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Lexus Rx400h Or Bmw X3?


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Hello, I want to know the people opinion about this 2 cars (Lexus rx400h or BMW X3). I want to buy it one of them but I don't know how is better.

Wich are your opinion about?

- AWD vs xDrive

- Transmission

- the acceleration

- stabiliy

- ....

Thanks at all!

p.d. Sorry about my English

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So guessing you know that people will be rather biased towards Lexus's on here ???

Anyway, I looked at an X3 before getting my RX300... my reasons were as follows;

For RX..

1. X3 dash / interior is crap.... I had a BMW330Ci so the X3 was the obvious choice, but could not stand the cheap plastics in the X3

2. Standard spec was crap on the BMW, just about everything was standard on the RX. Made a massive difference in price.

3. Residuals... found that any extras on the BMW were worth zero come re-sale...so wanted a car with items I wanted as standard,. i've read horror storeis of people paying ~£40k for spec'd up X3's to get offered £24k come trade in when 1 year old...all the extras were worth nothing.

4. Plastic bumpers on X3's are crap looking, though my dealer would instantly throw in the painted ones for nothing to get a sale.

For BMW...

- Choice of 3 litre diesel...excellent engine !

- Handles more like a car, less wallowy round corners.

- Sportier feel.

- Does not have plastic wood inside....though in the RX400h you get rid of that for nice aluminium.

Regarding transmission....mmmm....

So RX's are basically FWD and only put power to rear wheels when slip occurs, well that is the case for the RX300's. For the RX400 they have only electric motors at back and in continued off road use the motors heat up and cut out...so turns into 2wd only. Issue, depends how much you use it for offroading, probably not an issue for 99% of the population.

Gearbox... RX400 is a CVT and not test driven it so I've no idea how good / bad it is. Someone with it will be able to comment. BMW's auto's are 6 speed and when I drove one was very smooth, no complaint on that front.

Stability....mmmm again... BMW's generally setup for a more sporty feel / drive, Lexus more luxury / smoothness... BMW's have the "lovelly" run flat tyres so ride generally worse. depends what you're after. Sporty or luxury ? Both have dynamic Stability control or what ever they choose to call it so both very safe, though nothing will help if you really over do it.

Acceleration... depends on what X3 you're comparing it to... new 3 litre diesel will be quick, but the instant torque of the RX400's electric motors are means to be brilliant. 3 litrre petrol would be easily out paced by the RX400h

Anyway, that's just my thoughts...

Probably best to test drive both and see what suits you best.....

Oooo...read ages ago that the X3 was to get a face lift (happens every 3 years at BMW) and they were going to sort the cheap plastics inside. Make sure you find out when that is due and get one of the sorted ones.

What about the RX350 ?? Due in UK early '06, 270BHP and meant to be a better 6 speed auto, quicker, more fuel efficient. Might be worth looking at ?

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For RX..

1. X3 dash / interior is crap.... I had a BMW330Ci  so the X3 was the obvious choice, but could not stand the cheap plastics in the X3

2. Standard spec was crap on the BMW, just about everything was standard on the RX. Made a massive difference in price.

4. Plastic bumpers on X3's are crap looking, though my dealer would instantly throw in the painted ones for nothing to get a sale.

These were the same reasons why I didn't buy a BMW, took all of about 5 milliseconds to convince me that BMW have lost it currently.

Always wanted a BMW straight six as they were always so silky smooth, but with BMW's like this I've been completely turned off personally.

Same for the new 5 series, liked the old one and the one before that and the one before that. First opportunity to afford a 5 series and bangle screws it up. Interesting how they are subtlety toning down the bangleness elements. Latest 5 in M styling looks great, the curves start to work with each other rather than conflict which was part of the original bangleness. Starting to tempt me again but only in the M styling. But then you look inside, always a very strong reason for buying a BMW and as my 2 year old daughter has a habit of saying at meal times right now... YUK! :yack:

What's with the dash going away from the driver eh?! And that double dash cowling looks awful. Friend of mine just bought a new 3 for a company car, Not very inspiring. But he deliberately opted out of the sat nav option because he didn't want the double cowling that you can opt out of on the 3.

