Topic: Replacing 2002 CRV with?

[Ex-airbalancer]

Any thoughts on how effective the birds-eye view all around cameras are for parking?

Probably ok , until the sensors die   
Ask sailor, mechanical his ML was good it was sensors that were

[sailor723]

Any thoughts on how effective the birds-eye view all around cameras are for parking?

I had the bird's eye thing (briefly) on my X3. I probably would have gotten better at it but I found it difficult to match steering and throttle inputs to what was happening on the screen. I imagine at least part of the problem is I don't play video games. 
It is helpful to getting your bumper close to the car in front or behind when parallel parking in a tight spot.
 

[dirtyjeffer]

Any thoughts on how effective the birds-eye view all around cameras are for parking?

i wouldn't use it to actually "park" in the space, but to simply keep an eye on how close to things you are...in essence, you still need the park the vehicle yourself, it just helps keep an eye on how close to the surrounding objects/lines you are.

[PJungnitsch]

Did some more test driving last night. First, a 2015 RX350 w/forty some thousand km, pretty much exactly like this one that was in the showroom:





Drove very smooth. Nice solid feel on the road. Not super quiet though.

Gorgeous interior, thick quality seats

Priced about the same as new mid level CRV

Since the Lexus warranty is a bit longer at 4 yrs/80,000 comprehensive, 6/110,000 drivetrain, still a reasonable amount left.

Noticeably wider feeling than the CRV sitting still, but drives small, if that makes any sense. Drive small, not park small.

Quite a bit of chipping on the hood, something we've notices on many used RX, even with low km. The plastic film seems like a really good idea on these, but not much to be done on a used one.

Oil changes $80.00 w/manicure and pedicure etc included, wife impressed. They claimed very low maintenance costs overall, not much above Toyota

Would use some extra fuel, but not outrageously so, ie highway:

[ArticSteve]

Resale KING

[PJungnitsch]

Then a 2017 Rav4 Limited Hybrid:





Torquey feel to it I didn't expect, the electric seems to fill the gaps in the gas engines power curve.

Not as 'luxury' a feel, but more nimble and agile than the RX, better view.

Still quite quiet, general solid feel to the car, including the doors. Some of the Lexus DNA bled over.

Many more features than that level/year of basic RX, ie heated steering, NAV, and all the latest safeties, including blind spot, radar cruise, rear cross traffic, etc. Tried out the lane keeping feature, seemed to work well at bringing the car back between the lines (surprisingly gently).

Tried out the birds eye view camera in the parking lot. Could see it would take a bit of practice but could be helpful, with clever guidance lines.

Conclusion, very nice, but expensive, bumping up and over 40 grand. Would be great if the useful features could be gotten without the top of the line trim. Don't really need the Softex seating, sunroof, power hatch, etc.

Hybrid seems like a great idea in the top trim, only a grand extra, but adds a lot more to a bottom trim level, more like five. And not a lot at the dealers to pick from.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Here a nice one
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Lexus/RX/Edmonton/Alberta/5_33596937_20044278927706/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=16_15_46

Lexus of Edmonton has some nice deals

[johngenx]

I think that 450h was over $80K new. Ultra Premium was $$$$. That's a great vehicle.

[Ex-airbalancer]

I think that 450h was over $80K new. Ultra Premium was $$$$. That's a great vehicle.

You should get that for your wife , it would be great to travel in once she is retired

[PJungnitsch]

Heh, the first one we looked at. She doesn't like the color inside (cream), outside (dark, dark brown), and the drivers seat bolster has a surprising amount of wear, which was odd (very large man? woman in sparkly jeans? large man in sparkly jeans?). No maintenance records either, and it is out of comprehensive warranty.

[Serniter]

Heh, the first one we looked at. She doesn't like the color inside (cream), outside (dark, dark brown), and the drivers seat bolster has a surprising amount of wear, which was odd (very large man? woman in sparkly jeans? large man in sparkly jeans?). No maintenance records either, and it is out of comprehensive warranty.

When shopping for a CPO Lexus (IS/ES), I noticed worn seat bolsters in a number of cars.

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah, might not mean anything. But it was quite a bit more than the usual we've seen so far. Gives a bad impression of the overall vehicle.

Was looking into the Softex stuff the Rav4 Limited comes with, and it was mentioned that is one reason industry is going to the artificial leathers

How well is Softex regarded? The wife said 'Oh great, vinyl seats' when I told her the Rav4 was not actual leather.

[Serniter]

I'm happy with the material in the ES, which I assume is the same as Softex. In comparison to leather, it has a slight matte finish and is soft to touch (more like rubber than vinyl). Looks fine to me. A key advantage would be maintenance requirements. Leather needs to be cleaned and conditioned yearly. For this material, I expect a wipe with dilute soap solution should be sufficient. Not sure how well Softex will wear, but Leatherette material in my Passat showed zero wear after two years and 45,000 kms. Also, thanks to the soft, matte finish, the seats grip well. Comfort is fine. In any case, Softex/Nuluxe doesn't feel like the vinyl we had in cars a long time ago.

[Serniter]

http://articles.sae.org/11983/

[Ex-airbalancer]

65,000 km on driver side RX

[Ex-airbalancer]

The RX has heating strips in the windshield where the wipes sit

[tortoise]

Would leather conditioner bring some life back into that?

[Ex-airbalancer]

65,000 km on driver side RX

135,000 on the Chevy pickup

[PJungnitsch]

Tried out my brother in law's Venza on the weekend. He was shopping for a Rav4 originally last winter, got the Venza instead for basically the same price. Very happy with it, finds it a great highway cruiser.

Found it a nice stable drive as it is just as wide but lower than an RX, with the same silky smooth V6. Great on gravel and highways which is important for them being where they are in the country. More durable leather throughout, and the dual panoramic sunroofs really open up the interior. He loves the auto climate control. Played around with the text to speech function, tried out the texting swears thing I learned here, we all found that hilarious.

Sat in my brothers new F350 powerstroke crew cab one ton. Beautiful Lexus-type perforated leather interior, dual panoramic sunroofs, gorgeous truck. Has 440 hp, 940 lbs torque, pulls like a train apparently. Somewhat out of my price range!

I'm leaning towards the Rav4 hybrid for parkability, mileage, the latest safety stuff, and the hybrid thing, but the wife seems to be settling on a RX350, because Lexus.

[dirtyjeffer]

I'm leaning towards the Rav4 hybrid for parkability, mileage, the latest safety stuff, and the hybrid thing, but the wife seems to be settling on a RX350, because Lexus.

they make a hybrid Lexus RX if you want the best of both worlds.