Thinking About The Rx

[Lexusmaybe]

Hello folks,

I am thinking about getting a new RX300 ( Don't know what model yet)!. In fact picking one up for a test drive next Saturday, from Lexus Glasgow for a 24 hr test drive.

I have had one of the old shape 528iSE's and absolutely loved it( Sorry) the only thing it would not pass on the road was a petrol station. With that in mind was not sure about getting the new shape 5 series. However had the 530D out on demonstration last week. What an engine!!!!!!! The fuel consumption was pretty good about 580 miles on a tank. But the interior was a bit of a let down over the old model and it did not feel £36,000 worth of car. So that idea got binned. Had a sit in an X5 and mmmmmmm it was the same interior I had in my previous 5 series. So with much disappointment left the BMW garage a bit lost.

My wife spotted a RX300 on the road and asked what it was and she went into the dealership last Monday while off on holiday and advised me to get in and have a look at it. " Absolute luxury it's the one for me". How could I refuse?

Right now to the nitty gritty........of you owners out there. What's the pro's and con's about oning one of these things. Especially how far can you go on a full tank with mostly motorway driving?

What is it like in the snow? especially on drives that decline towards the house. ( As I rammed my Civic Type -R into the house last new year). As I have never had a 4x4 before. I just assume you can go anywhere / drive in every condition.

Is it sore on tyres / and servicing / and last question (Honest!). Is the SE-L worth the extra over the SE - navigator.

Many thanks in advance

[GlynnB]

Have you had a read through the RX300 section of these forums as all the questions you have asked have been discussed in the past couple of months there. I'm sure you will find the answers you are looking for and perhaps be pleasantly surprised.

[T7RY B]

As Glynn says just check out the RX forum. I own a Mk1 RX300 and love it to bits. I have owned Merc BMW and new S-Type Jag and an LS400

( I strayed off the path from LS400 to Jaguar) Very bad descision! I think that once you get your bum in an RX you will make the descision right away. The Mk1 is a great car, the new RX is a brilliant car and definitely my next choice. We look forward to your next post telling us you've gone out and bought it. The wife will make the descision for you!! My wife has a Merc A-Class on an 03 plate but she uses my car at every opportunity she can! She put 500 miles on it while I was out of the country for a week!

[Realspeed]

Hi

Don't look any further I have been driving for over 40 years all makes types etc including many 4x4,s. if your not looking for one that goes thru jungles -up mountains thru rivers 10 foot deep, then as a mainly on road 4x4 that can go over fields etc then the Lexus Rx300 is the one to go for.

I have had troopers(which was speedo and which was fuel gauge) -range rovers(terrible cars)-explorers(no pulling power) very bad experience with BMW when after an X5 let down often ( see other posts).

Just changed my Mk1 to a new Mk2 on the mark 1 the advertised fuel consumpton was spot on so hopefully this Mk2 will be the same , can't tell yet not even got 100 miles yet.

Apart from the car itself the backup and after care service is second to none at least the Wolverhampton branch of Lexus is.

As regards being on snow can't really say as we only have had 1 day that snowed while I had the Mk1 but it is far safer than an ordinary car (RX 300 has snow mode ) but any car is dangerous on slippery surfaces it depends on how they are driven.

As for tyre wear again depends on how its driven and road surface type etc, but I got about 25/28 thousand on a set

Go for one with sat nav if possible (still learning how to work it ) didn't know you could program daily events in it as well (RX 300SE-L)

as for reliability mine never let me down in the time I had it, replaced a rear light bulb and rear wiper blade only.

The Mk 2 is a great improvement over the Mk1 but I did go for top speck this time but if circumstances were different I would have been quite happy to keep the old model.

Last time I went for a 300 se without sat nav and wished I had gone for one with it, so I would suggest go for the best if you can afford it then you will have no regrets

think your biggest problem is going to be deciding on colour, my advice is GO GET IT.

Realspeed

[ColinBarber]

SE with nav or SE-L that's a difficult one.

Worth testing both. The real difference is the air suspension which is meant to be a more composed ride on motorways but the standard sprung suspension is said to be better around town.

[LennyLexus]

Another Bimma convert. Welcome to the club ;)

[Swiss Wac]

Hi and greetings from Switzerland.

I can highly recommend the new RX300. I had previously the first generation model as a company car. On changing company I also got the chance to upgrade to the new RX300. I now have the SE-L with all options.

Here in Switzerland we drive in winter with winter tyres. It's compulsory to have winter tyres so everyone has two sets. I had no problem with tyre wear on the old RX300. The new one is too early to say but looks OK.

Driving on snow is always tricky. With the old RX300 I was greatly surprised just how much traction and confidence I had compared to my previous Jaguar XJ (even with Jaguar winter tyres). I was very unhappy about any snow in the Jag. With the RX300 it's fun !

I also viewed the BMW X5 before selecting the first RX300. I was horrified at the mass of identical buttons on the dash and the need for the large engine 4.7 (?) to get any performance. With the consequent much higher price over the RX300 the lexus was a good choice and socially much more acceptable than a BMW (ho ho)

When it came to swop the old RX300, I immediately went for the new one. It's excellent.

I must say the air suspension is very comfortable but I have found little need to manually change height even when driving on forest roads. What was a good surprise is the excellent moving headlights. When driving on dark country roads this really gives an advantage and a feeling of security.

What would be nice now: 1. Clean interface to Ipod. 2. Someway to get my Outlook calendar into the navigation system. I don't use the calendar feature at all as I have no desire to type in again my appointments. Direct "beaming" from Outlook would be fun !

Regards, Jeff.

[T7RY B]

Regarding the snow question..Nice pic