Lexus to Toyota

[First_Lexus]

Having made the switch to a new Toyota CH-R after two Lexus NX300h and a 450h, I thought I’d post some of my thoughts here (similar to a post I made on the Toyota forums).

I’ve now had my own CH-R Excel for just over two weeks, and a Design courtesy car for a week prior to that while mine was being prepared. I thought it might be interesting to articulate my initial impressions after a few miles, and having downsized from my 2021 Lexus RX 450h.

First, the good. I’m very happy with my choice, and the downsize hasn’t shown as many compromises as I feared. I now only complete 2-3k miles each year, so a smaller car was a sensible switch, but even so I did love my RX and did approach the change with some trepidation. I needn’t have.

The interior quality is excellent (mainly). The technology works well, and I like the touchscreen vs my previous Lexus ‘trackpad.’ The drive is also very good, being quiet and refined. I’m actually surprised at how quiet the car is, despite a long test drive some months ago. It is largely very impressive (but more on that later). The dealer did try and convince me to drive the 2.0 litre CH-R first but, knowing how limited my mileage was going to be, I decided to try the 1.8 instead. As it seemed perfectly adequate I went with that. It’s no ball of fire, but I value refinement and smoothness more these days and I find it perfectly acceptable for my needs.

Equipment levels on the Excel are also good enough for me. I’ve lost ventilated leather seats and a HUD - neither of which bother me. I have also lost an opening glass roof which is a shame. I’d have preferred the option, but it is what it is. A heated steering wheel should also be included imho.

I must also comment on the quality of the switchgear - indicator stalks, buttons, steering wheel etc. It really is very good and gives a real impression of being well designed and nice to use. 

What don’t I like so much? I would have preferred a rear wiper, but don’t find it too problematic. I would also have liked ‘dipping’ mirrors as I’ve said on another thread. Yes, I know I have 360 degree cameras, but to this driver it’s still easier to place the car when reversing with the simple old school dipping mirrors that I’ve had on every car for twenty years plus. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but even so - simple sometimes just works better!

The dashboard reflects in the front windscreen quite a lot, which is a bit off-putting initially. I did say interior quality was impressive - and I think it is - the exception being the rear door cards which are pretty cheap in comparison with the front. Hardly the end of the world, and common to other cars I test drove, but seems to be a bit unnecessary to me. I guess the savings over thousands of cars all add up.

Generally the car is very quiet on the move, but the Design spec courtesy car I had was quieter. I can only assume it’s down to the tyres. My car has Bridgestone Turanza, whereas the courtesy car had Falken. I have to admit that Falken have been my brand of choice for years, being a great balance between price and performance, whereas Bridgestone haven’t been so good on previous Honda cars. I’ll be looking to change them to all season tyres after a few months.

Last thing. I’d have preferred a rear parcel blind rather than an old fashioned shelf. But that’s a proper ‘first world’ complaint!

Overall it’s a solid 8.5/10. I really like the CH-R, and am comfortable that I made a good choice. I do miss the Lexus, but not as much as I thought I would. The biggest compromise isn’t the power, or the space, and certainly not the quality as the two cars are remarkably similar in that regard. The biggest compromise is ride quality, but even then the Toyota isn’t bad in comparison with its peers, just in comparison with the RX.