When I test drove mine, I was disappointed with the road noise and the engine sounded like a mini-diesel engine to me. I really expected it to be super quiet like their sudans. The sales guy was nice and told me that it wasn't the quietest lexus he had but if I had to have the suv, it was the quietest on the market for AWD. My husband and I test drove 3 other suvs of the same size and the Lexus one was quieter and it just fit me. The step in and out, the seats, bla bla, and all that. After I bought it I was disappointed bcs the sunroof rattled like crazy. The first year I put 35k miles on and that noise drove me nuts. It took 3 trips to the dealer and they fixed it with a gasket thing and said it was common. Other than that, the hands free voice controls are great. I can't program our garage door to save my life. I feel sorry for the guy on here who sounds like he has a classic lemon law claim. I love this car and it is worth the $ to me (and my husband loves that I am not bugging him). My husband drives the bi-polar opposite, a Chevy SSR, it is loud and drives like a beast. It is fun but I am into a quiet smooth ride with the convenience of sitting up high for visibility.
I am now looking for replacement tires. The Michelin Energy mxv4s8 tires are done. The Michelin website said this tire has a 6 year warranty. I got 19 months out of them. I haven't seen the Japanese brand (mentioned in the forums) at our local stores. Are they a smoother, quieter ride compared to the original michelins? The mxv4s8 are around $218 each. Is the japanese one much more?