On the 6 they've got door handles which partially obscure the air vents. So it seems that the bangle bit is to make the opposite of what BMW has always LED in ergonomics and one of the main reasons why people bought BMW. I simply cannot understand why a company who has spent years defining themselves as the ultimate driving machine would then actively choose to what appears to be completely undoing what they built-up. I can understand the need for new direction but to completely go in the opposite direction is completely bizarre.

br

D

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When I saw the first images of the X3 I loved the car... when I saw it in real life I hated it.

The interior that looked so attractive on the pics, is actually very cheap plastic..

Try the back seats of the X3... like sitting on a wooden park bench.

Technically it's a very respectable car, but not very exiting.

ps fergy, the wood inside the RX300 is not plastic.

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So guessing you know that people will be rather biased towards Lexus's on here ???

Anyway, I looked at an X3 before getting my RX300... my reasons were as follows;

For RX..

1. X3 dash / interior is crap.... I had a BMW330Ci  so the X3 was the obvious choice, but could not stand the cheap plastics in the X3

2. Standard spec was crap on the BMW, just about everything was standard on the RX. Made a massive difference in price.

3. Residuals... found that any extras on the BMW were worth zero come re-sale...so wanted a car with items I wanted as standard,. i've read horror storeis of people paying ~£40k for spec'd up X3's to get offered £24k come trade in when 1 year old...all the extras were worth nothing.

4. Plastic bumpers on X3's are crap looking, though my dealer would instantly throw in the painted ones for nothing to get a sale.

For BMW...

- Choice of 3 litre diesel...excellent engine !

- Handles more like a car, less wallowy round corners.

- Sportier feel.

- Does not have plastic wood inside....though in the RX400h you get rid of that for nice aluminium.

Regarding transmission....mmmm....

So RX's are basically FWD and only put power to rear wheels when slip occurs, well that is the case for the RX300's. For the RX400 they have only electric motors at back and in continued off road use the motors heat up and cut out...so turns into 2wd only. Issue, depends how much you use it for offroading, probably not an issue for 99% of the population.

Gearbox... RX400 is a CVT and not test driven it so I've no idea how good / bad it is. Someone with it will be able to comment. BMW's auto's are 6 speed and when I drove one was very smooth, no complaint on that front.

Stability....mmmm again... BMW's generally setup for a more sporty feel / drive, Lexus more luxury / smoothness... BMW's have the "lovelly" run flat tyres so ride generally worse. depends what you're after. Sporty or luxury ? Both have dynamic Stability control or what ever they choose to call it so both very safe, though nothing will help if you really over do it.

Acceleration... depends on what X3 you're comparing it to... new 3 litre diesel will be quick, but the instant torque of the RX400's electric motors are means to be brilliant. 3 litrre petrol would be easily out paced by the RX400h

Anyway, that's just my thoughts...

Probably best to test drive both and see what suits you best.....

Oooo...read ages ago that the X3 was to get a face lift (happens every 3 years at BMW) and they were going to sort the cheap plastics inside. Make sure you find out when that is due and get one of the sorted ones.

What about the RX350 ?? Due in UK early '06, 270BHP and meant to be a better 6 speed auto, quicker, more fuel efficient. Might be worth looking at ?

Seeing how the poor blokes English is not great, you really should explain what "crap" means :D

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the X3 is terrible off road, infact anything worse than wet toilet paper and it gets stuck

shouldnt the RX be campared against the X5 really?...whih is also terrible off road

Edited by Monster-Mat
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I'm not sure why you would compare the RX400h with an X3. If you can afford either then there is no contest RX400h wins on all counts. Perhaps you meant an X5. Although personally I would still opt for the lexus, I think the comparisons would get much more complicated, unless you could write down what you 'need' as oppossed to what you 'want' !! I need a car and want a lexus RX so its an easy choice.

Anyway the X3 is an inferior car to the Lexus especially when you can look at the X5, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Discovery, Porche Cayenne, VW Tourage, Volvo XC90 etc etc for similar money as the RX400h. None of them will have the extensive array of standard equipement as the lexus at that price though. And as for reliability, refinement, running costs, Dealer Service...... There just a few too many points for Lexus to pick up. Leave the X3 alone and pick another competitor vehicle unless you absolutely love it and will not be changing it in the near future !

