Drove the new (2016) Lexus RX350 the other day.

[Spicedaddy]

Yeah, I'd much rather pay $10k more for a less reliable vehicle that will cost me more to maintain... that makes perfect financial sense. :sneaky:

Honestly, I've driven the Mercedes-Benz GLE350 and I wasn't overly impressed by it and the ML it replaces isn't exactly known for its reliability and the X5 is rated even worse and Audi is even worse than that. Does Cadillac even make an SUV in this segment that isn't utter crap? I hadn't considered that brand at all actually.

Anyway, we have plenty of time. Just looking at various options here at this point. She likes the Lexus though and since she is ferrying 3 teenage boys (our son and two of his friends) to school every day she kind of does need the room.

That's why most are leased... 🙂

If you're buying to keep for a long time, I'd leave out BMW and Audi, but Mercedes are usually reliable. Is the new GLC out yet? I thought that was the one in the same class as RX, with the GLE and X5 being bigger.

 

[ElFenix]

RX has been one of the most hideous things on the road since it came out ~15 years ago. this just ups the ante.

toyota needs to stop ripping off 30 year old sci fi for its design cues. predator on lexus, cylons on toyotas. that said, i like the new interior design stuff.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That's why most are leased... 🙂

If you're buying to keep for a long time, I'd leave out BMW and Audi, but Mercedes are usually reliable. Is the new GLC out yet? I thought that was the one in the same class as RX, with the GLE and X5 being bigger.

My friend says the same thing. Never buy a BMW or Audi... always lease. He and his wife have owned 2 6 series in the past 4 years and she owns a 428i Grand Coupe they're leasing right now. They had problems with both 6 series (like major engine problems that would have cost thousands of dollars out of warranty).

 

[HitAnyKey]

So I had one of these park beside me today. Wow! I was impressed.

The front grill is still ugly but not as bad as the pictures on the site.

This is a nice vehicle. Love that V6 and they make the best automatics. I would get one if I was in the market.

 

[Beer4Me]

To be fair, this is truly one of those cars that looks much better in person than in pictures. Just sayin.

 

[evident]

I've never understood why every luxury brand insists on having an analog clock. I think it looks tacky and pretentious with marginal usefulness.

because autorags bitched and complained that the previous gens lexus digital clocks came from the toyota corolla parts bin

the Lexus predator grill has grown on me. I really like the new IS

It's really an awesome car. makes my commute much more enjoyable. hope to keep it for a long time.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I'm not a fan of Acura vehicles in general and their customer service is shit compared to Lexus.

How much service does a new car need? We're talking 2 oil changes a year, a cabin filter & wipers every 2, air filter every 3, a new battery every 5. And brakes every 80-100K miles.

Maybe some minor warranty issues - its not like you're living at the dealer.

 

[mztykal]

I hated that grill when it first came out but it's growing on me. It'll probably be the wife's next car when I get tired of her 2015 Camry...

 

[Brian Stirling]

The thing with the large grills that bother me is that modern cars DO NOT NEED a large grill and many have active shutters to close down or off the intake for cooling. Cars in the 50's needed lots of cooling and even then they'd overheat climbing hills in the summer.

The bald fact of the matter is that the huge size has absolutely zero to do with necessity and everything to do with aesthetics. Playing psychologist here I'd guess this is an effort to make the vehicle 'masculine' and done so to compensate for the fact that men don't want to drive girly vehicles. Or, more accurately, men have been convinced that certain things are manly and that's what they should want.

Come on Jules, go the full nine and get that pickup -- a dually! 😀 D: And while you're at it, get those huge as chromed stacks so you can roll you some coal!


Brian

 

[Drako]

To be fair, this is truly one of those cars that looks much better in person than in pictures. Just sayin.

It certainly couldn't be any hideous in person. 😀

 

[JulesMaximus]

The thing with the large grills that bother me is that modern cars DO NOT NEED a large grill and many have active shutters to close down or off the intake for cooling. Cars in the 50's needed lots of cooling and even then they'd overheat climbing hills in the summer.

