dealers, if you find a car with a pan-roof, sit in the back and see...

[Herbie]

For the last 30 years all of my cars have had a sunroof and I've never opened a single one of them, preferring instead to let the aircon (and latterly the climate control) do it's job. I've also never had a leak from any of them either - maybe they only get leaky with use!

I love the Celestial Black and Ivory colour combo of our car. Yes, a nightmare to keep clean but well worth it. Any passenger attempting to get in with a wax jacket would be asked to remove it first 😉

Here's my pride and joy:
 

 

[DanD]

8 minutes ago, Herbie said:

For the last 30 years all of my cars have had a sunroof and I've never opened a single one of them, preferring instead to let the aircon (and latterly the climate control) do it's job. I've also never had a leak from any of them either - maybe they only get leaky with use!

I love the Celestial Black and Ivory colour combo of our car. Yes, a nightmare to keep clean but well worth it. Any passenger attempting to get in with a wax jacket would be asked to remove it first 😉

Here's my pride and joy:
 

 

My RX was the same colour combination. Looked very smart, but never will I ever buy another black car! Current car is white and , contrary to expectations, much easier to clean.

[Herbie]

On 5/6/2019 at 8:27 AM, olliesgrandad said:

Advance is basically Luxury spec with led headlights, Mark Levinson sound system

Not necessarily Les, my November 2013 (63 plate) Advance doesn't have ML sound, it was only a feature brought in in August 2014.

[Rannsachair]

19 minutes ago, Herbie said:

For the last 30 years all of my cars have had a sunroof and I've never opened a single one of them, preferring instead to let the aircon (and latterly the climate control) do it's job. I've also never had a leak from any of them either - maybe they only get leaky with use!

I love the Celestial Black and Ivory colour combo of our car. Yes, a nightmare to keep clean but well worth it. Any passenger attempting to get in with a wax jacket would be asked to remove it first 😉

Here's my pride and joy:
 

 

It looks great, I like black, though my wife hates white cars, so will be any colour but white,I had an Audi A6 with a banana yellow leather interior, it looked great,but was needing cleaned regularly. and I learned from one waxed cotton jacket experience....

I have had a few cars with sunroofs and never used them, my current Landrover was the worst: though fitted with a cheap basic sunroof:

it irritated me so much,i changed the roof: 

 

lucky they just bolt on.

I would not intend subjecting an RX to what my Landrover does though, i have rebuilt the Landrover on a galvanised chassis with a galvanised bulkhead, so intend keeping it for some time ( I have had it for 13 years):

i have fancied an RX for years, but never driven one. I have been getting chemo for the last 4 months and get my last session tomorrow, so will head back to the dealers in a few weeks when i am over the last session for a test drive 0 -  though based on reputation and reviews I am pretty sure it will be an RX. The wife likes the look of the NX, I was not keen on it, she said I looked cramped in the drivers seat - so will try an NX too, though I prefer larger cars.

[Spottedlaurel]

I bought a 2014 Advance earlier this year, but exchanged it under the terms of the Lexus policy as I think a previous owner had attempted to do what you do in your Land Rover, judging from the state of underside. This was on an approved car from a Lexus dealer, so do still check carefully.

I then got a 2014 Luxury, so I can compare them on the basis of recent experience. My conclusion is that the differences aren't worth worrying about - I didn't feel short-changed in getting the slightly lower-spec Luxury, to me condition was more important.

The Advance was the version with 7-spoke wheels and normal stereo, not Mark Levinson. As such, the only significant difference was that it had LED headlights which I now lack. It had a panoramic roof which my Luxury doesn't have, I can happily live without it. At 6'3" you might find a headroom issue, but I didn't at 6'0".

A lot of Luxury models seem to have what I think they call the design pack, with front and rear undertrays. Mine seems to be relatively unusual in not having them.

