Tesla Model X vs Lexus 450h

[Rapp]

But service sucks, no loaners for most of the time, only uber credits, weeks of wait time for parts and appointment. also make sure you test drive the one you are buying before you sign any paper works, you still have 7 days to return it, better just to make sure you are getting an issue free one, not all Tesla are build the same. I have a Sep. 2018 Model X long range, Love the Vehicle,.. but hate the service in chicagoland area, seems like they just hire people that don't care. my vehicle have been in and out over 20+ times.. and still have issues, mostly rattling, noise. every time when they fix something they end up breaking plastic trims/tabs, even the brand new parts that they replace is in worse shape than the original one that comes with the vehicle. very long story..

Not trying to tell you not to buy a Tesla, But let you know what you are getting in to before you buy one. I have read about issues. and expected them, before I place my order. If I could choose again. I would buy another Tesla. Because there is nothing else in the Market that could complete with a Tesla, Price, Tech, fast (torque), Range.

My next vehicle will be CyberTruck.

Thanks. Makes a lot of sense.

 

[Rapp]

If you think you only need a reliable and luxurious car, Tesla is not for you. That said



after a long enough test-drive you might decide that reliability or luxury are not all that important. Or not, only you can decide what's really important to you.

That's what I'm wrestling with. Letting go of my reliability expectations, while preparing o get into a totally new experience

 

[Rapp]

You said fortunately price difference isn’t a big issue...so get both: Model X for the tech and torque and RX450h for the reliability! Kidding aside, I have a GS350 and Model X. Both are amazing but the Lexus has been to service fewer times than the Tesla even being a 2013 vs 2016. Lexus maintenance is super easy and I do it all myself; the Tesla has no maintenance that I could do and I’ve taken it into service for a rusted steering rack, broken charge port, and failing 12V.

With the new MCU2 and HW3 computer in the Model X, I confidently feel the tech is better than the Lexus which I added in a unit for Apple CarPlay myself. Before, on MCU1 in the Tesla, the tech arguably wasn’t as much of an advantage.

Toyota and Lexus are rock solid reliable but they’ve got to be some of the most boring cars on the market. And we’ve had several over the years...

Tesla is just so much more enjoyable, despite the lesser quality and service experience.

The model x is a boat - suggest you test drive before deciding.

Agreed on "boring". I'm realizing Model X size is quite big. I'm looking for a comfortable 5 passenger car. MX is 4" wider and 5" longer than RX.

 

[Rapp]

I would recommend a careful test drive of the X. I just bought a MY and the noise and ride qualify are very disappointing, and people report the X being loud too. I don't know, but the main issue with the Tesla's are noise issues, which are very annoying. You'd want to really make sure you like it before buying would be my advice.

I noticed that too during my test drives.

 

[Rapp]

While motorized doors are good and all that, they are not be all end all of a luxury. Some people want extra comfortable seats, some want leather, some want a quiet ride,... In a Tesla you have no customization (Which is a big part of luxury too), you accept what they give you or not.

You still go to a gas station because superchargers don't have the windshield cleaning squeegees Don't forget that gas stations on a roadtrip are orders of magnitude more convenient due to their "recharging speed" and numbers. OTA is also a two way street that sometimes makes your car worse. Also others offer OTA nowadays too.

The Tesla ADAS is decent but again, the robust parts (BAP) are hardly unique and the not so robust parts are gimmicks that are mostly unusable today (e.g. the enhanced summon or the stupid NoA or the traffic light babysitting) and cost way more than the utility they provide so spending money on it is not super smart in my opinion.

I did find MX to be luxury-enough for me. While RX was plush and refined, MX looked quite simple and elegant and unique as well!

 

[Rapp]

Green’s evaluations and notes are more objective and covers the pros as well as the cons of Tesla vs other ICE cars.

