New Member

[Phamish]

Just thought I'd finally make an account and say hi. Have lurked around a few Lexus forums for a while.

Owned an IS250 Sports since launch in Australia (Dec 2005) and just picked up a new RX450h for the wife last week.

Looking forward to contributing to the discussions here about the new Lexus(es) to come in the next few years :)

-Phil

Edit: Just realised I posted this in the wrong section. Oh well :)

[LEX51S]

hey phil

welcome aboard. (officially) lol.

[dis-lex-sic]

just picked up a new RX450h for the wife last week.

Welcome Phamish. Lucky wife getting a new RX450h....Happy wife...happy life huh Phamish

The RX450h is an awesome car. Its such a better car than the RX400h, a massive improvement in fuel consumption and it has more power. Its about 580kg heavier than an IS250, has 220kw, is all wheel drive and yet it uses less fuel than an IS250. In some ways its the best car in the range in my opinion.

Plus the thing I really like is the large number of features that the driver can customise from the steering wheel. Simply with your right thumb.

Have you got the Sports Luxury?

Its got some great new features. The Heads Up Display (HUD) holographic speedo/info display on the windscreen is brilliant. It should be available on the whole range.

The passenger side camera is a handy item once you get the hang of it.

One thing I'm not totally convinced on yet is the Lexus Remote Touch replacing the touch screen nav system but it does have some pluses and is growing on me.

As its a new model there isn't much info about it here yet, not like there is for the other models. If you have any questions on the RX450h feel free ask away.

[Phamish]

just picked up a new RX450h for the wife last week.

Welcome Phamish. Lucky wife getting a new RX450h....Happy wife...happy life huh Phamish

The RX450h is an awesome car. Its such a better car than the RX400h, a massive improvement in fuel consumption and it has more power. Its about 580kg heavier than an IS250, has 220kw, is all wheel drive and yet it uses less fuel than an IS250. In some ways its the best car in the range in my opinion.

Plus the thing I really like is the large number of features that the driver can customise from the steering wheel. Simply with your right thumb.

Have you got the Sports Luxury?

Its got some great new features. The Heads Up Display (HUD) holographic speedo/info display on the windscreen is brilliant. It should be available on the whole range.

The passenger side camera is a handy item once you get the hang of it.

One thing I'm not totally convinced on yet is the Lexus Remote Touch replacing the touch screen nav system but it does have some pluses and is growing on me.

As its a new model there isn't much info about it here yet, not like there is for the other models. If you have any questions on the RX450h feel free ask away.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

We ended up picking the Prestige, as most of the other features like radar cruise, larger wheels etc on the higher specs my wife didn't particularly want since she will mainly use it to transport the family around. Although like you said, the one feature that I really wanted and missed was the HUD; it really is an excellent feature and it's one that Lexus should consider either making standard, or having it as an option (which I know is unlikely given Lexus Australia don't like having individual options) like they do in the US (it's listed at ~$1800 USD on their website and I'd gladly pay that). The other thing is the parking sonars, Lexus of Sutherland offered aftermarket parking sonars as a sweetener in the deal, and they work fine, but I miss having them fully integrated into the system like on my IS250 (ie. having control over them from the steering wheel and getting the little visual cues on the instrument panel etc).

Overall, really loving the car. Managing to get around 8L/100km in city driving which is fairly reasonable for a car of it's bulk/size and no other SUV comes close on CO2 emissions. Personally I feel the Remote Touch is quite natural and even my wife really loves it. We got it in Silver with the two tone interior on the inside which looks fantastic imo :)

One thing I've wondered though, is that the US RXs now get a HDD based Sat Nav with USB connectivity; it's a pity that's not offered here in Aus :(

[dis-lex-sic]

A USB/iPod module for the RX450h is now available as an after market accessory.

As you said it should be factory fitted as it is in the rest of the range. Its probably the only thing to add to the car.

Your dealer should be able to supply if you want one.