My Luxury has the metallic celestial black paint, which I don't find too bad to keep clean and easier than the solid black paint on the Advance which showed up scratches and swirl marks very easily. My ideal would have been the dark metallic blue, but it's difficult to be too choosy. I knew I didn't want white (which rules out a lot of those for sale) and I don't think I could keep the cream interior clean enough so I was happy that mine was black inside.

I would have happily considered an F-Sport if the right car at the right price had been available, on the basis of a test drive I took I didn't think the ride felt significantly firmer. They have a dark headlining so without a sunroof or panoramic roof they can feel a bit gloomier inside. Whether you like the look of them or not with their mesh grilles and other sporty bits is down to personal taste but they do have some useful toys like the LED lights, M/L stereo and HUD - the latter probably quite useful in a car which is quiet and easy to exceed the speed limit in.

Advance seems to be the most common variant of the 2014/15 models currently for sale on AutoTrader.

[olliesgrandad]

18 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

It looks great, I like black, though my wife hates white cars, so will be any colour but white,I had an Audi A6 with a banana yellow leather interior, it looked great,but was needing cleaned regularly. and I learned from one waxed cotton jacket experience....

I have had a few cars with sunroofs and never used them, my current Landrover was the worst: though fitted with a cheap basic sunroof:

it irritated me so much,i changed the roof: 

 

lucky they just bolt on.

I would not intend subjecting an RX to what my Landrover does though, i have rebuilt the Landrover on a galvanised chassis with a galvanised bulkhead, so intend keeping it for some time ( I have had it for 13 years):

i have fancied an RX for years, but never driven one. I have been getting chemo for the last 4 months and get my last session tomorrow, so will head back to the dealers in a few weeks when i am over the last session for a test drive 0 -  though based on reputation and reviews I am pretty sure it will be an RX. The wife likes the look of the NX, I was not keen on it, she said I looked cramped in the drivers seat - so will try an NX too, though I prefer larger cars.

If you are considering an NX it is vital that you drive the actual car you are considering buying. I tried one and after 10 miles aborted the test drive because it hurt my back so much. 

My Advance RX has panoramic fixed roof and headroom for me at 6 feet tall is not an issue (unlike my wife's 2015 Fiat 500)

[Rannsachair]

35 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

If you are considering an NX it is vital that you drive the actual car you are considering buying. I tried one and after 10 miles aborted the test drive because it hurt my back so much. 

Thanks, we will try both cars, though the interior of the NX looks great, I did not feel as comfy just sitting in the seat as with the RX.

As you can probably guess, the NX does not appeal to me. Though it will be used by my wife daily for her short commute to work and will be the family car for longer trips, so she needs to feel comfortable driving it. I have my Landrover and 4 motorbikes!

Though I prefer a car with reasonable acceleration for overtaking, which the NX on paper does not look great compared to our last few cars: an Alfa Romeo 159 1750 TBI and a Saab 9-5 Aero.

[Rannsachair]

Went for test drives in an 2013 RX450h luxury and an 2016 NX yesterday. Both were great cars the NX is very stylish and a fabulous interior. I much preferred the space, ride and performance of the RX. My wife was happy with the RX, the reversing camera makes a big difference to her, the worry was it would feel to big for her. It is smaller than our old Saab 9-5 fortunately.

So I am now on the lookout for a well looked after 2014/15 RX in any colour bar white with ideally a black interior. Lexus Scotland had a nice white one! 

Looks like I may have to travel south of the border for the right car.

[Spottedlaurel]

Great to hear you've settled on the RX.

Yes, the camera and big mirrors do help when manoeuvring, and as you know from your Land Rover being that bit higher up gives better visibility anyway. I think RX is a bit more trim than some other cars of this type - I'm currently working on a project which includes a new car park and I've had to allow for an area with 50cm bigger spaces for the directors/visitors in their Range Rovers, X5s etc.....

My search on AutoTrader was pretty similar to yours, using that it's interesting to see how many are white - 33 of six other colours versus 18 in white alone.

