UX courtesy car - thoughts

[Habu]

Hi.  I had the RX Takumi in for its first service today and I had my first drive in a UX and an electric one at that as a courtesy car.  I had quite mixed feelings about it so please don’t take it personally as they are mine alone.  First thing - and I’ve got a bloody gash on my left shin to show for it - was the sticky out lower dash piece that was a hard plastic point.  Why didn’t Lexus add a piece to the door if they wanted the dash to snugly meet the door when the door is closed rather than a spike on the lower dash?  As I climbed in I struck my shin against this hence the long bleeding gash.  After a lot of swearing I settled in for the 25 mile drive home mostly along the A19 from Teesside.  Okay, it drove very nicely and the materials were quite pleasant.  I particularly liked the small, modern steering wheel and auto seat heat / steering wheel heat panel.  It reminded me of my ES Takumi.  The RX still has the old cruise control stalk sticking out from the steering column rather than being built into the right side of the wheel.  Boot size is subjective but it would fit (just) my daily needs.  My only criticism inside was the door card was particularly bland.  No different colours or trim pieces - just a slab of grey plastic.  I thought this really let the side down.  Some different material or colour would had lifted the door cards.  Driving-wise, it drove nicely with decent punch but twice, on damp roads, the car slithered left and right and had to be reigned in by the traction control.  I thought the power delivery on hard acceleration was quite savage.  Is there a way to dial it down (like an eco or snow mode) for certain road conditions?  The acceleration certainly feels quicker than the posted 0-60 times.  It felt more like a time in the mid to late 6’s but the car was spinning up and sliding on hard (not max) throttle inputs.  Overall, it was a good effort but £52k for a BEV built on an ICE platform.  That seems like a lot of cash and it’s identical in cost to the brand new Kia EV6 GT-Line S AWD.  I’m looking at trading in my mint RX for the Kia as i do very little miles now and an EV would probably suit my needs better than a 3.5 V6.  I’m sure I’ll return to Lexus when they eventually present a BEV built on a bespoke platform but like many things the Toyota / Lexus brand always seem to take their time getting things to market.

Peter

 

 

[Malc]

Habu, hi   had you thought to maybe wait a little longer for the Toyota Hydrogen Fuel cell car to be with you, available in  a year or two perhaps 

after all, they're well proven, tested and tried on UK roads now

Malc

[Bounce75]

I have had a couple of UX's as courtesy cars & they are quite nice cars, but after my IS300h they just don't seem as nice inside or as comfortable to drive.

If I didn't own the IS, I think I would probably have taken to it more.

[C Mclean]

I’m only doing less than 6000 per year and also looking at the Kia EV6 GT-LINE S. If I go ahead with the order it’ll be early next year for delivery as I’d want it with the heat pump.

[Habu]

Being told it’s April deliveries now especially for AWD.  I don’t know what adding a heat pump makes to the delivery time.

[Habu]

4 hours ago, Malc said:

Habu, hi   had you thought to maybe wait a little longer for the Toyota Hydrogen Fuel cell car to be with you, available in  a year or two perhaps 

after all, they're well proven, tested and tried on UK roads now

Malc

True that but the infrastructure will be non existent in rural parts of the UK.  Might work if you live in London and immediate area.  I’m hoping that Lexus will bring something out in a couple of years but I’m not hopeful.

[Malc]

12 hours ago, Habu said:

but the infrastructure will be non existent in rural parts of the UK.

I think with BP having a fuel supplied estate of @ 1200 petrol stations around the UK .........  and with ( when ) the north of England, BP new Hydrogen fuel production capacity coming on-stream, I'm not at all certain the roll-out will be too tardy tbh .......  but we shall wait and see 

Malc