Thoughts on my 2014 RX after the first year

[Spottedlaurel]

It's a year since I went down to Kent to purchase this 3rd-gen Luxury model (following the abortive month of having an Advance which had to be exchanged as I wasn't happy with it).

Low mileage (less than 24k) and one owner from new. Condition and quality was commensurate with that.

I wrote a post-holiday a review of it here:

Much of what I found then is still the case, but a busy winter of using it very regularly has brought some other aspects into focus.

Economy isn't great on the shorter journeys, of course. About 32-33, rising to around 35 if I can get some longer runs across Norfolk/Suffolk. No motorways for us here and it sees very little dual carriageway use, 50-55mph runs sitting with the lorries on A-roads definitely shows an improvement.

Now I have my old Camry back on the road I hope to use the RX less for those silly little journeys, dad's taxi runs etc which should help.

An SUV hadn't been something I was actively looking for, but the height is great for giving better visibility on the country roads I spend all my time on. However I think the overall look of it isn't too big or intimidating to other road users.

Regrettably it spends most of winter looking like this. The joys of the sugarbeet harvest in winter. I spent quite a bit of time last week cleaning out the overlap behind the door bottoms, surprising how much muck had crept in there. The strange felt wheelarch liners hold a lot of muck, when it does get cleaned I usually spend some time shifting as much of that as I can. Ultimately it's a working car and I don't get too precious about it. It's impossible to avoid odd scratches and muck living out in the sticks and visiting building sites for work. The rubber mats and bootliner are doing a good job inside, however.

I'm not convinced by the auto wipers, variable intermittent would be fine. And I still don't like the keyless entry and starting.

It had a service and MoT down at Ipswich. All good and no untoward work required, although it does seem unnecessarily expensive for what was done. It'll be due the big 6-year service this year, I need to look at the essentials servicing. I like the people there (I've known for 25+ years through our shared interest in older Toyotas and Datsuns) and I will do my best to ensure any future Lexus comes from them as I don't wish to repeat last year's experience....

The overall package still works very well for me. The hybrid and CVT combination adds a layer of interest to even the dullest journey, and the peace and calm is very welcome. That being said I still find the ride a bit unsettled and jiggly.

There are one or two others I see locally, but not as many as when I've gone down to Kent/Surrey. What I find interesting is that I cannot tell what sort of people have them, maybe that means they don't have a strong image but I prefer to think that they don't come with the negative baggage of some marques.

I'm sufficiently committed to it that I have just bought the two-year extended warranty. The European recovery was a major factor in making that decision, as it should be making a couple more journeys to France with us.

Difficult to predict life, work etc two years ahead, but assuming I'm still in a similar position to now I really don't know what will happen at the end of the PCP. For it to be something I can afford it means that I'd be looking at something that's in production now. 4th gen RX is the obvious choice, and reviews of it on here show it to be good, but I haven't fully come to terms with its looks and the better MPG of the new RAV4, Camry and ES could be a deciding factor. Just a shame the latter two aren't available as estates. Bootspace of the RAV4 is decent and it gets decent reviews, I shall be interested to see what they do with the new NX if it shares the same good qualities and particularly if/when it becomes available as a plug-in hybrid. Full electric isn't right for me yet, but 30-odd MPG isn't great nowadays.

Might just buy mine outright, run it for a further year or two and then use it as a deposit for whatever's next. Mileage should still be relatively low even by the time it's approaching 10 years old so hopefully it will have some value unless the market completely dies.

[olliesgrandad]

Good honest review. Mpg is roughly what I got with my 2015. 

Agree about the looks of the 4th gen car, but it is a huge improvement mpg wise. I miss the looks of the gen 3 car, but the rest of it is more up to date. There were a lot of things on the old car that were way behind other models in the range. My pre face-lift 2015 GS300h,was far more advanced eg being able to lock and unlock the car by touching the rear door handles, rear cross traffic alert, auto door locks and many more. 

The gen 4 car has got these refinements and you now know which tyre is soft! 

Admittedly I now have a Premier spec car which has a lot more kit than my previous Advance. 

Please keep us up to speed with your car. 

[First_Lexus]

That's a really good write-up @Spottedlaurel👏

Your dilemma about what to do at the end of the PCP is one I've discussed with my dealer. When the cars are so well made (mine being an NX rather than an RX) and reliable, why change? Buy outright and keep for the duration feels like the most appropriate option, especially with all the uncertainty around petrol/diesel powered cars and whether full electric really will be the solution. Better to hold on and see what happens for 3-5 years I reckon! 

[CVLex]

14 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 And I still don't like the keyless entry and starting.

Really interesting write up Nigel, thank you. - especially helpful to me as a new RX450H owner..

This might help you, - you can disable the keyless entry through the customizable features settings ( page 643 of the main manual refers - it worked for me )

Carl.

