2001 design has been greatly improved, front and rear lights certainly look more pleasing, fuel tank has been enlarged to 75l/19.8 gallon, great sound insulation.

the car I bought is the 200hp European version , not the 220 hp US version,engine is smooth but not that powerful, Lexus ought to have given a more powerful 3l engine.No option for window blinds such as those embedded in the door panel of the latest LS430. Quite expensive, should have considered Toyota Harrier parallel imported version.Transmission should have 5 speeds and with E-shift.

Its a fine car.

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X5 ML320 GS300 E200

Build Quality superb. The real wood everywhere makes a difference. Nav system works well if in an area that is covered on the DVD.

CD Player, CD Player, CD Player. The engineers at Lexus for some unfathomable reason do not include an in-dash CD Player. To Play a CD you must stop the car, open the glove-box, remove the Pioneer 6-CD cartridge, remove the 6 separate little trays, place the new CD upside in one of the 6 trays, and ever so carefully reassemble the entire affair. In buying the car I thought I would just make do with this as a mere inconvenience, but, as one who loves music, burns his owns CD's, I find myself actually regretting the purchase of the car for this reason. Every other vehicle I am aware of, CD changer or not, puts a player in the dash. Couldn't Lexus have gouged me another $500 and put a player in the dash? Acura certainly did with their MDX. Moral of story: Before jumping into this otherwise nice SUV make sure you can live with this oversite.

I am too dissatisfied with the terrible ergonomics of the touch-screen controls that affect the A/C, Nav, Radio, Cassette, and CD player to recommend what mechanically seems like a very nice SUV. If I could back up 30 days or so I would have looked a bit further.

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None

Quiet Ride; Very smooth drivetrain; Excellent Navigation system; High quality feel; Drives like a car

This SUV drives and rides like a luxury automobile. The mileage is reasonable and the High Intensity headlights are awesome.

Not as much cargo space as other SUVs; AC controls are hard to manage;

Bought the car using the internet. Paid around $41,000 versus walk-ins at other dealers which asked close to sticker! SUV came loaded with:
* AWD and tow-hitch
* Navigation
* HID headlights and spoiler
* Heated seats and wood trim

This SUV is a great buy for the options you get. If you do not need the hauling capacity of an Expedition, get the RX300. Can't go wrong.

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Honda Accord 1999 EX; BMW 528i 1997 ** Overall the Lexus drives better than the Honda. Although the BMW is still superior in most respects, I find the Lexus comparable in noise levels and acceleration.

quiet/luxury ride, good handling, good gas economy, spacious

larger turning radius, wind/tire noise evident, sometimes feel it is soft on poor roads.

This is an awesome SUV. It has luxurious ride and very quiet. It can handle pretty well for an SUV. Though if handling is the main thing, you wouldnt want to buy an SUV or shell out and buy a X5. I did test drive X5, ML320, and this has the best ride. It is a bit smooth and soft, bcos it passes on road imperfections & for that kind of money you wouldnt expect it. Gas economy is excellent at 19mpg for 50/50 highway/city. It has enough space for 3 people at the back. Trunk space is very decent. Colors that they come in are also unique. Seats are very comfy. Turning radius is a little large & wind noise is evident but not annoying. I guess suvs are still being perfected by the engg/customer feedback cycles. I took it into the muir woods near San Francisco, and I was pleasently surprised at its handling and ride through really curvy mountain roads. But overall an excellent SUV for the money.

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ML320, Jeep Grand Cherooke

Great ride, very reliable, excellent stereo system. Very roomy for SUV.

Would like better gas mileage. Dislike buying Toyota products in SE region due to distributors monopolistic fees.

Very pleased, great for long trips and local convenience. Getting approx. 20 mph with AWD. No service issues.

