Buying a used Lexus RX300
The Lexus RX 300 is now the world's top-selling sports utility vehicle. You certainly would be aware of its popularity if you were driving in the United States where the RX 300 has become an absolute best-seller. It has achieved this position because it has managed to ingratiate itself with the public as a lifestyle vehicle that makes no pretensions to being a true off-roader, but has that ever so slightly rugged look about it.
It has also managed to give the American original - the Jeep Cherokee - a run for its money, mainly because it carries that Lexus cachet, is known for build quality and reliability and it has a novelty value. It is true to say the RX 300 is more car than off-roader or even SUV. It has light steering, a precise automatic gearbox that is ideal for urban traffic and its engine is smooth, refined and forgiving. Thus the RX actually drives pretty much like its alter ego, the GS 300 saloon car. The RX is designed and engineered for city and motorway.
With a V6 petrol engine it was never destined for the farmyard or building site and yet the affluent suburbanites who seem to buy every second 4X4 these days don't seem to have taken it to their hearts as they have the BMW X5 or the Mercedes M-Class. It is hardly such a price-sensitive segment of the market, is it ? I doubt the lower towing range of the Lexus has much to do with it.
The RX has different trim levels so, for instance, it's worth noting that the entry level model does not have leather upholstery. However, the car itself has good standard equipment. The climate control, numerous air bags, touch-screen control panel and all the other items you would expect at this end of the market are all present.
Being a Lexus, the car comes with a pedigree second to none. Lexus has won numerous awards for its reliability and build quality and it consistently comes up trumps in the surveys that really matter, such as the JD Power consumer reports. There have been very limited and niggly problems with some 300 saloon models, but there have been no major recalls of the RX.
We do not have EuroNCAP crash test results for the RX - it may surprise you to know that the EuroNCAP tests do not cover all cars, only limited models in the various market segments. But again Lexus has made safety a big issue, and levels of active and passive safety are good on the RX, as they are throughout the range.
There are not all that many second-hand RXs around, and they are expensive. One garage has a 2001 Executive model with 38,000 on the clock and an asking price of €38,950, while another has a two-year old Executive model with 22,000 on the clock and an asking price of €57,000. Quite steep for a second-hand car.