I chance to say some of the other posters haven’t ever owned a Lexus and are speaking about ICE luxury cars in general. For example, on the argument of smoothness, note that the RX450h uses an eCVT with its electric motor so there is also “smooth acceleration without gear shift interruptions”. Lexus cars and suvs hardly have any major maintenance; some maintenance yes (oil change every 10K miles, air filter change every 30K miles, spark plugs every 120K miles on RX I think) so definitely not like the way the other posts make it sound where you are “in service all year long”. When you go to service at Lexus, there is no “waiting hours for oil change” or “must have someone pick you up”, you get loaner vehicles. Contrary, Tesla service is hit or miss - sometimes you get loaners, other times you get Uber credits which during the pandemic, I’ve always had to plan and scheduling around getting picked up by my wife in case the SC didn’t have loaners...

On performance: I'm not a performance driver, happy with 70 mph. I do like Auto Pilot and Self Driving option. These features are not only cool, could significantly reduce driving fatigue on long drives.

 

[CapeOne]

Have you considered trying out the smaller Model Y? It just recently had a $3k price reduction and is closer in price to the RX450h than the MX. You can "test out" the Tesla ownership experience by getting a MY LR with FSD for under $60k.

 

[gangzoom]

We've owned our Lexus IS300H in Premier spec since 2015 and our Model X since 2017, both bought new. I've also been loaned a RX450h a few times by our Lexus dealer to try and tempt me, and my sister in law just bought an CT200H.

The 'pro' of Lexus versus Tesla is pretty obvious, comparing the reliability of our IS300H versus our X is like looking at something built by high school kids versus one built by master craftsman at the top of their game.

You can guess which is which I dare say the sight of a barely 2 years old Tesla been towed from the driveway to a service centre is something quite common on this fourm but hardly ever heard of in the Lexus community..

BUT for me a car has to be about the overall ownership experience, not just reliability. Everyday I get into the drivers seat and am greeted by this view, the amazing windscreen, the amazing infotainment system, the fact my phone app even tells me how long the software update is going to take...

Versus this in the Lexus, a system and view that looks like its from 20 years in the past and will never change.

When you than factor in the ultrasmooth EV drivetrian of the X, minimal upkeep costs, and now Tesla offering to upgrade the main infotainment computer to the latest version (for a cost)/AP3 hardware, it really shows the different approach to Toyota and Tesla take.

One is ultraconservative, the other really pushes boundaries even if it often feels like the customer are beta testers.

We have done 46k miles in our X since 2017 and 24k miles in our Lexus since 2015, that I think tells you all you need to know which car we perfer to use in the family, regardless of reliability concerns. If forced to choose between the two it'll be bye bye Lexus in a heart beat .

 

[Rapp]

Have you considered trying out the smaller Model Y? It just recently had a $3k price reduction and is closer in price to the RX450h than the MX. You can "test out" the Tesla ownership experience by getting a MY LR with FSD for under $60k.

I did test drive a Model Y. Ride quality was quite bumpy and noisy as well as compared to Model X. Also, Model Y seemed tight for 5 adults.

 

[ColdWeatherEV]

I've never owned a Lexus, but I've owned several Audi's, Volvo's, Subaru's, and Mazda's. If you have driven both cars and still can't decide on which one is better, then buy the Lexus. When I bought our 2017 X100, I did so because I wanted to move on from gas cars and have a taste of the future. As corny as it sounds to many people, my decision to switch was not based on which option was the cheapest, most convenient, reliable, or luxurious. For me, making the switch made sense. Tesla's are by no means perfect, but I've had more fun driving this car than any other car I've owned. There are times when I wish the car had longer range (especially in the winter), had a bit more soundproofing (ours doesn't seem as quiet at highway speeds as other cars we have owned), and was less expensive to license and insure. If I could go back in time knowing what I know now, I wouldn't change my decision to buy the Tesla. Driving the Tesla makes me happy on so many levels and in the end, that is what matters the most to me.

 

[jboy210]

We lease 2 cars every 3 years and have done so for decades. We went through a Lexus phase (LX 470, SC 400, RX350....) and eventually found them nice, but with their own technical issues (multiple A/C failures, etc). But better than most other brands. Still they were just OK to drive, not really fun. So we went to a BMW phase. Over the years we have owned 8+ BMWs from 7,6,5,and 3 series sedans, to X3, X5 SUVs. They were much more fun, but had much lower reliability than the Lexus, including some $7,000 bills for turbo/wastegate replacements.

