Our test drive in the Lexus RX450+ today

[jpjsavage]

We had our test drive in the new RX450+ plug-in hybrid today. It didn't disappoint. It is a complete transformation from the current model (our car is a 2020 Takumi spec). It builds on all the good features of the current car but brings them up-to-date and refines them in a number of respects. We found the drive to be more planted, definitely quieter and more refined than the current car. Build quality seems excellent as always. We loved the new screen based technologies and even the heads-up display stuff was less fiddly than I'd been LED to believe from reading online reviews. I didn't like the camera tech in the rear-view mirror. I couldn't quite get that to focus with my vario-focals (another joy of old age!). But, as we know, you can just push the mirror and go back to the 'analogue' version. We preferred the interior trim of the new Takumi spec. The mix of materials is excellent and beautifully blended. The interior lighting is wonderful and the sound system is as good as one would expect. There are the obvious benefits of the longer electric only range. For most of our driving day to day, we won't be using any petrol and we'll probably manage without a bespoke charging point at home given that we are seldom in a huge rush to get anywhere nowadays. 

So, we'll be either trading our current 2020 RX450 in (black, cream interior, just over 33k miles and climbing slowly) unless anyone wants to buy it here. PM me for further details. 

Here are a few pictures of the black one we drove today. The one we ordered comes in mid-April. We went for dark sonic grey with a dark interior. 

 

And a couple of pictures of the RX500 that was also there for test drives. It's not the one for us but did look very nice indeed:

 

[Malc1]

Jonathan ..  good to see you're happily into a new Lexus again 

just remembering you once had a beauty of a Ls600 .  way way back ........  how did that compare " all round "

Thanks

Malc

[Dave 2951]

Stoke Dealership as me find them excellent with Customer Service.

[jpjsavage]

45 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Jonathan ..  good to see you're happily into a new Lexus again 

just remembering you once had a beauty of a Ls600 .  way way back ........  how did that compare " all round "

Thanks

Malc

Hi Malc,

Yes, I did 60k very happy miles in an LS600 over three years not so long ago. Prior to that, I had two different LS400s which I really enjoyed too. 

In terms of an 'all round' comparison, our current RX450h is a long way short on the refinement front. The new RX450h+ is a big step forwards in so many ways (I outlined some of them above). However, neither are the same as an LS in terms of waft, that near silent drive, and overall comfort. I've not had a current LS, but I read that these fall some way short too. 

The Mrs loved the LS600. However, she much prefers the higher driving position offered by the RX. And, to be honest, there are so many other things that the RX450h+ does better than the LS600. Hand on heart, I don't know if I would want to still be driving around in car with a 5.0 litre petrol engine in the current climate (financial and environment). I think the RX450h+ provides a brilliant step for those of us that don't want a fully electric car yet but still want the benefits of Lexus' brilliant engineering and their long-standing commitment to, and experience of, hybrid technologies. 

Finally, we did explore the options of a hybrid Cayenne. But our experience with the Porsche dealer was absolutely awful. I won't go into details but it has put me off ever going into a Porsche main dealer showroom again. In contrast, the whole team - Natalie on reception, James on the service desk, and the various other sales folk we meet at Lexus Stoke including Peter (yesterday), Jamie and James - have all been absolutely brilliant over the last 7 years. Nothing is too much trouble, we are always greeted with a friendly smile, on first name terms, and I can't criticise the customer experience at all. We sell luxury musical instruments on occasions. I know they are wanting to sell expensive cars to us, but these kind of human interactions really count in my experience.

I hope you are still enjoying your LS400 Malc. 

Best wishes,

Jonathan

[Spacewagon52]

1 hour ago, jpjsavage said:

 

In terms of an 'all round' comparison, our current RX450h is a long way short on the refinement front. The new RX450h+ is a big step forwards in so many ways (I outlined some of them above). However, neither are the same as an LS in terms of waft, that near silent drive, and overall comfort. I've not had a current LS, but I read that these fall some way short too. 