The bald fact of the matter is that the huge size has absolutely zero to do with necessity and everything to do with aesthetics. Playing psychologist here I'd guess this is an effort to make the vehicle 'masculine' and done so to compensate for the fact that men don't want to drive girly vehicles. Or, more accurately, men have been convinced that certain things are manly and that's what they should want.

Come on Jules, go the full nine and get that pickup -- a dually! 😀 D: And while you're at it, get those huge as chromed stacks so you can roll you some coal!

Brian

It's funny, I was at the auto show in Los Angeles last month and my friends and I were sitting in the latest top of the line Dodge Ram crew cab dually and there was a 30 something guy sitting in the driver's seat. One of us remarked on the price and this guy starts telling us that it didn't matter what it cost, and that he couldn't afford it on his blue collar salary (he made some reference to a tradesman level 2 or something like that none of us had ever heard of), but he was going to have one. 😵

I guess the marketing works.

 

[JulesMaximus]

How much service does a new car need? We're talking 2 oil changes a year, a cabin filter & wipers every 2, air filter every 3, a new battery every 5. And brakes every 80-100K miles.

Maybe some minor warranty issues - its not like you're living at the dealer.

My wife is self-employed (and drives quite a bit for business) so when the car indicates it needs a service she just calls Lexus and makes an appointment. She drops her car off and picks up the free loaner which she uses for the day and then she returns it when she picks up her car later that day or the next day. It is a matter of convenience and from everyone I've talked to Acura does not give loaners for routine maintenance.

This would be her car. I drop my Toyota off at the Toyota dealer here and since it is only about a mile away from my office I hitch a ride with their courtesy shuttle to work and then have them pick me up in the afternoon after my car is serviced. For me, it doesn't matter, the level of service Toyota provides is acceptable. The Lexus dealer is about 10 miles from our house. So for her it matters a lot. She doesn't have the time to be sitting around at the dealership for hours every few months waiting for her car.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

I'd stick with Lexus if they're providing that type of customer service at the dealership. Another option, if she wants one of the more luxurious German brands, is a used one with about 50k miles on it, extend the warranty to 100k and get rid of it before the warranty is over. Obviously you dont wanna own a German luxury car out of warranty. The cost should be less overall than buying a new Japanese SUV.

However, I dont even really like the German SUVs, way too heavy...drives like a tank (my girlfriend has an Audi Q5)

 

[ElFenix]

How much service does a new car need? We're talking 2 oil changes a year, a cabin filter & wipers every 2, air filter every 3, a new battery every 5. And brakes every 80-100K miles.

Maybe some minor warranty issues - its not like you're living at the dealer.

😱





and i don't know where you're finding a battery that lasts 5 years anymore, but i'd like to buy one.

 

[JulesMaximus]

😱

and i don't know where you're finding a battery that lasts 5 years anymore, but i'd like to buy one.

I bought a battery for her last car from Sears once. Big mistake. The battery was slightly taller than the OEM battery and I had to file down the plastic strap that holds the battery down to get the thing to fit. Next time I think I'll just jump start it and drive it to Lexus.

 

[Brian Stirling]

I bought a battery for her last car from Sears once. Big mistake. The battery was slightly taller than the OEM battery and I had to file down the plastic strap that holds the battery down to get the thing to fit. Next time I think I'll just jump start it and drive it to Lexus.

I had to replace the battery on my 2012 Focus about 6 weeks ago and the first battery I tried to install, one that Autozone listed as compatible, was too tall and the plastic cover over the battery box would not fit. I chose not to modify and just removed the new one and carried it into the store. I wound up with a cheaper battery that fit as it should.

I didn't expect a car that's less than 4 years old to need a new battery, but modern cars have constant loads for keyless entry etc and the BCM is on 100% of the time. My driving is kind of sporadic with periods of heavy use and then periods of 2-4 weeks of no driving at all. As the temps got cooler the battery had had enough.

It would be a good idea if new cars like this had a small solar panel in the dash area close to the windshield -- with appropriate charge control that would pretty much eliminate battery issues and extend there life to 6-8 years or more. Of course, car makers and there dealers want things to go bad so...


