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I traded my Tesla for a Lexus
- Thread starter InternetDude
- Start date
Catbiscuits
Member
I was interested in the Polestars until I found out there were around 20 sold in this country last year. Bought a Model S and much happier than I could ever imagine being in a hybrid Polestar.
eyedrop
Member
Okay, I went and test drove the 2020 ES300H and RX Hybrids today and this is how it went:
Pulled into dealer, parking lot layout very similar to corporate Toyota. I walk around and everything is dark, metal, bronze, night type theme. Older frail seeming hunched gentleman asked what I was interested in, took a copy of my license and off we went.
First was the ES. Paint and final assembly looked very good, much better than the Volvo dealer I just visited. I turn on the car for air conditioning and the AC compressor was freakin quiet. Hopping in, the graphics look pleasing, layout is traditional. Lots of space taken by the tunnels of these gassers. Feels real solid and looks nice. Just old. Setting off, there is very little perceptible low frequency rumble. Noises from bumps are soaked up and muted. Suspension feels surprisingly firm but luxurious still. And the breaks feel really good honestly. Great feel and again surprising coming from a lexus. Around town this thing is a really nice ride. Using wide open throttle on the onramp, the thing was weaker than I expected. Felt like a "normal person" car with an average CVT. Punching it from 75MPH on the highway resulted in me looking at my wristwatch for 0.87 seconds before the power kicked in with the weird rubber band sensation. I surprisingly noticed a bit of wind noise in the typical A pillar area. And it was higher frequency, so more noticeable. The infotainment systems were generally frustrating to interact with and have a learning curve so I didnt bother spending much time, nor do I care as much nowadays.
RX Hybrid: First thing was the visibility was way better than ES, and much more practical obviously. The AC compressor was louder and it fired up the V6 right away and made the typical old school grumbling noise around the parking lot. With the ES, I honestly didnt even notice the EV to gas transitions until I drove the RX! A bit louder around town on the bumps. More floaty, less comfortable. I feel like a fun, rugged soccer mom. It actually felt a little quicker to 60 but just as unresponsive when you punch it. Less wind noise that the ES on the highway. I honestly dont see the appeal to the crossovers as they cant do any serious offroading, they drive like crap, and you pay more in fuel. With performance hatchbacks (such as Model S), you get a perfect balance of everything.
The salesman mentioned that they still certify models from 2014, under 80k miles, with 2 year unlimited mile warranties. The whole Lexus experience feels straightforward. He didn't pressure me to buy a car and it was really corporate/safe feeling, and products very conservative. I can see why they appeal to your average consumer who drives timidly or who just sees it as transportation and wants a premium build quality and dealership experience.
At the end of the day, I think I'll just wait until they come out with an EV, or atleast PHEV with some responsiveness. All the big autos are stuck with that old internal combustion crap or have bargain basement toy EV's. Really sucks ass when you have a 2014 Model S beta tester at 100k miles, just out of warranty, waiting to self destruct at any moment.
Pulled into dealer, parking lot layout very similar to corporate Toyota. I walk around and everything is dark, metal, bronze, night type theme. Older frail seeming hunched gentleman asked what I was interested in, took a copy of my license and off we went.
First was the ES. Paint and final assembly looked very good, much better than the Volvo dealer I just visited. I turn on the car for air conditioning and the AC compressor was freakin quiet. Hopping in, the graphics look pleasing, layout is traditional. Lots of space taken by the tunnels of these gassers. Feels real solid and looks nice. Just old. Setting off, there is very little perceptible low frequency rumble. Noises from bumps are soaked up and muted. Suspension feels surprisingly firm but luxurious still. And the breaks feel really good honestly. Great feel and again surprising coming from a lexus. Around town this thing is a really nice ride. Using wide open throttle on the onramp, the thing was weaker than I expected. Felt like a "normal person" car with an average CVT. Punching it from 75MPH on the highway resulted in me looking at my wristwatch for 0.87 seconds before the power kicked in with the weird rubber band sensation. I surprisingly noticed a bit of wind noise in the typical A pillar area. And it was higher frequency, so more noticeable. The infotainment systems were generally frustrating to interact with and have a learning curve so I didnt bother spending much time, nor do I care as much nowadays.
RX Hybrid: First thing was the visibility was way better than ES, and much more practical obviously. The AC compressor was louder and it fired up the V6 right away and made the typical old school grumbling noise around the parking lot. With the ES, I honestly didnt even notice the EV to gas transitions until I drove the RX! A bit louder around town on the bumps. More floaty, less comfortable. I feel like a fun, rugged soccer mom. It actually felt a little quicker to 60 but just as unresponsive when you punch it. Less wind noise that the ES on the highway. I honestly dont see the appeal to the crossovers as they cant do any serious offroading, they drive like crap, and you pay more in fuel. With performance hatchbacks (such as Model S), you get a perfect balance of everything.
The salesman mentioned that they still certify models from 2014, under 80k miles, with 2 year unlimited mile warranties. The whole Lexus experience feels straightforward. He didn't pressure me to buy a car and it was really corporate/safe feeling, and products very conservative. I can see why they appeal to your average consumer who drives timidly or who just sees it as transportation and wants a premium build quality and dealership experience.