One a whim we decided to test drive a Tesla in 2018. Ended up ordering a Model X before we let the Service Center. So smooth, so fast. When we got it we had one complete failure that stranded me at the grocery store 4 days after we picked up the car. They ended up towing the car to the SC. The communications with them the SC was not good and it wasn't until 4 days later that they got around to looking at the car. The fix was a simple reset that required disconnecting and reconnecting a cable. I made sure when I picked up the car that they showed me how to do this. But, it has never reoccurred. In fact, since then the only other time I have gone back in was when I ran over a knife and needed a new tire.

In general the ownership experience with the X has been very good, but as a trained mechanic I don't often sweat the little stuff like minor squeaks and rattles. I have fixed 2 or 3 of these myself. There is some minor alignment issues with the Falcon Wing doors, but that is complex mechanism that closely tightly and does not leak so I prefer to not mess with. FWIW had similar issues with Lexus RX, except it also leaked so I fixed it.

Overall, we have really enjoyed the Teslas because they are fun to drive and have great tech. In fact, we dumped our last BMW in December and replaced it with a Model 3 LR. And when the lease is up next year on the Model X the decision when be, do we get a Model X or a Model Y.

 

[Rapp]

I've never owned a Lexus, but I've owned several Audi's, Volvo's, Subaru's, and Mazda's. If you have driven both cars and still can't decide on which one is better, then buy the Lexus. When I bought our 2017 X100, I did so because I wanted to move on from gas cars and have a taste of the future. As corny as it sounds to many people, my decision to switch was not based on which option was the cheapest, most convenient, reliable, or luxurious. For me, making the switch made sense. Tesla's are by no means perfect, but I've had more fun driving this car than any other car I've owned. There are times when I wish the car had longer range (especially in the winter), had a bit more soundproofing (ours doesn't seem as quiet at highway speeds as other cars we have owned), and was less expensive to license and insure. If I could go back in time knowing what I know now, I wouldn't change my decision to buy the Tesla. Driving the Tesla makes me happy on so many levels and in the end, that is what matters the most to me.

Thanks for your reply. Great photos. I agree with you assessment.

 

[Rapp]

We lease 2 cars every 3 years and have done so for decades. We went through a Lexus phase (LX 470, SC 400, RX350....) and eventually found them nice, but with their own technical issues (multiple A/C failures, etc). But better than most other brands. Still they were just OK to drive, not really fun. So we went to a BMW phase. Over the years we have owned 8+ BMWs from 7,6,5,and 3 series sedans, to X3, X5 SUVs. They were much more fun, but had much lower reliability than the Lexus, including some $7,000 bills for turbo/wastegate replacements.

One a whim we decided to test drive a Tesla in 2018. Ended up ordering a Model X before we let the Service Center. So smooth, so fast. When we got it we had one complete failure that stranded me at the grocery store 4 days after we picked up the car. They ended up towing the car to the SC. The communications with them the SC was not good and it wasn't until 4 days later that they got around to looking at the car. The fix was a simple reset that required disconnecting and reconnecting a cable. I made sure when I picked up the car that they showed me how to do this. But, it has never reoccurred. In fact, since then the only other time I have gone back in was when I ran over a knife and needed a new tire.

In general the ownership experience with the X has been very good, but as a trained mechanic I don't often sweat the little stuff like minor squeaks and rattles. I have fixed 2 or 3 of these myself. There is some minor alignment issues with the Falcon Wing doors, but that is complex mechanism that closely tightly and does not leak so I prefer to not mess with. FWIW had similar issues with Lexus RX, except it also leaked so I fixed it.

Overall, we have really enjoyed the Teslas because they are fun to drive and have great tech. In fact, we dumped our last BMW in December and replaced it with a Model 3 LR. And when the lease is up next year on the Model X the decision when be, do we get a Model X or a Model Y.