Brian

 

[evident]

My wife is self-employed (and drives quite a bit for business) so when the car indicates it needs a service she just calls Lexus and makes an appointment. She drops her car off and picks up the free loaner which she uses for the day and then she returns it when she picks up her car later that day or the next day. It is a matter of convenience and from everyone I've talked to Acura does not give loaners for routine maintenance.

This would be her car. I drop my Toyota off at the Toyota dealer here and since it is only about a mile away from my office I hitch a ride with their courtesy shuttle to work and then have them pick me up in the afternoon after my car is serviced. For me, it doesn't matter, the level of service Toyota provides is acceptable. The Lexus dealer is about 10 miles from our house. So for her it matters a lot. She doesn't have the time to be sitting around at the dealership for hours every few months waiting for her car.

for what its worth, my wife's 07 RX350 is easy as hell to work on for routine stuff, and parts are for the most part interchangable with the highlander. since it's a transverse V6, changing out the spark plugs will be a PITA though.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

😱


and i don't know where you're finding a battery that lasts 5 years anymore, but i'd like to buy one.

Manufactures suggest 30K - 45K for an air filter. Depends on how many miles you put on a car in a year, but once every 2-3yrs seems quite reasonable unless you're driving on dirt roads daily.

 

[gorcorps]

This is a silly necro, but I don't see a need to start another thread for this.

I saw one of the new RX350s on the road the other day and thought it looked fantastic. I didn't know what it was at first as I wasn't close enough to see the badge, but I saw the Lexus logo and started searching. It definitely caught my eye. I thought at first it was a Murano from a distance because they share a couple design ideas, but the Lexus is a bit sharper.

Looked really good, now I kind of want it. It's smaller than the Highlander I have now though which is a bummer, but it may not be that noticeable. Better start saving... only 2 years left on my lease!

 

[thesmokingman]

That front grill... man, is that thing ugly.

Seriously. What the five... Audi thought it was a great idea now everyone is aping the ugly. It's like the whole BMW wave thing all over again. It's gonna take some years until ppl realize that shit is ugly. Catfish grill is for catfish only.

 

[nOOky]

I think the front end is too edgy, but it's better if the exterior color is either all black, or contrasted with the white.

I do not like the touchscreen position and how it pops up out of the dash, just put it where it belongs where that analog clock is, sheesh.

I drove one and I liked the ride and the comfort of the seats. However even if I could look past the exterior, the dash layout seemed just odd to me.

If your wife likes it and she'll be the one driving it, then that's all that matters, unless resale tanks due to unpopularity down the road.

 

[tsupersonic]

I never liked the new Lexus styling (primarily grill) in pictures. Once I started seeing these IS/RX/NX models on the road, they started to grow on me. I really don't think it looks bad as people make it out to be, and I applaud Lexus (of all companies) to take such a bold approach.

 

[ChronoReverse]

The grill seemed oversized to me when I first noticed them on the road but nowadays I actually think they look good. Some people are all offended that others might like it but they're never going to like a Lexus no matter what anyway.

 

[evident]

This is a silly necro, but I don't see a need to start another thread for this.

I saw one of the new RX350s on the road the other day and thought it looked fantastic. I didn't know what it was at first as I wasn't close enough to see the badge, but I saw the Lexus logo and started searching. It definitely caught my eye. I thought at first it was a Murano from a distance because they share a couple design ideas, but the Lexus is a bit sharper.

Looked really good, now I kind of want it. It's smaller than the Highlander I have now though which is a bummer, but it may not be that noticeable. Better start saving... only 2 years left on my lease!

lots of rumors say there's going to be a 3rd row version of this car coming out sometime in the future...

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think the front end is too edgy, but it's better if the exterior color is either all black, or contrasted with the white.

I do not like the touchscreen position and how it pops up out of the dash, just put it where it belongs where that analog clock is, sheesh.

I drove one and I liked the ride and the comfort of the seats. However even if I could look past the exterior, the dash layout seemed just odd to me.

If your wife likes it and she'll be the one driving it, then that's all that matters, unless resale tanks due to unpopularity down the road.

Well, we went completely the opposite direction and bought her a CPO Mercedes-Benz CLS550... Which is a fucking amazing car IMHO. I've driven some great cars but this one just seems to do everything well. Can't imagine what the CLS63 is like. That might be my next car.