At the end of the day, I think I'll just wait until they come out with an EV, or atleast PHEV with some responsiveness. All the big autos are stuck with that old internal combustion crap or have bargain basement toy EV's. Really sucks ass when you have a 2014 Model S beta tester at 100k miles, just out of warranty, waiting to self destruct at any moment.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
I've been severely disappointed by almost everyone's "Media / Inputs" since moving to the S. Tesla really nailed that aspect well. The screen is giant but not distracting, and all of the functions are easy to find without swamping you with buttons (so many damn buttons in a Macan, for example).
I don't like Tesla's fit, finish, and feel, though. For example, the Y runs the same price as a mid-grade Macan, and yet the Y *feels* like a base corolla on the inside. Tesla really needs to work on the interior luxury level of their cars - that's where they let themselves down IMO. The media controls are stellar compared to everyone else, but they feel very IKEA-ish on the inside.
I don't like Tesla's fit, finish, and feel, though. For example, the Y runs the same price as a mid-grade Macan, and yet the Y *feels* like a base corolla on the inside. Tesla really needs to work on the interior luxury level of their cars - that's where they let themselves down IMO. The media controls are stellar compared to everyone else, but they feel very IKEA-ish on the inside.
The media controls in the Model-S/X at least are a joke, so many complaints on here about USB media player not capable of basic things, Spotify barely functional and often not functional at all, no DAB... I have an S and I agree with all the complaints, the media side of things is probably the worst I've owned in any car.
Tesla are very lucky the powertrain engineers have done such a stellar job because there is really not much else they are doing better than even a $15K Kia.
Having said all that and when I get in the car and think...what will go wrong today? it is still the one I always drive.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
To each their own, I guess -- I think the controls for the S are just fine, and have never had any issues with Spotify or Streaming. Haven't tried USB player because this is 2020. So, my experience is the TOTAL opposite. I just experienced Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volvo, and Jaguar's media systems literally today, and found them to all be much more difficult to quickly learn than the S...and my car is MCU1.
With that said - I think they could very quickly solve the problems you describe if they would just stop releasing new firmware every 3 days to add stupid stuff like games and fart noises, so they can get a release that's actually stable and stick with it. Most other manufacturers that do OTA updates only release updates 2-3 times per year max, and it's minor things. Reliability > watching hbo on a 15" screen in my car.
I also totally agree on the interior quality. It sucks. I always say - Tesla is a Battery and Software company that just happens to make cars. The car isn't the priority - the technology is - and it shows.
Yeah 100% agree as do most of us with issues, so many little things need to be made rock solid reliable before new things in the toy box or enhancing games. Not sure who steers the ship in the software department but they need to have a bit of a read on here from time to time.
My guess is the easter eggs and games are side projects by the programmers, and not part of any funded project. Musk just gives his team some room to have some fun.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Elon is at the helm and he barely has one day a week to spend at Tesla HQ - he has no time to read TMC. The only way to get his attention is to get someone with the Twitter blue check and tons of followers to tweet him - that he reads.
whitex
Well-Known Member
I do think they have extra time. Most programmers are involved with testing in some capacity and they obviously don’t do that.
Congrats OP. I knew Tesla could not be trusted when they trashed our model S UI, to accommodate model 3 software, Then when they force downgraded me on to V9 from V8, after I refused to accept their downgrade, for possibly around a year I think, then add in batterygate and chargegate, I knew I would never buy another car, that the manufacturer could substantially change OTA. Then when I consider the BS they try to pull, like yellow screen, and ducking other warranty issues, I doubt I will buy another Tesla. Hopefully I can keep this one long enough for a better choice than Tesla to come along, otherwise I will have to go back to an ICE. I really like the looks of the LC 500, but it does seem they are now using their reputation for quality and service to push their pricing. I don't know anything else about the car other than I saw one and like the lines. I will see when the time comes.
Ciaopec
Active Member
I have 135000 miles on my 2016 D, out of warranty, but not really worried. Love it. Traded in a Lexus LS600hL for it. Boring car. My Lexus GS450h was a little more fun. Lexus/Toyota build great cars that will last forever. But that's a long time to miss out on the sheer excitement of pulling away from a light in a Tesla. Even if you don't press the accelerator .
We had an 2017 s550 and it was definitely more opulent. However, we really enjoy the ride and EV experience. My S seems to have few assembly flaws. Given what I’ve read when I picked it up in December we really looked it over very carefully and then were very attentive to it the first week in case we wanted to return it. Is it in the same level of luxury and build as my former s550 was? No but it has many other virtues and is itself comfortable and has a nice ride. No regrets here, we so enjoy not stopping for fuel except for long road trips.
I’m not going to knock anyone else’s choices though.
I’m not going to knock anyone else’s choices though.
jkoya
NA2 NSX
I'm with you on the LC 500 and think it is a great looking car. I really like the tail lights.
I test drove an LC500 twice (V8 and hybrid) when they first came out, really wanted to like it as I thought it was awesome looking and felt it was like having a Ferrari with Lexus dependability. I thought it handled well until I test drove a 911 next :-( Both trannies are mediocre. It's more show than go, though the V8 does sound sweet. The track pad way of interacting with the infotainment system is horrible. Plus the doors are huge and so far back to accommodate that rear seat that you can't park next to anyone.
Lexus geared up to sell 400 a month in the US. There's a reason they barely sell 100 now.
Lexus geared up to sell 400 a month in the US. There's a reason they barely sell 100 now.