 

[Barry14UK]

Interesting write up.  I prefer the footprint and style of the 3rd to the 4th series but that is a personal thing.  The better MPG of the 4th series would be nice but as I don't do many miles pa in mine this is not a significant aspect for me.  My wife is rather short  and even with her front passenger seat in the lowest position finds it a rather uncomfortable to climb  aboard.  I find the brakes good at normal speeds but not as good as my BMW or previous Mercedes at motorway speeds.  Otherwise, the rear 3 quarter view could be better and rain is not cleared from front side windows when you lower and raise them as on some cars.   I found the Lexus satnav very unsatisfactory but have circumvented this by using a TomTom.  These things apart,  I am happy with my car although service cost and some parts are expensive.  (I note that in a reliability survey Toyota/Lexus did very well but parts were more expensive when parts were needed, than on other cars).  I particularly like the comfortable seats and driving position as I have a back problem.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

[ThomasD94]

On 2/16/2020 at 8:58 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

It's a year since I went down to Kent to purchase this 3rd-gen Luxury model (following the abortive month of having an Advance which had to be exchanged as I wasn't happy with it).

Low mileage (less than 24k) and one owner from new. Condition and quality was commensurate with that.

I wrote a post-holiday a review of it here:

Much of what I found then is still the case, but a busy winter of using it very regularly has brought some other aspects into focus.

Economy isn't great on the shorter journeys, of course. About 32-33, rising to around 35 if I can get some longer runs across Norfolk/Suffolk. No motorways for us here and it sees very little dual carriageway use, 50-55mph runs sitting with the lorries on A-roads definitely shows an improvement.

Now I have my old Camry back on the road I hope to use the RX less for those silly little journeys, dad's taxi runs etc which should help.

An SUV hadn't been something I was actively looking for, but the height is great for giving better visibility on the country roads I spend all my time on. However I think the overall look of it isn't too big or intimidating to other road users.

Regrettably it spends most of winter looking like this. The joys of the sugarbeet harvest in winter. I spent quite a bit of time last week cleaning out the overlap behind the door bottoms, surprising how much muck had crept in there. The strange felt wheelarch liners hold a lot of muck, when it does get cleaned I usually spend some time shifting as much of that as I can. Ultimately it's a working car and I don't get too precious about it. It's impossible to avoid odd scratches and muck living out in the sticks and visiting building sites for work. The rubber mats and bootliner are doing a good job inside, however.

I'm not convinced by the auto wipers, variable intermittent would be fine. And I still don't like the keyless entry and starting.

It had a service and MoT down at Ipswich. All good and no untoward work required, although it does seem unnecessarily expensive for what was done. It'll be due the big 6-year service this year, I need to look at the essentials servicing. I like the people there (I've known for 25+ years through our shared interest in older Toyotas and Datsuns) and I will do my best to ensure any future Lexus comes from them as I don't wish to repeat last year's experience....

The overall package still works very well for me. The hybrid and CVT combination adds a layer of interest to even the dullest journey, and the peace and calm is very welcome. That being said I still find the ride a bit unsettled and jiggly.

There are one or two others I see locally, but not as many as when I've gone down to Kent/Surrey. What I find interesting is that I cannot tell what sort of people have them, maybe that means they don't have a strong image but I prefer to think that they don't come with the negative baggage of some marques.

I'm sufficiently committed to it that I have just bought the two-year extended warranty. The European recovery was a major factor in making that decision, as it should be making a couple more journeys to France with us.

Difficult to predict life, work etc two years ahead, but assuming I'm still in a similar position to now I really don't know what will happen at the end of the PCP. For it to be something I can afford it means that I'd be looking at something that's in production now. 4th gen RX is the obvious choice, and reviews of it on here show it to be good, but I haven't fully come to terms with its looks and the better MPG of the new RAV4, Camry and ES could be a deciding factor. Just a shame the latter two aren't available as estates. Bootspace of the RAV4 is decent and it gets decent reviews, I shall be interested to see what they do with the new NX if it shares the same good qualities and particularly if/when it becomes available as a plug-in hybrid. Full electric isn't right for me yet, but 30-odd MPG isn't great nowadays.

Might just buy mine outright, run it for a further year or two and then use it as a deposit for whatever's next. Mileage should still be relatively low even by the time it's approaching 10 years old so hopefully it will have some value unless the market completely dies.

Great review, I have a 2nd Gen RX and I love it! Love the photos of your car too!! The ES Takumi is a great car with incredible tech!!

I made a video on it if you would like to check it out?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m16EA5QsZ38

[First_Lexus]

16 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

My wife is rather short and even with her front passenger seat in the lowest position finds it a rather uncomfortable to climb  aboard. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

^^ That's an interesting point @Barry14UK

I've got a disability, and need a higher point of entry into a car. However, the RX just doesn't work for me - I'm short too - as it is too high and too much of a stretch to make access comfortable. Add to that the relationship between the seat, steering wheel and pedals and it wasn't comfortable for me - it was just too big. The UX is slightly too low, but the NX is just right!

It just goes to show that no amount of media road tests or forum posts can really account for specific personal circumstances. Only a thorough test drive can do that. 

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback. Interesting to hear the views of others.