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Previously had Toyota Previa (over 180K miles).

love the space in back seat great for traveling with our 8 year old
The ride is really smooth not truck like
The height is great for my back, really easy entry

What is that flip open tray on the left, cell phone doesn't fit, coins definitely do not fit.
It does the thump when 1 window down, 2 windows takes it away. design flaw
Could have larger gas tank, 16 gal needs to be 20.
The turning radius is awful/ the 2001 has made great strides in this area.
Lexus dealers still have difficulty selling off sticker

Ordered from CarOrder, they cut check to dealer for $1500. We absolutely love it and enjoyed a 2700 mile vacation with lots of legroom and great mileage. The car is loaded with every available option including AWD. We
have no intentions of going off-road so do not need a truck like suv but it sure comes in handy when going to rainy soccer fields and softball practice. We had an accident and lost our 2000 Acura 3.2 TL and are seriously considering becomming a 2 suv family. We would have no hesitations to purchase or lease and new RX 300. With the introduction of the MDX it now has some decent competition so maybe we will see price reductions. We have 17,000 miles on it and it has been trouble free.

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Test drove Nissan Pathfinder(my long legged spouse did not fit), Toyota 4 Runner (cost as much, drives like a truck),

nice interior feel, high up (like a SUV should be), usually a smooth ride.

sucks gas like it's water, poor turning capability, oh did i mention that the stupid thing surges!!!! i was trying to park the wretched thing into my garage and it surges up the ramp from an idle. it cost me a small fortune to get it fixed, and i refuse to let anyone in my family drive it....now i'm forced to sell it because the dealership won't admit any fault by the company. THIS SUV IS A DEATH TRAP!!!

if u missed it in the WEAKNESS section, THIS SUV SUCKS!!!! it's a DEATHTRAP ON WHEELS.

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Love It!! The exterior makes it the classiest looking SUV on the market today. The interior you have to see to believe. I have the 2001 Navigation Model. The navigation is pricey, but it has already got me out of a couple of jams and in my opinion has paid for itself already. The controls are well positioned and the dislay is a what makes this car stand out in a crowd.

Turning ratio, could be a little better, but overall not bad.
I understand that playing with the navigation system while driving is not a good idea and that is why you cannot access many of the features while the car is moving, but I think that should be left to the drivers common sense because as your driving and your lost, it would be nice for the passanger to find you the way home or access the other features.

I paid $40,000 for the 2001 Navigation, chrome wheels etc. Not a bad price for what you get. Luxury is definatly the word for driving this car. Such a smooth ride and much nicer to drive than the tank feel of the 4-runner. Definatly recommend this car.

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Smooth Ride
Very Comfortable
Great Looking
Toyota Reliability

I would like 17 or 18 inch wheels to give it a more agressive look.

I highly recommend this vehicle to those who want , reliability, sitting up higher than a sedan, a luxury car like ride, and do not want to drive a ship (i.e. Expedition, Excursion, Suburban,). It is the model that other SUVs are trying to follow. I test drove the BMW X5, Mercedes ML320, Toyota 4 Runners, and while they all are very nice, the Lexus is the most comfortable of the bunch and I love the center information screen. Is this vehicle inexpensive ? No, but it is a great value for what you get.

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Land Rover Disco II, Ford Explorer, Mercedes ML320

Ride
Comfort
Status
Sound system
Rear leg room

Turning circle
Passenger seat does not have heigh adjustment (driver's does!)

Got a good 42 month lease deal at $475/month (incl CA sales tax) with no- cap reduction, 12k miles/year. This is on a $39,600 approx. sticker (4WD, Luxury pack/leather, CD changer, rear spoiler)

I love how it drives. Control layout is excellent (Mercedes SUV controls bugged me, especially the cruise control stalk on the steering column). Great standard sound system which includes a sub woofer. Very comfortable drive & quite enough zip for city driving. Tremendous room in the back seat - with the front seats all the way back there is great leg room for adults in the back.

Of all the lux SUVs I drove, the Lexus has the feeling of a car and it's quiet and smooth - the Mercedes & Infiniti drove like a truck, the Jeep lacked the quality of interior.

So the one complaint is that the turning circle seems very poor for a car of this size (seeing it's built on a Camry chasis) - my wife's Pontiac Montana minivan has a much better turning radius. It's not a real big deal for me but if you have a tight driveway or garage you have to get into every day it could be a problem - if this is you, include driving to your house/office on the test drive & check it out! No-one else seems to have mentioned this in their reviews but other friends who have the RX300 have said the same thing.

Overall I'm really happy with the car

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Test drove Mercedes, Infiniti & Jeep
Did not test BMW (cause I think I would have wanted it instead, but what a price!)