New RX350

[Mark86]

As many of you knew, I persuaded my parents into buying a 4Runner a few years ago. They had the 2006 silver Limited, which was awesome. After 92,000 miles, the truck was still running like new. Since my dad has a slipped disc in his back, the low seat of the 4Runner wasn't doing wonders for him. It was a hard decision, but my parents decided that they needed something a bit more car based and comfortable. Since I am the car guy of the family, I was able to take part in choosing which vehicles to test drive. Basically, we considered an Acura MDX, Lexus RX350, Toyota Highlander, Mercedes ML350, and Audi Q5. The Highlander was overpriced for the way they wanted it configured, ML350's design was very outdated, and Audi Q5 was too small. The Acura MDX and RX350 were the finalist. They were both very similar and very nice vehicles. It was a very difficult decision, but the RX350 won because of comfort, smoother ride, and more advanced features (adaptive xenon lighting, cooled seats, rain sensing wipers, automatic brights, auto dimming side mirrors). When the day came to trade in the 4Runner, it definitely wasn't happy. Usually, my family trades in a vehicle and that is all. This time, we were all sad to see the 4Runner go.

Now on to the 2010 RX350: we have a fully loaded with everything except the sport package and mark levinson radio. Unfortunately, these packages are not available in NE region. The interior is beautiful: materials are luxurious, wood trim looks great, and leather is awesome. The layout is great and this car is loaded with technology. You can program the navigation with voice commands, it automatically reroutes around traffic, built in USB port which displays all songs on your ipod, and weather/sports updates. The exterior is beautiful as well. The seats are very comfortable and the ride is smooth. I love the automatic high beams, rain sensing wipers, auto closing tailgate, and auto dimming side mirrors. Overall, this car is a great buy. Here are the pics:

The way it was

 

[MikesToy]

Looks gurly to me. :biggrin2:

 

[Thai]

Looks very nice!! The RX is definitely at the top of my list. Did your parents consider the RX450h?? The look has definitely grown on me. You can't beat the Lexus smoothness...and as i get older, the more i appreciate that over a sportier ride.

I have one complaint though...for such an expensive car ($42k+ i assume), those are the plainest set of rims i have seen on a loaded vehicle!

 

[BROOKLYN]

did you bought it at ray catena there service department is awesome trust me you wont mind waiting.
i got my wife a rx350 to same color except black interior and its last years model. she loves it

 

[Mark86]

Thai, I agree about the rims. Unfortunately, there are optional 19'' rims but there were non available. From what I was told, the 19's are usually packaged with the rear DVD player in this region. My parents considered the RX450h, but my dad is using this car for work and he takes mostly highways at high speeds. As a result, the hybrid would not offer a significant improvement in mileage to warrant the cost. In addition, the smart high beams are not offered on the late 2010 hybrid which was weird (definitely a minor thing!).

Every time I drive that car, I am spoiled by the quiet and smooth ride. If I was buying a new car, this would definitely be on the top of my list too.

BROOKLYN, my family USED to be loyal Ray Catena customers. That changed when Lexus of Edison opened. When we compared prices, Ray Catena is approximately $2,000 more expensive than Edison for the exact same vehicle. While Edison's service waiting area is not as appealing to the eye, they still offer food, beverages, comfy couches, wifi and clean loaners. The actual service department beats Ray Catena IMO. It is very impressive to see.

 

[Uneek]

The 3rd gen RX's look has grown on me.

The Remote Touch for the nav seems silly and cheesy when looking at it. But it's very intuitive and functional once I tried it out.

Overall, the RX is still a very nice crossover, for me, it just took a bit of time to adjust to the changes. The second gen was a complete hit in my book, I was sold when it made its debut.

Congrats on the new addition to the family. Did you consider taking your dad's '06 and turning your '05 in instead? If you prefer the earlier 4th gens, it answers my question.

 

[BROOKLYN]

mark86, i'll be taking my wifes truck next week to catena, catena gave me a way better price than bay ridge, manhatten and edison but i happen to be friends with some people there.
how you like the rx350, my wife loves it i hate it.

 

[Mark86]

Uneek, the 2006 had 92,000 miles on it and my 2005 just hit 75,000. Also, my 4Runner has been through it all with me and I don't want to give it up. The only real difference between the two was bluetooth, which doesn't bother me. I have no preference on the design changes.

BROOKLYN- That is surprising because Ray Catena has been more expensive on two different occasions. We also priced Bay Ridge and they were in the same ballpark as Edison. I know the service manager, GM, and a sales person for years at Catena. One of the service advisors is a big 4Runner/Tacoma guy.

I really enjoy driving the RX350. It is smoother and more comfortable than the 4Runner. While I love my V8 and high ride height, I can definitely see myself in an RX as well. When I first used the redesigned nav, I wasn't a fan. Now that I have gotten used to it, I like it! All the technology packed into the RX is amazing.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Nice car. Those gauges are pretty cool.
But I do not like where that shifter is, that would literally drive me crazy.

 

[Mark86]

Initially it feels odd, but you get used to it. There is actually a storage area below that piece, which accounts for the odd shape.

 

[03 Limited]

Around here i cant get over the fact that those cars are often driven by old Korean & Chinese ladies with white gloves and golf visors, being of Asian race myself i don't want to find myself in the common image of another fobby guy driving a luxury soft-roader SUV. Id rather sport my dirty and grungy, mildy lifted 2WD runner! :cheers: To date the easiest car i drove that was a snap to hop in and out was a 2010 Nissan Cube, man that car is easy to drive and to get in and out. I didn't have to kneel my head down like i do to get in the runner.:shrug:

 

[rx900]

Nice RX. 2wd?? I had an RX450H as a loaner for a weekend and put about 600 miles on it (rolled out of the dealer with 400 on the ODO and brought her back with 1000 on the ODO). It's smooth and nimble. The NAV setup definitely was a little odd at first but I thought it was cool that the mouse on the "idrive" centers up when u turn the car off lol :hatsoff:

 

[Mark86]

It is AWD. The feedback also stops when you turn off the car.

 

[Koz]

You can get the heads-up display on the RX450h, really nice looking!

Koz

 

[Mark86]

That is also an option on the rx350 but you can't find those vehicles here. I think it is packaged with the Levinson, which has to be ordered from the factory. Two dealers I spoke with told me they never saw that equipment. I saw one packaged like that in Montreal.

 

[rx900]

It is AWD. The feedback also stops when you turn off the car.

That's a weird setup. I thought you should have the 7 spoke rims if it's AWD. Guess it's different in certain areas. Then again I did see a loaner (09) RX350 at my dealership that was AWD with Navi BUT had no Xenons lol. :toilet:

Even though we do have a BMW, I still enjoy driving the Lexus :lookout:

 

[Mark86]

In this region, the seven spoke rims are only offered on vehicles with the rear DVD entertainment system. Here, the only way to tell the difference between an AWD and 2WD car is the steering wheel (AWD gets wood wheel and 2WD gets leather). The nav and no xenons is an option here as well, but mostly seen on 2WD models. The other odd thing in my region is you can't get the RX450h with smart high beams.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

We had a RX330 for the wife and she really liked it. Now she has an ES350. If I go back to a crossover it will be a loaded Toyota Venza with the 4cyl engine.