Thanks. Reading all the feedback for my post, I'm leaning toward Model X. I just need to reorient my thinking and expectations. Time to make a leap into the future from ICE. I'm 60 years old and perhaps perfect time to make this leap before it is too late!!

 

[Uncle Paul]

I also had similar anxiety as the OP when I bought my first X.

I was a Mercedes owner. Felt that Mercedes made some of the finest cars on the planet.

Wanted an X due to it's electric drive, lower running costs, no more trips to the service center for bi annual oil changes and maintenance.

Kept the Mercedes because the Tesla was a relatively new and unknown quantity.

6 Months later, after realizing that I had not driven the Mercedes even once during that time I made the decision to finally let it go and sold it. During that time, there was not even one situation where I would have prefered taking the Mercedes to the Tesla. It's time had come and gone.
Was hard to learn just how much the Mercedes had depreciated, but bit the bullet it it was gone.

To this day, every drive in the Tesla X has been an engaging and wonderful experience. Love getting frequent enhancements via OTA updates, not needing to go to icky gas stations any more, no more tune ups, oil changes, and the dreaded "service Engine B due" dash warnings.

Buying a Tesla continues to be a leap of faith, but more and more of us are doing it. Demand is still strong and over a million people have now made that leap...into the future.

 

[Ciaopec]

Hi all,

I've been a Lexus loyalist for almost 25 years ('96 ES, '01 RX, '03 LS, '10 LS, '12 RX, '16 GSF). I

<SNIP>

I'd appreciate any advice or criteria I can objectively apply. Thanks.

We have owned 5 Lexus vehicles since 2003. Several MB and BMWs before that.

Now own a 2016 MS (I like it because of the room) and it is far more efficient than the MX. Not suggesting for you but I would consider the MY because it loses the Falcon wing doors and it has the room and carrying capacity of the MS.

But to your question. My answer is: Happiness is my last Lexus in the rear view mirror. (Apologies and thanks to Mac Davis).

 

[jboy210]

Thanks. Reading all the feedback for my post, I'm leaning toward Model X. I just need to reorient my thinking and expectations. Time to make a leap into the future from ICE. I'm 60 years old and perhaps perfect time to make this leap before it is too late!!

I am a few year older than you and still looking forward to the Tesla Roadster. Age is just a number!!!

 

[Uncle Paul]

I understand as well. I used to buy one Grand Cherokee after another. Some of them were great...others terrible.
They offered a versitile and upscale choice, at reasonable pricing.

I am 72, and driving a Tesla Model X has made me feel young again! Also used to drive a Mercedes that just made me feel even older

 

[07e92]

While it’s not Lexus, I too can’t decide, so I keep both my 16 MB GL550 and 19 X LR for the mean time as each has its own characteristic, and transition between the 2 is easy because X has MB parts and X has similar operation(s) from MB such as press brake pedal to hold etc. X feels much faster and the convenience of no gas station trips while MB rides much comfortable and a lot quieter.

 

[av8tor]

I will just say that I now own 2 MXs - a 2016 and a 2020. My wife, who was a loyal Lexus owner (RX350h, RX400h, and a LS), said MX rides better, drives better, and no hassle of going to gas station or oil change or tune-up, or smog checks. So she convinced me to get the new 2020 MX...and my kids share my old 2015 Audi S7. I don't miss my Audi or Lexus cars at all. And I have not had any mechanical issues on either of MXs. Nuff said!

 

[SUP THO]

As a previous owner of a RX400h (and GS430 as well) I love the reliability of Lexus. In fact we test drove the 2020 RX hybrid and felt it was actually a lot roomier in the back and the interior was overall more comfortable.

Having just picked up a 2020 MX LR+ I’m going to recommend the Tesla. Getting the Lexus will be risk adverse and the car will be super reliable but you don’t wanna live your life wondering “what if” you got the Tesla.

Like others who have had issues, the front drive train on my X failed in its first month of ownership. I’m fortunate to live relatively close to a dealership and was happy with their customer service. I hear it’s been hit or miss.