Jud Cariosto

On 12/18/2021 at 5:23 PM, Linas.P said:

Generally speaking I would say - yes it is worth buying Lexus, because they in general use better materials, are more sporty, yet more comfortable (adaptive suspension or just in general better suspension tuning) and it is Lexus, I mean there is value just in the badge regardless if one values it or not.

However, that was the case when Lexus had dedicated or significantly enhanced cars like IS, RC and GS, those cars were not Toyota and did not have Toyota equivalence (more or less), sure they were still based on certain Toyota platforms and used many Toyota parts (which is good, they are reliable). Very important - they were RWD and Toyota's are FWD, this is one of key areas where driving dynamic comes from and why they felt better than Toyotas of similar size. 

However, when it comes to Toyota Avalon (ES), Auris (CT) or CHR (UX), it is definitely not worth buying Lexus, they are identical cars with cosmetic only changes and they feel exactly like equivalent Toyota would feel. Badge on these cars is worth just as much as plastic it is made from and unless you want to spend extra money to sit in Lexus dealership during the service and drink instant coffee from mug with Lexus logo and have little candy wrapped in Lexus wrap, then NO it definitely isn't worth the money.

Lexus RX and NX are kind of interesting in a sense that they are based on existing Toyota cars, but they are kind of improved significantly enough that they no longer feel like Toyota, the way they ride and plastics and sound insulation inside really makes them feel little bit more luxurious. Besides SUV market is very competitive and they are priced reasonably well, where getting RAV4 won't save significant amount of money over NX, especially considering options etc.

In the end the only 2 remaining cars which are true Lexus are LS and LC, and those are really worth every penny you spend and are on the league of their own which no Toyota could match.

So I guess in the end - it depends, what model, what year and what people want from their cars. 

What do you think about the new NX? Is it true Lexus now? They say that this time they have upgraded it to a substantial degree to state that this is not just an improved RAV4.

My name is Jud. I have been a fan of the Lexus cars for the past maybe 10 years or so. It is great to find this awesome forum. Hope to have some fun here :)

google made it :)