Thai
Elite Member
And it has been discussed here too: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/81578-toyota-4runner-suit-lexus-460-a.html
i lost all respect for car and driver after reading that. lol
trucks vs cuv's. good comparison....:wtf:
where is the infiniti fx in that article at...if they are going to do a proper comparison, included the right vehicles...
When I first glanced at the article, I thought it was a strange group of vehicles for a comparison test. I can see the LR4 and the GX being tested together, but the other three vehicles seemed to be less towards the "truck" side and more toward the "crossover" side. Then I realized that people tend to cross shop them all anyway, as they are all luxury nameplates in a similar price range. Interestingly, the two "trucks" in the group came in behind all three "crossovers".
Toyota needed to differentiate the LC from the LX. If Toyota had real wood it would be one other reason to purchase essentially the identical car from Toyota instead of Lexus. I'm not saying the interior of the LC is up to that of the LX; however, is it really worth almost $20k more?
Its interesting to note that the LC and LX both had AHC for the 06/07 model year; however, the 08+ LC didnt even have that option.
PS Look under a 4R and an LC - there is no comparison.
Yeah, but horrendously bad fake wood in a $70,000+ car is still dumb. Is an ES350 really $20k more than a Camry? In some ways it is...i did not really appreciate the difference until my parents got an ES...it is very nice! Lexus LX gives you longer warranty, more sound deadening, a monstrous REFERENCE sound system that rivals a decent home system, more leather, more REAL wood, air suspension, etc.. Actually, i think that the MSRP of an LX loaded is around $84k, while the TLC is $72k (all this from memory)...so, the price difference is small. In the grand scheme of things, a $12k difference is not much when you're already spending that much money! I think that the previous generation TLC and LX470 had a bigger gap in price.
Reference = Mark Levinson?
I agree - it is quite spectacular and trumps many other manufacturer's "premium" sound option.
Previous LC was ~$65k and LX was about 10k more. Pretty similar.
All luxury vehicles lose value quite a bit. I have looked on Ebay. Trust me, a LX will fall in value like everyone else, esp. with the economy the way it is and rising gas prices. My brother last year sold his 2001 LX470 with 65k miles...for a whopping $11k. They don't hold much better value than its competition. Now, a Corolla holds value. A Civic holds value. A Camry or Accord holds value. But, a gas-guzzling $60k+ SUV? Nope.
You just got your GX. If you had to sell it in the future, then good luck in getting it at "KBB" value. In fact, go to your local Carmax or any dealership and just ask for the value on your car if you had to trade it in. Be prepared to crap in your pants!
dHas anyone read the latest Car and Driver (March 2011)? They have a comparison test of the GX460 against the Land Rover LR4, Audi Q7, BMW X5, and the Acura MDX.
The GX came in dead last. Car and Driver really beat it up pretty badly. The only good thing that really said was that it had good offroad abililty, on par with the LR4. They also said it was quiet and cushy on the highway and had a good radio. But damn, they bashed it otherwise. Ouch!
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I'm just gonna say this. It's CAR and Driver, NOT TRUCK and Driver. Yeah, I'll take a Crap Rover over a Lexus or Toyota. (not so much) Even BMW drivers tell you to sell the damn thing before the warranty expires. THAT'S a vote of confidence. It would have been just as "enlightening" if they threw in an RX with that line up. Car and Driver should stick to just that, cars.
While I rant. Over the last few days I've seen FOUR Audis running around ranging from the SUV to the sedans all with the stupid LEDs burnt out on one side or another. NOT a fan of LEDs for headlights, looks like a cheap ass ebay find.
On the Landcruiser, it would probably be the last car you would EVER have to buy but I agree, Toyota needs to step up their interiors. BUT, if you are complaining about the Landcruiser, the 4Runner's are even cheaper looking. Reminds me of my daughters Duplo set.
While I rant. Over the last few days I've seen FOUR Audis running around ranging from the SUV to the sedans all with the stupid LEDs burnt out on one side or another. NOT a fan of LEDs for headlights, looks like a cheap ass ebay find.
On the Landcruiser, it would probably be the last car you would EVER have to buy but I agree, Toyota needs to step up their interiors. BUT, if you are complaining about the Landcruiser, the 4Runner's are even cheaper looking. Reminds me of my daughters Duplo set.
actually the LEDS in the audis are made by hella and sylvania and they DO build up heat. they are heat sinked however like the cpu in a computer so it appears they dont get hot.
The limiting factor is providing good heat sinks on them and getting a decent driver
Ive seen many audi q5's broken down being towed, and many audi leds burnt out (turn signals not on). all the german makes are unreliable imho
Ive seen many audi q5's broken down being towed, and many audi leds burnt out (turn signals not on). all the german makes are unreliable imho
I agree that the Lexus is a much better vehicle than the Land Rover, BMW, or Audi when you're talking about reliability. There's no question at all that the Lexus and Acura are in their own league there. But car mags don't take that into consideration during a comparison test, so their test result are understandable. They test the way the vehicles perform, not if they'll be reliable or not.
One other point on the Audi LED comment---- I'm not sure if you realize this or not, but those LED strips are designed to turn off on one side when the driver uses the turn signals. So if you see a new Audi making a right hand turn and the right side LEDs are off, it's not a malfunction, it was designed to do that. In Germany (and probably most of the world), the LEDs stay on all the time, but I guess we can thank the DOT laws for forcing Audi to make the LEDs go dim so other drivers can see the front turning signal better.
Didn't actually know that about the turning feature. All of them were coming straight at me so don't *think* the turn signals were on, but I'll look again. I'm 100% okay with being wrong! Ha Ha!
For the first time last night I saw a Doge Magnum with those Halo headlights and they 'looked' like they were led powered as they had that look to them. Hopefully you know what I'm talking about by that look. It looked DAMN good is my point and I just don't feel like the row of leds looks all that great. Reminds me of Christmas though, so maybe that's a good thing! My house had something like 2000 LEDS. TAKE THAT AUDI!
I've owned Toyota's all my life and will continue to do so be it Toyota badges or Lexus badges but I've never owned a Toyota where I thought the interior was above average. I do know that every Toyota I had being equiped with a horrible sound system. I think finally these days including JBL they have addressed that.