Ride quality of RX300 SE

[Driver201]

Good afternoon, hope you are all well. This is my first post so I hope it's ok. I'm thinking of buying a 2005 Rx300 se as I understand it does not have the costly air suspension. I've test driven the se-l and liked the ride, but i was wondering if the ride in the se is comparable given that it is on normal suspension. Ride quality is important to me as I have back issues and dislike the jarring over potholes. I was also considering the 2010 is250 as well. If you have any insights into which would be best route to take, they would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Driver201
added years of manufacture

[Herbie]

I've never driven a car with air suspension but I have been a passenger in a few and to be absolutely honest, I don't know what the fuss is all about as I find very little difference between that and normal suspension.

I too, have back problems (serious enough to see me retired early on medical grounds) and found the standard suspension on our 2005 RX300 SE NAV very comfortable. Having said that, if your budget could stretch to a series 3 RX450h then that's a whole new level of comfort again.

The higher seating position of the RX makes it much easier for me to get in and out and I find I really struggle in a saloon car these days, which would completely rule out the IS for me personally.

[The-Acre]

9 minutes ago, Herbie said:

I've never driven a car with air suspension but I have been a passenger in a few and to be absolutely honest, I don't know what the fuss is all about as I find very little difference between that and normal suspension.

I too, have back problems (serious enough to see me retired early on medical grounds) and found the standard suspension on our 2005 RX300 SE NAV very comfortable. Having said that, if your budget could stretch to a series 3 RX450h then that's a whole new level of comfort again.

The higher seating position of the RX makes it much easier for me to get in and out and I find I really struggle in a saloon car these days, which would completely rule out the IS for me personally.

I couldn't agree more about air suspension.  The ones I've had with air have been no better than springs. In fact the springs I have now give the same comfortable ride as when it was on air in my opinion, just without the potential headache!

[Driver201]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated, it's good to know that the 'se' will still give a comfortable ride. I'm looking forward to owning a reliable car. Can't stretch to the series 3 unfortunately and not sure if I do enough miles for a hybrid. 

[PCM]

Quality tyres help a lot with ride quality. 

[royoftherovers]

4 hours ago, PCM said:

Quality tyres help a lot with ride quality. 

And at the correct pressures !

[A-Rod]

On 4/4/2021 at 2:50 PM, Herbie said:

I've never driven a car with air suspension but I have been a passenger in a few and to be absolutely honest, I don't know what the fuss is all about as I find very little difference between that and normal suspension.

I too, have back problems (serious enough to see me retired early on medical grounds) and found the standard suspension on our 2005 RX300 SE NAV very comfortable. Having said that, if your budget could stretch to a series 3 RX450h then that's a whole new level of comfort again.

The higher seating position of the RX makes it much easier for me to get in and out and I find I really struggle in a saloon car these days, which would completely rule out the IS for me personally.

I beg to differ because although my RX400h is epic in every way in the comfort department, my Phaeton's air suspension were far superior than of a car with standard suspension. I couldn't feel a single bump in my Phaeton, in fact, it felt like there were no bumps at all. Sorry but the air suspension on the Phaeton in comparison to any other car I've ever driven which was fitted with standard suspension is like day and night.

I cannot comment on Lexus air suspension, but then again, those should normally be the same unless we're talking about something like BOSE suspension.

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, A-Rod said:

I beg to differ because although my RX400h is epic in every way in the comfort department, my Phaeton's air suspension were far superior than of a car with standard suspension. I couldn't feel a single bump in my Phaeton, in fact, it felt like there were no bumps at all. Sorry but the air suspension on the Phaeton in comparison to any other car I've ever driven which was fitted with standard suspension is like day and night.

I cannot comment on Lexus air suspension, but then again, those should normally be the same unless we're talking about something like BOSE suspension.

I guess the issue here is that we're (mostly) talking Lexus. I had two LS400's, arguably the finest car Lexus ever built, followed by two LS430's with air, and in my experience the non air was comparable or better.

[Barry14UK]

I think some models/marques are definitely better with air suspension.  This would include comparable models from Mercedes Benz I have tried/owned. Some journalists have also said it gives a much more comfortable ride in the Audi 5 suv as another example.  However, from various reports on the RX450h at least and possibly other Lexus models, there seems to be little difference with it or with springs/shocks.  One has to wonder why air suspension was not offered on the 4th Generation if it would have made significant difference.