Thinking About A Rx300 Se-l

[mitchk]

hi - I have been looking to replace my car for a while now and initially was about to plump for a X3 3.0i on a 54 plate £20k tops. Over the weekend however I realised that I could buy a RX300 SE-L with about the same milage (<30K) and the same price but with more toys. Unfortunatly I know absolutely nothing about Lexus and wondered if anyone could fill in the gaps for me ?

1.) I realise first that the MPG is going to be bad i.e 23.5 - from what I can tell this is more or less standard for petrol 4x4's. Is this a realistic figure for the RX300 ?

2.) I like to read forums a bit before buying a car to get to know peoples thoughts and problems. Obviously the gearbox lurching would bug me and would potentially stop me from buying. Is this a fault that is now rectified ? i.e I could ask the saleman to check that is has been sorted before purchase

3.) The salesman told me that it was only 54 plates upwards that has Bluetooth and the 04 plate I was looking at didn't have it. He did assure me that in the first year however it wasn't very good ? is this BS and worth holding out for a 54plate

4.) I'm curious about the air suspension - is it problematic ?

5.) Anything else I should look out for in particular ?

many thanks for your time

regards

mitch

[ihpj]

I would suggest you take an SE-L for a test drive and then compare it with the 'non-air suspension' type. IIRC then people tend to prefer the 'standard coil springs' to be better than the fancy air suspension. If you havn't driven one before, defintiely take one out for a spin to see if you can get a feel for it.

[mitchk]

thanks - I'll make sure that I test drive both before purchase

so no major problems with them ?

mitch

[NickS]

Hi Mitch

I've had my 54 plate 300 SE-L since June 07 and have done about 6000 miles. A few answers and thoughts on your points:

1.) I have got between 22 and 27 mpg, mostly about 24 to 25. The display over-reads by about 10% in my case (i.e. is optimistic!). Have had over 30 showing if cruising on light throttle at up to 70mph. Once pushing it on M'ways it soon drops, but town use really guzzles the gas (presumably where the 400 excels?).

2.) I've not had noticeable lurching (and I read the very long threads) but the box does seem to drop unecessarily into 1st before reaching a standstill. I tend to ease away in any case, as befits an auto-box. IMO it's too easy to roar away and make passengers uncomfortable.

3.) No Bluetooth in mine, so can't comment.

4.) Re air suspension, I find it works fine. I quite like the lower setting on M'ways. Also you can set it to lower to allow easier entry (much welcomed by my oder relatives) so I'd have it for that alone. Obviously handy too when fully loaded as no worries about lights pointing skyward, thouh assume Xenon's would adjust anyway.

5.) The price you mention sounds about right. We paid £23k with 26,000 miles, but that was 4 months ago and they still depreciate quite quickly - though not as much as for the first owner! Make sure no corrosion on roof rails or wheels, as you can get these replaced under warranty, so worth buying just before 3yrs old, rather than just after (e.g a 2005 on 54 perhaps).

Hope that helps.

regards

Nick

[Damer]

I have had an 04 Plat RX 300 SEL for abot 18 months.

To answer a few of your questions, my fuel consumption at times, according to the display is as poor as 16 MPG!!

However my fuel is paid for by work so I don't really care not a good attitude I know.

I too like the "higher Lower" of the air suspension especially on the motorway.

I don't have Bluetooth but I do have a fixed set up but same old problem fitter daren't intergrate to ICE so wont mute stereo etc.

Apart from shocking fuel economy I like my car.

[jamesholden]

1.) I realise first that the MPG is going to be bad i.e 23.5 - from what I can tell this is more or less standard for petrol 4x4's. Is this a realistic figure for the RX300 ?

2.) I like to read forums a bit before buying a car to get to know peoples thoughts and problems. Obviously the gearbox lurching would bug me and would potentially stop me from buying. Is this a fault that is now rectified ? i.e I could ask the saleman to check that is has been sorted before purchase

I have a Camry V6 (which is essentially a 2WD drive Saloon version of the RX) and get around 28MPG so 24MPG from the 4WD version would seem about right. Not entirely sure if the gearbox is the same though, I believe mine has the Toyota U series Autobox which is also used in the V6 Highlander so I suppose it might also be used in the RX, if it is the same box then I would say they have tuned it to give a bit of surge from a stand still but after that its perfectly smooth.

[mitchk]

thanks guys - youre comments are really helpful

mitch

[stringbender]

thanks guys - youre comments are really helpful

mitch

Hi, I've been driving the RX300 for 3 years now. The first 6 months I had an SE but then changed to the SE L and now find the ride is really smooth and comfortable. For me, much better than the SE version with coil springs. I also think the "Mark Levinson" stereo is a big improvement. I log my fuel and got 24 mpg over the last 3,000 miles and 23.8 the 3,000 odd before that. Like NickS says you can't rely on the onboard display and I know the figures I get are very accurate. Sadly, I do a lot of cold start driving and am sure that I could get a lot more mpg if I did longer trips. I think the mpg is remarkable when you consider the mix of driving I do.

Alan.

[jason c]

1.) I realise first that the MPG is going to be bad i.e 23.5 - from what I can tell this is more or less standard for petrol 4x4's. Is this a realistic figure for the RX300 ?

I get about 21 - 23 mpg on mixed rural and urban roads

24 - 28 (it has hit 30) on the motorway

My wife gets about 17 mpg onshort urban journeys

You'll get 5.9 mpg whe you put your foot down :)

2.) I like to read forums a bit before buying a car to get to know peoples thoughts and problems. Obviously the gearbox lurching would bug me and would potentially stop me from buying. Is this a fault that is now rectified ? i.e I could ask the saleman to check that is has been sorted before purchase

I've not had that problem, though as mentioned, it does like to select 1st on deceleration which can be a pain when it instantly changes to 2nd.

3.) The salesman told me that it was only 54 plates upwards that has Bluetooth and the 04 plate I was looking at didn't have it. He did assure me that in the first year however it wasn't very good ? is this BS and worth holding out for a 54plate

My 54 SE-L doesn't - I thought it was pretty much 05 on. I wish mine did have it. (only realised after the event - caveat emptor)

4.) I'm curious about the air suspension - is it problematic ?

I really like it. Having had a history of "sports" cars, I prefer the lack of roll when cornering.

5.) Anything else I should look out for in particular ?

If you have the DVD player, there was a change-over between 54/05 where there were IR tranmitters by the rear door rather than on the roof. I have the latter though and it's fine.

The wheels are a known problem - Mine were swapped under warranty.

Rear camera is a pain - I wish it just had normal "PDC" type sensors.

Otherwise I really like it and the dealer (Derby) has been a pleasure

[pbarrett]

If you have the DVD player, there was a change-over between 54/05 where there were IR tranmitters by the rear door rather than on the roof. I have the latter though and it's fine.

Hi

I have on '04 SEL without an owners manual. Is that the thing in the roof above and behind the rear passengers heads ?

Paul