Rx 450H Cvt

F.A. · February 18, 2015

Hi

We are seriously considering an RX 450h for the wife as our family car. I currently drive a 2nd Gen IS250 which we are going to keep and love how smooth it feels. I have had a number of Lexus Hybrids whilst my car has been in for service namely the CT and 3rd gen IS and although both have been good cars, one thing I am not a fan of is the whine from the CVT box under acceleration. Now, we havent had a chance to test drive an RX450h yet (we have an appointment book a week on Saturday) so I was wondering how intrusive is CVT box and also how harsh is the ride? The trim we are considering is the 2012 or later F Sport. My wife currently drives a 2003 Toyota Yaris Sport and the ride is very harsh in that especially if you are sitting in the back.

Thanks for your time

F.A

rayaans · February 19, 2015

Ill talk about the ride and handling first - best thing to do really is to test drive both versions back to back. You will instantly feel the difference. From my point of view, the F-Sport is the one to get as it corners flatter and has a good balance between ride quality and handling. The luxury versions are softly sprung and roundabouts are its worst enemy - it feels like its going to tip over. The F-Sport is more stable on the motorway as a result - had a narrow miss with a car the other day, had to quickly change into another lane and I do feel like the better handling saved me.

Id hardly call the CVT intrusive. The RX is so quick in the midrange that by the time you've reached your desired speed - the engine noise stops so it sounds like it "kind of shifted" if that makes sense. In town its non existent due to the excellent sound deadening. The engine note is quite nice actually - it just purrs away and when you give it some welly, itll burble. You'll hardly see the top of the rev range unlike the IS250 either.

F.A. · February 19, 2015

Thank you for the reply. Thats all good to hear. If you don't mind me asking, roughly what MPG do you get? I know that as usual the manufacturers quoted figure is not a achievable but is 30mpg from mixed town and motorway driving realistic with a light foot? I have been though this section of the forum and cant find many issues with the RX450h. Is there anything that I should be aware of i.e rattles and problems with the hybrid batteries say if my wife only has a 14 mile round trip to work in the weekday?

Thanks again for your time. From what I can see Rayaans, you have the exact spec we are interested in!

rayaans · February 20, 2015

With a light foot you could easily get 35mpg, if not more in town. Im currently getting 27mpg but I floor it and my trip is only 2 miles to work so the car barely warms up. In winter 30mpg is possible for me and more in the summer. On the motorway you'll be looking at about 35mpg too. Oh and road tax is £135 so pretty good for a large SUV. On the weekly shop with the other half, she was driving and managed to squeeze 38mpg out which was quite impressive, but shes always more patient than I am. I have a tendency to drive my cars quite hard.

No problems with hybrid batteries. Ive done 27k miles so far and had nothing, its all happy motoring with the RX. I thought I did have rattles actually, until I removed everything from the car and it went away. The moment I put all my stuff back in, I could hear it again. The RX is so quiet that every little thing catches your attention and mostly its something that you've put in the car rather than the car itself.

Boxbrownie · February 20, 2015

Its a CVT, any CVT will sound different on accel to normal Autos (although Nissan have almost got this right now with a definite step between ratios).

Go for a long test drive and try to ignore the drivel the salesman talks (if he is on the drive with you)

ColinBarber · February 21, 2015

The engine noise is well controlled in the RX so it isn't an issue like it is with the CT. The CVT itself doesn't whine - it is the constant pitch engine noise that is different from a more conventional transmission where the engine is revving up and down.

F.A. · February 23, 2015

Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to the test drive this Saturday. We are trying out the F Sport, a Premier and maybe one with the standard suspension. I really hope the ride is ok. I know Lexus tend to get slated in the press in general because they are not one of the German trio, but they all seem to bang on about a harsh ride

rayaans · February 23, 2015

Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to the test drive this Saturday. We are trying out the F Sport, a Premier and maybe one with the standard suspension. I really hope the ride is ok. I know Lexus tend to get slated in the press in general because they are not one of the German trio, but they all seem to bang on about a harsh ride

All sounds good - Definitely a different feel to the F-Sport. It holds the road better and there's hardly any body roll which I prefer. I think the overall balance between comfort and handling is very good. If you prefer the floating ride, the Premier may be better suited to you.

Harsh ride LOL - you'll know what that is if you test drive any of the German offerings with their standard sport suspension. Its unfair on Lexus that all the German trio seem to offer very highly specced vehicles with adaptive air suspension and the like to the press.

F.A. · February 23, 2015

Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to the test drive this Saturday. We are trying out the F Sport, a Premier and maybe one with the standard suspension. I really hope the ride is ok. I know Lexus tend to get slated in the press in general because they are not one of the German trio, but they all seem to bang on about a harsh ride

All sounds good - Definitely a different feel to the F-Sport. It holds the road better and there's hardly any body roll which I prefer. I think the overall balance between comfort and handling is very good. If you prefer the floating ride, the Premier may be better suited to you.

Harsh ride LOL - you'll know what that is if you test drive any of the German offerings with their standard sport suspension. Its unfair on Lexus that all the German trio seem to offer very highly specced vehicles with adaptive air suspension and the like to the press.

I much prefer the appearance of the F Sport over the Premier. I'm not even fussed about the extra equipment the Premier offers over the F Sport. Just need to try them all out as suggested. Initially we were interested in the NX but the boot is disappointedly small in that and we have a Great Dane that requires some room!