Trade In Es350 For Rx350?

[Steve Wallace]

I currently have a 2007 ES350, but I'm moving from Washington DC to Colorado Springs in a month or so, and would like to get a AWD car before I move. What do you all think about trading in my ES for an AWD RX?

[Steve Wallace]

Sorry. I forgot to ask about also comparing the RX350 to the RX400h. Is the hybrid worth getting?

[Claude7629]

I compared both before I purchased my RX350. I looked at the difference in price and compared that to the difference in gas milage. I bought a RX350. Other things you might want to consider is service maintenance.

[SW03ES]

No difference in service maintenance between the 350 and the 400h...

[SKperformance]

AWD is nice but is usually not needed on city roads with snow , you mainly carry around an extra couple hundred pounds of weight for it.

[ilovelexus2007]

I compared both before I purchased my RX350. I looked at the difference in price and compared that to the difference in gas milage. I bought a RX350. Other things you might want to consider is service maintenance.

Several things you need to be clear about RX350 and RX400h:

1. RX400h IS NOT solely for saving gas. Buy a Prius if you want to do so. You must have not done your research well enough to have that conclusion. RX400h was designed to increase your gas mileage while AS THE SAME TIME increasing power.

2. The 400 in 400h means 4.0 liter, that the equivalent to a V8 acceleration with an V6 engine and the gas mileage of a 4-cyclinder Camry.

3. RX400h is a CVT (continuous variable transmission). You will not feel the jerks when you accelerate from low speed to high speed as you seen in RX350.

4. RX400h is 300lbs heavier, therefore, it's a lot stable in high speed, and yes, you can feel it. Read CR report.

5. Rx400h uses regenerate braking system, you will probably not going to need to replace the brake pad until it hits 200K.

6. Of course, then there is a feeling that you own an exclusive vehicle, how many 400h do you see out on the roads? Not many. I can't count how many times I've seen RX350.

To answer your question, I think you SHOULD NOT trade your ES350 to RX350. I've driven them both and I thought ES350 was smoother, quieter, and was newer in technology while RX is still old. You probably should wait for the resigned 2010 RX, then you can trade in. Just a thought.

[SW03ES]

3. RX400h is a CVT (continuous variable transmission). You will not feel the jerks when you accelerate from low speed to high speed as you seen in RX350.

Conversely the CVT causes a slightly annoying engine drone at some points in acceleration that isn't present on the RX350, as does my Prius. You should drive them both and see which setup you prefer. At times I like the CVT, at times I like the 5 speed auto.

4. RX400h is 300lbs heavier, therefore, it's a lot stable in high speed, and yes, you can feel it. Read CR report.

I don't buy this. In the grand scheme of a 4500lb vehicle, 300lbs is not much. Its like driving with a passenger. I doubt you would see a significant change in how the vehicle handles because of it.

5. Rx400h uses regenerate braking system, you will probably not going to need to replace the brake pad until it hits 200K.

Depends on how you drive. If you drive aggressively you will still go through brakes.

6. Of course, then there is a feeling that you own an exclusive vehicle, how many 400h do you see out on the roads? Not many. I can't count how many times I've seen RX350.

This I agree with, I would choose the RX400h over the RX350 for a lot of reasons.

[1990LS400]

Colorado Springs doesn't have a very harsh Winter climate. An ES350 would do just fine there and about any other place in Colorado.

I've driven to, from and around many Colorado ski areas in the dead of Winter over a 30+ year period mostly in rear wheel drive cars. I've never gotten stuck a single time. I did always have snow tires on these rear wheel drive cars.

From 1985 to 1990 I had a front wheel drive 85 Honda CRX Si that I used almost only as a "ski car". I drove that little CRX over Berthoud and Loveland passes countless times on the way to A-Basin and Winter Park and didn't even have snow tires on it. I never once got stuck. And this was before the days of ABS and VSC. Damn, that little CRX was a great snow car. I drove the CRX so many times in white-out snow storms that I put a rear fog light on it so that people wouldn't run over me from behind in blizzards.

Of course, I love to drive in snow -- it's a lot of fun.

During our Colorado ski trips, our main "game" was "Count the 4-wheel drive vehicles in the ditch". I came to think that about the only benefit of having 4-wheel drive was to allow drivers to get over confident so they could bury their vehicles exceptionally well in the ditch.

As ES350 will do just fine in Colorado although you might consider getting a good set of real snow tires (with the mountain/snowflake logo) if you are going to be driving in the high country in the winter.

[ilovelexus2007]

3. RX400h is a CVT (continuous variable transmission). You will not feel the jerks when you accelerate from low speed to high speed as you seen in RX350.

Conversely the CVT causes a slightly annoying engine drone at some points in acceleration that isn't present on the RX350, as does my Prius. You should drive them both and see which setup you prefer. At times I like the CVT, at times I like the 5 speed auto.

4. RX400h is 300lbs heavier, therefore, it's a lot stable in high speed, and yes, you can feel it. Read CR report.

I don't buy this. In the grand scheme of a 4500lb vehicle, 300lbs is not much. Its like driving with a passenger. I doubt you would see a significant change in how the vehicle handles because of it.

5. Rx400h uses regenerate braking system, you will probably not going to need to replace the brake pad until it hits 200K.

Depends on how you drive. If you drive aggressively you will still go through brakes.

6. Of course, then there is a feeling that you own an exclusive vehicle, how many 400h do you see out on the roads? Not many. I can't count how many times I've seen RX350.

This I agree with, I would choose the RX400h over the RX350 for a lot of reasons.

SW03ES, at first I didn't believe CR's take on the 300lbs different, but I drove both and I did see the different. The thing is you have to own (not saying that you are not) 400h and driven it everyday to realize the different between it and 350. A quick test drive alone, no matter how great an observer you are, you will not see the different.

OR

400h is more stable than 350, but not because of the extra 300lbs, but something else. Someone please enlighten me on this.

By the way, just curious on what are your reasons of choosing 400h over 350?

[SW03ES]

There are so many variables, did both the 350 and 400h have the same tires, were they in the same state of wear, what were the PSI in the tires? How much gas did each vehicle have?

I have driven several 400hs and 330s/350s but I have driven a lot of other vehicles and know a good bit about driving dynamics and vehicle construction, 300lbs isn't enough to make a serious difference in how a 4500lb vehicle handles. Its just not.

Bear in mind gas weighs about 6lbs per gallon, so a tank of gas weighs 120lbs.

For me the reasons I'd choose the 400h, its a more unique package, I like the styling differences. I like the hybrid system, I like not having to pay sales tax in the state of MD, and I like not having to have the vehicle emissions tested.