Many of us on here have travelled to buy the right car, it really depends how quickly you need/want it. I would much preferred to have bought it from the helpful, friendly chap at my local dealer but even within their group they just didn't have the right car for me. Four months later they finally do, but I couldn't have waited that long. I believe the warranty covers the car at any dealer, so even if you have a problem you don't need to go back to the people who sold it to you.

I did have to go 100+ miles back to my dealer, but that's because of an issue that wasn't covered by the warranty so I had to exchange my first RX for a better example.

What sort of mileage will you be doing in it and how long do you intend to keep it? Just wondering if you want to find something with low mileage, or whether you can accept higher mileage but with good history - the latter will save you a bit. Sticking to Lexus dealers, the nearest I can find to you that meets your criteria is a black F-Sport in Sheffield with 63k at £21,450. Lower mileage examples are usually £25k and upwards.

If you could make it down to the area south of London (Kent, Surrey, Croydon etc) then you'd have a good range to choose from various dealers, perhaps make a weekend of it? Shame the silver Advance at Glasgow has a tan interior, but could still be worth a look at? Having done just under 50k you'd have an idea of how well that colour takes everyday use ad they seem to be offering a good deal with various extras thrown into the package.

[Rannsachair]

52 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Great to hear you've settled on the RX.

Yes, the camera and big mirrors do help when manoeuvring, and as you know from your Land Rover being that bit higher up gives better visibility anyway. I think RX is a bit more trim than some other cars of this type - I'm currently working on a project which includes a new car park and I've had to allow for an area with 50cm bigger spaces for the directors/visitors in their Range Rovers, X5s etc.....

My search on AutoTrader was pretty similar to yours, using that it's interesting to see how many are white - 33 of six other colours versus 18 in white alone.

Many of us on here have travelled to buy the right car, it really depends how quickly you need/want it. I would much preferred to have bought it from the helpful, friendly chap at my local dealer but even within their group they just didn't have the right car for me. Four months later they finally do, but I couldn't have waited that long. I believe the warranty covers the car at any dealer, so even if you have a problem you don't need to go back to the people who sold it to you.

I did have to go 100+ miles back to my dealer, but that's because of an issue that wasn't covered by the warranty so I had to exchange my first RX for a better example.

What sort of mileage will you be doing in it and how long do you intend to keep it? Just wondering if you want to find something with low mileage, or whether you can accept higher mileage but with good history - the latter will save you a bit. Sticking to Lexus dealers, the nearest I can find to you that meets your criteria is a black F-Sport in Sheffield with 63k at £21,450. Lower mileage examples are usually £25k and upwards.

If you could make it down to the area south of London (Kent, Surrey, Croydon etc) then you'd have a good range to choose from various dealers, perhaps make a weekend of it? Shame the silver Advance at Glasgow has a tan interior, but could still be worth a look at? Having done just under 50k you'd have an idea of how well that colour takes everyday use ad they seem to be offering a good deal with various extras thrown into the package.

We will probably do 6 to 7k miles a year.  I like to look after and keep cars: I usually scrub their undersides and cavity wax and underbody wax my cars. So I look for the best I can including looking underneath. Our Alfa 159 was 7 years old and I spent days rustproofing and polishing it:

I would hope that this will be a long term purchase as the newer model is too big for my wife. So 6 years plus at least.

I had arranged to test drove the silver Advance in Glasgow, though it had just sold, so I ended up with the older grey Lux: it was the right colour but not well enough looked after for me - so marks and minor damage to body and interior. They had a nice white Lux with a low mileage, but my wife has put her foot down - no white cars.

I may fly to London and hire a car to look at a few if nothing comes up in the next month.