 

I fully agree. I took my LS for a 40 mile round trip and was again surprised and delighted by the ride and comfort. If I am being honest, it is better than the NX I also own. Yes it is older and does not have all the tech but in terms of driving it is a supreme ride. Comfort, quietness, power. It ticks most boxes - not as practical, being a saloon, or as good on fuel.

I appreciate your sentiments on driving a thirsty V8 - that horse has been flogged to death on the forum, so I do not wish to ignite another debate.

For those of you on here who have, in the past, actaually bought a NEW LS400 - I would have loved to have had your experience of a new one!

[Lexnew]

Hello Jonathan,

Thank you for providing an interesting unbiased review of the new RX450+.I have read several online reviews about the new RX model, most of the reviews seem to  positive. The only negative points seem to be the "buzzy" 4 cylinder engine, overcomplicated electronic door locks, and the fiddly touch sensitive controls mounted on the steering wheel. From what you have said the new RX  seems to be more refined and quieter than the previous model. During your test drive did you find  the 4 cylinder engine as quiet as the old RX 6 cylinder engine? 

[jpjsavage]

3 minutes ago, Lexnew said:

Hello Jonathan,

Thank you for providing an interesting unbiased review of the new RX450+.I have read several online reviews about the new RX model, most of the reviews seem to  positive. The only negative points seem to be the "buzzy" 4 cylinder engine, overcomplicated electronic door locks, and the fiddly touch sensitive controls mounted on the steering wheel. From what you have said the new RX  seems to be more refined and quieter than the previous model. During your test drive did you find  the 4 cylinder engine as quiet as the old RX 6 cylinder engine? 

We found the new RX450h+ to be considerably quieter than our current RX450h (2020). We don't tend to thrash our cars around the lanes of Cheshire, and under 'normal' driving it was super refined. The electronic door locks will take a bit of getting used too. They are 'intelligent' in that they won't open if there is a car/cyclist/passenger in the blind spot (I thought that was cool). However, you can use them in the old fashioned way if you want to do so. In terms of the heads up display controls, the touch sensitive controls seemed very easy to manage and I found it very straightforward to manipulate the various functions. As with anything new, they'll be a learning curve no doubt. 

[Malc1]

21 hours ago, jpjsavage said:

I hope you are still enjoying your LS400 Malc. 

hahahahahaha ..  very much so thank you Jonathan   ..........  about 23 years now with a Ls400 as my main car and runabout ..  maybe a qtr million miles too 🤩

She's just turned 245k miles yesterday, my 1995 Mk3 Ls400 and with covid lockdowns etc behind us I've upped my insce mileage to 8k a year going forward ...........  this should cover the, what was usual in times past , a 4k mile annual months holiday trip somewhere pleasant and the rest poodling around more local in the UK ....  the/our blessed 2006 Honda Legend now does about 6k miles a year too

Ls600 I had thought seriously about buying with your great experiences BUT recent postings here puts the mockers on that with a Member having some dreadful experiences with his, new to him, 2008 car 

V8 petrol continuing doesn't seem to me personally too bad a way to go to avoid the environmental ( and actual ££££ )  cost of scrappage eh !   Especially when I'm still wafting around in limo comfort and reliability 

I do think reliability, as with all cars, is often a factor of ensuring maintenance and servicing is appropriately carried out and not being silly at bemoaning a few mpg less than that of running a mini or summat akin to that discomfiture 

Best wishes with your new steed ..........  I look forward to the next instalment on here

 

Malc

 

 

[jpjsavage]

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

hahahahahaha ..  very much so thank you Jonathan   ..........  about 23 years now with a Ls400 as my main car and runabout ..  maybe a qtr million miles too 🤩

She's just turned 245k miles yesterday, my 1995 Mk3 Ls400 and with covid lockdowns etc behind us I've upped my insce mileage to 8k a year going forward ...........  this should cover the, what was usual in times past , a 4k mile annual months holiday trip somewhere pleasant and the rest poodling around more local in the UK ....  the/our blessed 2006 Honda Legend now does about 6k miles a year too