Or, try borrowing the X3 for the weekend and do the same with the 400h - if that does not make the choice easier, nothing will !

Good luck.

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When I saw the first images of the X3 I loved the car... when I saw it in real life I hated it.

The interior that looked so attractive on the pics, is actually very cheap plastic..

Try the back seats of the X3... like sitting on a wooden park bench.

Technically it's a very respectable car, but not very exiting.

ps fergy, the wood inside the RX300 is not plastic.

Yip...I know it's real wood...I just hate it sooooooo shiny...yuk ! :sick:

Ok..I'll admitt I have a personal thing about hating wood in any car....just have to get a RX400h next time as no wood in it, one of many excuses I'm lining up for using on the wife come replacement time.

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So guessing you know that people will be rather biased towards Lexus's on here ???

Anyway, I looked at an X3 before getting my RX300... my reasons were as follows;

For RX..

1. X3 dash / interior is crap.... I had a BMW330Ci  so the X3 was the obvious choice, but could not stand the cheap plastics in the X3

2. Standard spec was crap on the BMW, just about everything was standard on the RX. Made a massive difference in price.

3. Residuals... found that any extras on the BMW were worth zero come re-sale...so wanted a car with items I wanted as standard,. i've read horror storeis of people paying ~£40k for spec'd up X3's to get offered £24k come trade in when 1 year old...all the extras were worth nothing.

4. Plastic bumpers on X3's are crap looking, though my dealer would instantly throw in the painted ones for nothing to get a sale.

For BMW...

- Choice of 3 litre diesel...excellent engine !

- Handles more like a car, less wallowy round corners.

- Sportier feel.

- Does not have plastic wood inside....though in the RX400h you get rid of that for nice aluminium.

Regarding transmission....mmmm....

So RX's are basically FWD and only put power to rear wheels when slip occurs, well that is the case for the RX300's. For the RX400 they have only electric motors at back and in continued off road use the motors heat up and cut out...so turns into 2wd only. Issue, depends how much you use it for offroading, probably not an issue for 99% of the population.

Gearbox... RX400 is a CVT and not test driven it so I've no idea how good / bad it is. Someone with it will be able to comment. BMW's auto's are 6 speed and when I drove one was very smooth, no complaint on that front.

Stability....mmmm again... BMW's generally setup for a more sporty feel / drive, Lexus more luxury / smoothness... BMW's have the "lovelly" run flat tyres so ride generally worse. depends what you're after. Sporty or luxury ? Both have dynamic Stability control or what ever they choose to call it so both very safe, though nothing will help if you really over do it.

Acceleration... depends on what X3 you're comparing it to... new 3 litre diesel will be quick, but the instant torque of the RX400's electric motors are means to be brilliant. 3 litrre petrol would be easily out paced by the RX400h

Anyway, that's just my thoughts...

Probably best to test drive both and see what suits you best.....

Oooo...read ages ago that the X3 was to get a face lift (happens every 3 years at BMW) and they were going to sort the cheap plastics inside. Make sure you find out when that is due and get one of the sorted ones.

What about the RX350 ?? Due in UK early '06, 270BHP and meant to be a better 6 speed auto, quicker, more fuel efficient. Might be worth looking at ?

Seeing how the poor blokes English is not great, you really should explain what "crap" means :D

mmmm..."crap" means rubbish, pish :tsktsk: ...mmm...ok, means I don't like it.

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Yip...I know it's real wood...I just hate it sooooooo shiny...yuk ! :sick:

Ok..I'll admitt I have a personal thing about hating wood in any car....just have to get a RX400h next time as no wood in it, one of many excuses I'm lining up for using on the wife come replacement time.

I'm not a great fan of this type of wood either.. but the aluminum in the 400h is not very inspiring either.. I wish Lexus would offer different types of wood, like Audi does, or Citroen in the C6, very classy!

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i have a RX 330 which is really similar to the 400h, the stability on the 330 is a lot better than the X3. X3 is bad period, if u dont mind paying more it would be better about getting the X5 than the X3. But if u ask me i rather get the 400h than the BMW cuz i drove both of them and i preffered the RX.

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