[olliesgrandad]

 

5 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

We will probably do 6 to 7k miles a year.  I like to look after and keep cars: I usually scrub their undersides and cavity wax and underbody wax my cars. So I look for the best I can including looking underneath. Our Alfa 159 was 7 years old and I spent days rustproofing and polishing it:

I would hope that this will be a long term purchase as the newer model is too big for my wife. So 6 years plus at least.

I had arranged to test drove the silver Advance in Glasgow, though it had just sold, so I ended up with the older grey Lux: it was the right colour but not well enough looked after for me - so marks and minor damage to body and interior. They had a nice white Lux with a low mileage, but my wife has put her foot down - no white cars.

I may fly to London and hire a car to look at a few if nothing comes up in the next month.

Loving the Alfa. Had a Mito for a while and loved it. 

[olliesgrandad]

I wouldn't worry about the tan interior. My car does around 400 to 500 miles  a week and stays far cleaner than the wife's Fiat 500 with maroon leather. I've done 21000 miles in just under the year and the interior looks great. I find it far easier to clean than the black in my last 2 Lexii and the tan rubber mats are superb. 

[Rannsachair]

The tan looks ok, not the ivory or light grey though - one ivory car I looked had a badly stained interior.

 

[olliesgrandad]

11 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

The tan looks ok, not the ivory or light grey though - one ivory car I looked had a badly stained interior.

 

Sorry my car has the Ivory interior and no problems with keeping it clean. 

In fact if the car has a scruffy interior I would suggest it hasn't been cared for and time to walk away. 

[Rannsachair]

4 hours ago, olliesgrandad said:

Sorry my car has the Ivory interior and no problems with keeping it clean. 

In fact if the car has a scruffy interior I would suggest it hasn't been cared for and time to walk away. 

I will walkaway from any car that does not look well looked after.

Lexus Glasgow has just phoned me today: they have a silver Advance with panoramic roof coming in with a black interior, one elderly lady owner and 28k miles - they are also doing 3 years free servicing and £1k off finance, I do not need finance but may take it and get £1k towards deposit and then pay it off. i have paid a deposit for them to hold the car for me.

[olliesgrandad]

6 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

I will walkaway from any car that does not look well looked after.

Lexus Glasgow has just phoned me today: they have a silver Advance with panoramic roof coming in with a black interior, one elderly lady owner and 28k miles - they are also doing 3 years free servicing and £1k off finance, I do not need finance but may take it and get £1k towards deposit and then pay it off. i have paid a deposit for them to hold the car for me.

If it is the later car with lacquered wheels please check the centres carefully for corrosion. I've just had my wheels refurbished by Lexus as a goodwill gesture. I had them powder coated in a shadow chrome which I think looks similar to F Sport and is far more durable. 

I recently saw a car similar to mine (again 2015) and that had the same issue with the wheels. Picture is of my refurbished wheels 

[Rannsachair]

14 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

If it is the later car with lacquered wheels please check the centres carefully for corrosion. I've just had my wheels refurbished by Lexus as a goodwill gesture. I had them powder coated in a shadow chrome which I think looks similar to F Sport and is far more durable. 

I recently saw a car similar to mine (again 2015) and that had the same issue with the wheels. Picture is of my refurbished wheels 

Thanks, will scrutinise them.

I will be taking my head torch and boilersuit so that I can fully inspect the underside too.

[Spottedlaurel]

Sounds like a great example so long as the condition is commensurate with what you'd hope/expect at that sort of mileage. Even after you've had it for six years, at the annual mileage you're doing it'll be about 70k so it should be a good car for a future owner.

Les has pointed out the wheel issue, and I'll reiterate my problem with the exhaust and undertray damage I found on mine doe to a careless (or unfortunate) previous owner. Some examples seem to rattle and creak around the rear - possibly the seats, but I think on mine it's something around the tailgate.

If it's one owner from new you'd like to think it had been sold and serviced by the same people from day one, and hopefully find they've part-exchanged it for another Lexus.

Rubber mats and bootliner are good to have, as is the rear bumper protector.