Ls600 I had thought seriously about buying with your great experiences BUT recent postings here puts the mockers on that with a Member having some dreadful experiences with his, new to him, 2008 car 

V8 petrol continuing doesn't seem to me personally too bad a way to go to avoid the environmental ( and actual ££££ )  cost of scrappage eh !   Especially when I'm still wafting around in limo comfort and reliability 

I do think reliability, as with all cars, is often a factor of ensuring maintenance and servicing is appropriately carried out and not being silly at bemoaning a few mpg less than that of running a mini or summat akin to that discomfiture 

Best wishes with your new steed ..........  I look forward to the next instalment on here

 

Malc

Thanks Malc. I'm glad you are enjoying your LS400. I have fond memories of my two LS400s. I've never had a Honda Legend but I have had plenty of other Hondas over the years. Great choice. FWIW, the new RX450h+ is a business contract hire proposition. I can't see the point of purchasing a new car outright personally nowadays. The tax benefits are significant and as I pay myself next to nothing the BIK payments will be minimal. When the time comes to sell the business, or move on, I'll be looking for an older Lexus again. But I wouldn't purchase a LS600 or similar without a full main dealer warranty in place. 

[Fatts]

On 3/5/2023 at 1:26 PM, Lexnew said:

Hello Jonathan,

Thank you for providing an interesting unbiased review of the new RX450+.I have read several online reviews about the new RX model, most of the reviews seem to  positive. The only negative points seem to be the "buzzy" 4 cylinder engine, overcomplicated electronic door locks, and the fiddly touch sensitive controls mounted on the steering wheel. From what you have said the new RX  seems to be more refined and quieter than the previous model. During your test drive did you find  the 4 cylinder engine as quiet as the old RX 6 cylinder engine? 

I test drove the new 450h+  just over a week ago in Ipswich and surprisingly it was quieter than my current 2022 450h Takumi. They must have put in extra sound deadening stuff on it. The other edge it has is the 40miles range of pure electric driving which is more than enough for my local journeys.

[Vika]

Hi Jonathan,

Please forgive the direct approach, I came across this post by accident following a Google search for Shell V-Power fuel of all things.

We are looking for new Ulez compliant car and Lexus RX is rated very highly on Which?.  In your post you mentioned you were selling yours. What would be the best way to get in touch?

Best wishes,
Vika

[John Walker]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:26 PM, jpjsavage said:

We had our test drive in the new RX450+ plug-in hybrid today. It didn't disappoint. It is a complete transformation from the current model (our car is a 2020 Takumi spec). It builds on all the good features of the current car but brings them up-to-date and refines them in a number of respects. We found the drive to be more planted, definitely quieter and more refined than the current car. Build quality seems excellent as always. We loved the new screen based technologies and even the heads-up display stuff was less fiddly than I'd been led to believe from reading online reviews. I didn't like the camera tech in the rear-view mirror. I couldn't quite get that to focus with my vario-focals (another joy of old age!). But, as we know, you can just push the mirror and go back to the 'analogue' version. We preferred the interior trim of the new Takumi spec. The mix of materials is excellent and beautifully blended. The interior lighting is wonderful and the sound system is as good as one would expect. There are the obvious benefits of the longer electric only range. For most of our driving day to day, we won't be using any petrol and we'll probably manage without a bespoke charging point at home given that we are seldom in a huge rush to get anywhere nowadays. 

So, we'll be either trading our current 2020 RX450 in (black, cream interior, just over 33k miles and climbing slowly) unless anyone wants to buy it here. PM me for further details. 

Here are a few pictures of the black one we drove today. The one we ordered comes in mid-April. We went for dark sonic grey with a dark interior. 

 

And a couple of pictures of the RX500 that was also there for test drives. It's not the one for us but did look very nice indeed:

 

That sounds like a very positive feedback and we are looking forward to see yours when it arrives 😊