I drive a 2020 Tundra and I love it. Gas mileage sucks and the tech is old but the thing has 20K miles on it and it still seems rock solid. My wife drives a 2019 RX350 that I almost never drive. Now to be clear, my wife drives like an old grandma. Easy on the throttle, easy on the brakes, and mostly in-town driving which is free-flowing 35-45mph with very little stop and go. We almost always take my truck on trips but we went to NYC this weekend and figured the smaller RX350 would be easier. Her RX350 has 23K miles on it and it is meticulously maintained.
We get on the highway and I get up to 75mph and there is a shimmy in the steering wheel. Traffic is really moving and I pull into the passing lane and depress the throttle and transmission slams down from 8th to 6th gear with a big thunk. Now I'm doing 80mph and the steering wheel shimmy is getting worse. I have to apply the brakes and there is a very significant brake pedal pulsation that I didn't feel doing 45mph. The more I depress the brake pedal the worse the pulsing gets. I'm annoyed at this point. During the trip, the transmission slams into downshifts several times. Today I check the tires which are rotated every 5k and properly inflated and with 23K miles they are basically toast and will need to be replaced before winter. There is also a dashboard creak and several areas where you can hear plastic on plastic rubbing over bumps. The NY roads really beat the crap out of us and the suspension is harsh.
My impressions:
1. That 3.5L V-6 is one of the smoothest engines I've ever driven with a pretty decent growl when on the throttle.
2. The 8-speed transmission most of the time gives completely imperceptible upshifts but downshifts come with clunk/bang ~25% of the time. The transmission is also in a HUGE hurry to upshift as fast as possible and it affected driveability. I hate that stupid transmission.
3. I have nearly 4 bald tires with 23K and I'm assuming I have a warped rotor and a wheel out of balance. Really? You can not drive a car more gently than my wife drives it.
4. The suspension/20" wheels suck. Handling sucks with HUGE amounts of understeer and body roll while also exhibiting lots of harshness over bumps. Usually, if the suspension is too soft causing body roll it will at least absorb bumps but Toyota has managed to simultaneously dial-in overly soft/poor handling with a harsh ride.
5. The interior quality is not holding up and of course, the Infotainment is a nightmare.
6. My wife is not a car person and so she doesn't notice anything...ever...so I'm glad SHE drives it and not me. I REALLY HATE DRIVING THAT VEHICLE!
7. What DOES this vehicle do well?
8. Hopefully the major mechanical components will go the distance but there are definitely areas where it seems like Toyota dropped the ball.
We get on the highway and I get up to 75mph and there is a shimmy in the steering wheel. Traffic is really moving and I pull into the passing lane and depress the throttle and transmission slams down from 8th to 6th gear with a big thunk. Now I'm doing 80mph and the steering wheel shimmy is getting worse. I have to apply the brakes and there is a very significant brake pedal pulsation that I didn't feel doing 45mph. The more I depress the brake pedal the worse the pulsing gets. I'm annoyed at this point. During the trip, the transmission slams into downshifts several times. Today I check the tires which are rotated every 5k and properly inflated and with 23K miles they are basically toast and will need to be replaced before winter. There is also a dashboard creak and several areas where you can hear plastic on plastic rubbing over bumps. The NY roads really beat the crap out of us and the suspension is harsh.
My impressions:
1. That 3.5L V-6 is one of the smoothest engines I've ever driven with a pretty decent growl when on the throttle.
2. The 8-speed transmission most of the time gives completely imperceptible upshifts but downshifts come with clunk/bang ~25% of the time. The transmission is also in a HUGE hurry to upshift as fast as possible and it affected driveability. I hate that stupid transmission.
3. I have nearly 4 bald tires with 23K and I'm assuming I have a warped rotor and a wheel out of balance. Really? You can not drive a car more gently than my wife drives it.
4. The suspension/20" wheels suck. Handling sucks with HUGE amounts of understeer and body roll while also exhibiting lots of harshness over bumps. Usually, if the suspension is too soft causing body roll it will at least absorb bumps but Toyota has managed to simultaneously dial-in overly soft/poor handling with a harsh ride.
5. The interior quality is not holding up and of course, the Infotainment is a nightmare.
6. My wife is not a car person and so she doesn't notice anything...ever...so I'm glad SHE drives it and not me. I REALLY HATE DRIVING THAT VEHICLE!
7. What DOES this vehicle do well?
8. Hopefully the major mechanical components will go the distance but there are definitely areas where it seems like Toyota dropped the ball.
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