On 2/16/2020 at 9:58 AM, olliesgrandad said:

Agree about the looks of the 4th gen car, but it is a huge improvement mpg wise. I miss the looks of the gen 3 car, but the rest of it is more up to date. There were a lot of things on the old car that were way behind other models in the range.................

My regular searching of RXs up to £30k shows a decent amount of 4th gen models with sensible mileage now available. In another couple of years I think I'd have no issue finding something, if the mileage I'm doing is compatible with 35-40mpg and I do choose to move on from my current one. I've noticed they do an SE model, not very common but strangely I like the look of that on its smaller wheels which would suit my rural life a bit better. I can live with a limited toy count, for that reason the rather basic tech of the 3rd gen isn't an issue to me.

I find the looks of some of the current Lexus range a bit challenging. On the SUVs it's probably best on the NX, that was the model I saw when I still had the Avensis that got me interested although some research showed the RX would suit my tastes and requirements better.

On 2/16/2020 at 10:10 AM, First_Lexus said:

Your dilemma about what to do at the end of the PCP is one I've discussed with my dealer. When the cars are so well made (mine being an NX rather than an RX) and reliable, why change? Buy outright and keep for the duration feels like the most appropriate option, especially with all the uncertainty around petrol/diesel powered cars and whether full electric really will be the solution. Better to hold on and see what happens for 3-5 years I reckon! 

With the fact I've taken out the extended warranty and the need to get it serviced by Lexus, it does feel like I'd be putting a fair bit of money into it just for the dealer and next owner to see the benefit. For most buyers who, like me, would also class themselves as an enthusiast there's the desire to have a change and get something new fairly often. However, I'm lucky to own several other cars (nothing fancy, I can assure you) so I have plenty of opportunity to give myself a bit of motoring variety.

23 hours ago, CVLex said:

This might help you, - you can disable the keyless entry through the customizable features settings ( page 643 of the main manual refers - it worked for me )

Carl.

Thanks Carl, I'll look that up and give it a try.

22 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

Interesting write up.  I prefer the footprint and style of the 3rd to the 4th series but that is a personal thing.  The better MPG of the 4th series would be nice but as I don't do many miles pa in mine this is not a significant aspect for me.  My wife is rather short  and even with her front passenger seat in the lowest position finds it a rather uncomfortable to climb  aboard.  I find the brakes good at normal speeds but not as good as my BMW or previous Mercedes at motorway speeds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

I got mine up to 35+ MPG today after 110 miles of flattish Norfolk driving. A few years ago I'd have been more than happy with that out of anything I was driving, like a manual Camry 2.2. The fact that a V6, automatic heavyweight can do the same thing is pretty remarkable really. Interesting comment about the seats, my wife is around 5'2" but hasn't raised any significant issue over getting in and out, and at 6' it works perfectly for me. As mentioned in the holiday topic, she finds the more upright seating position much more natural and comfortable than in the Avensis. I'd agree too. I find the brakes to be fine, almost too sensitive - I thought they were better on a 69-reg NX I had as a courtesy car. One odd thing is that I'm sure I can gently brake (regen maybe) without the brake lights coming on, as if the switch doesn't activate at quite the right point on the pedal travel. It's a fractional thing, but noticeable in how I drive without being heavy on the brakes.

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks like I'll be moving to a full set of CrossClimates sooner than planned. TPMS told me that a tyre was low, fortunately it's one of the rears that are the Dunlops it came with last year (albeit brand new back then, so still only done 13k miles). Topped it up but it's slowly dropping again. It may be repairable, but I think I'll take advantage of a forthcoming work mileage claim and no council tax this month to get a couple more Michelins.

Looks like they're about £160 each on Black Circles at present. Discount code only available on a set of four.

With the two-year warranty recently purchased and a full set of CrossClimates it'll feel like a car I'm happy to run for a while yet.

Only other major expense coming up is the six-year service, at which point it'll have done about 40k. I need to have a chat with the friendly service manager about what realistically needs to be done then. Hopefully I can use the "Essential Care" thing, so long as that's sufficient for the warranty?

Thought of a minor annoyance this week, I wish the fuel tank was larger so it offered a bit more range. With 400 miles being a realistic maximum out of one tankful, the location of filling stations out here in the countryside means I tend to fill up at around 300 which seems to come around rather quickly.

I find that I very rarely look at the actual fuel gauge, it sits a bit low and I find it easier to use the odometer and cruising range figure.

[OldTrout]

Nigel,

Is the tyre losing pressure because the bead is sitting on some corrosion on the rim?

A good tyre place should thoroughly clean the rim before putting on a tyre. With only 13k miles is this the problem here?

One of my tyres had this problem and cleaning the rim cured it.

John

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

6 hours ago, OldTrout said:

Nigel,

Is the tyre losing pressure because the bead is sitting on some corrosion on the rim?

A good tyre place should thoroughly clean the rim before putting on a tyre. With only 13k miles is this the problem here?

One of my tyres had this problem and cleaning the rim cured it.

John

Hmmm, it's a thought. It has just started happening so I'm inclined to think I've picked up something that's caused a slow puncture - given the places I drive I'm surprised it hasn't happened before.