Salutations To All

[Hellespont]

I'm from dreary unpredictable Melbourne, although originally from Perth. We bought a 2012 RX 350 at a local city dealership approximately 3 weeks ago as an ex-demonstrator where it took us 3 minutes to make our minds up even though we were considering in just fixing our aging Ford Territory.

Jumping up from a Ford Territory to a Lexus RX 350 is quite a jump indeed, the latter is so much easier to drive, although not as forgiving going over bumpy and uneven surfaces as well as having to agree with some of the cons about performance. The Territory handles that part very well, but there are some issues when trying to compare to the RX.

We, as in along with my significant other, made a calculated decision to shortlist our choices; the RX was at the bottom of the list. Leaving a Landrover Discovery 4, Audi Q5, VW Touareg 150TDI, BMW X5, Mercedes ML,Volvo XC90 and a Toyota Kluger / Ford Territory (New Replacement). As we are expecting our first child, safety over performance was paramount and secondly we wanted something very reliable.

Our total household income is probably not enough to accommodate frequent mechanical and electrical problems with Landrover, Audi, VW, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo; so it just left Toyota, Ford and Lexus. I'm not a great fan of Toyota's because personally I think they are just overpriced and you also get less for what you're paying for. Despite having to have driven many Ford cars over the years, I thought there was a much needed change towards a different direction.

My partner and I have very high standards and when we go out and buy something, we normally buy something once that we both know for sure is right the first time, learning from experiences of our checkered past of purchases.

Anyway, I am very happy with the interior, the cabin noise is very tranquil; although does not 100% block out all the outside noise. It wraps the driver and its passengers in relative comfort. I like the fact that the transmission tunnel is flat, making it very comfortable for the middle rear passenger to sit with their feet flat. One of the major drawbacks to my decision with this car was the fact that it was shorter in wheelbase over the existing old or new Ford Territory; where the seats fold flat on the Territory but on the RX it does not completely go flat. As with the Ford Territory I tend to frequently fold the rear seats down while enlarging cargo space to place some expensive road bikes into it.

I am quite surprised that I can fit my bikes into the back of the RX although after having to spend at least a few minutes placing some blankets and a plastic shroud to avoid any scratches to the seats and windows of the car.

We have yet to consider forking out $3000 for the tow bar yet as we are unsure whether or not it would void the warranty if we decided to look for aftermarket or elsewhere other than the dealership. The same applies with rear parking sensors which we will need to consider in getting. I'm not in the habit in using the reverse camera as I tend to use the mirrors and physically turning my head back to look between the pillars. A parking sensor helps because I don't want to run over anything and especially anything small and human.

I hope to enjoy driving this with its slight misgivings for years to come.

Thanks for reading.

[ilv1004s]

hi welcome to the forum

the RX is one of the best SUV's on the market for mixture of performance and luxury

looks like u went for a presteige Rx350

y didnt u consider the sports luxury version or even the F sport

there are alot of features that your missing out on

[coconut2001]

Interesting and detailed introduction! Welcome to the forum Henry and congrats on the purchase.

[Hellespont]

hi welcome to the forum

the RX is one of the best SUV's on the market for mixture of performance and luxury

looks like u went for a presteige Rx350

y didnt u consider the sports luxury version or even the F sport

there are alot of features that your missing out on

Why thank you, good to be here; and yes it is the Prestige model; which just so happens that I just missed out on the new facelift. We did have our minds set on the new RX 270, but something in the back of my mind just thought it was going to be rather weak in the performance aspect.

I would have loved to have gotten the Sports Luxury version, especially with the heated seats, parking sensors, heads up display, sunroof and I believe the side mirror cameras. However, the significant other of which is an Account by profession made some convincing arguments to twist my arms and also the substantial cost difference as we had two choices at the time, it was either this or a 2010 RX 450H (Black Exterior with a Creamy Beige Interior). I wasn't all that convinced with the warranty on the Hybrid battery system as well as the significant other that disliked the colour of the Hybrid. It was the first dealership we walked into, especially for Lexus, especially into the heart of the city, while I did pop into a couple of other European dealerships prior to this visitation.

As the odometer has just creeped over 5000 km of which 4.5 weeks of driving covering only just over 1200 of our own coverage, I feel that this RX is quite forgiving. I don't really like the suspension of the prestige version, its too jiggly; but when it behaves on even roads, it treats you like well. Something special in that category that I have yet to put words into it.

I think I'm going to have to look some where around Melbourne to see if I can get some sort of adjustments made to this car, especially the suspension system; may be the brakes (still thinking about it) and performance (its definitely quicker than the Territory, but it needs to be pushed a bit on the pedal to hear it). Which is where I hope to see some threads here at this forum for some much needed medication to purge the dull driving experiences I've been getting as of late.

Interesting and detailed introduction! Welcome to the forum Henry and congrats on the purchase.

Thank you. Its my new mistress, I tell my significant other and she's jealous...lol. However I think from her perspective it'll be my Christmas Present, Birthday Present, Valentines and any other special occasion every year that this vehicle will serve as a constant reminder of ownership.