Test Drive

4582 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by sg021, Jul 30, 2014

JasDmw

Discussion Starter · Jul 29, 2014 (Edited)

Well I just picked up a Reserve for a 24 hour test drive. Here in Canada they can't/don't do the dinner thing. Insurance regulations; if you go for dinner and get hammered then wreck the car, it's a bad thing. I can understand, I guess. Am also on the hook for fuel.

First impressions; pretty nice. Have only driven about 10 KM (6 miles) so far, so not much to say. However, did notice it is quite a bit more noisy than expected. Was on a 4 lane secondary road and did hear road noise. Surprised at that.

Next, turning radius is better than my Focus! The latter does have the handling pkg. with the 18" wheels and they put in a stop to prevent the tires rubbing at the extremes which makes the turn radius a lot more than one would expect.

So, I'll post here over the next day and let you all know how it goes.

BTW, the shipping hold was for a windshield issue. Don't know the details, but it sounds like southern climes saw windshield problems, likely due to heat.

Also, massage seats apparently will be a "late delivery" option. Would be interesting to see how that works.

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Luxocarnut

· #2 · Jul 29, 2014

Surprised to hear the noise issue but I've only had a short term test drive so far. I def noticed the wind noise was limited due to the type of glass used on the front windows and windshield.

Maybe it seemed quiet compared to my A4.

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Luxocarnut

· #3 · Jul 29, 2014

More to add.....is this a road you usually drive and could it be one that has a rougher surface? I know around here some of the older blacktop definitely generates a lot more noise than others.

One last thing as well that I think in general has happened over time is that the more an automaker manages to limit one source of noise (wind or road) the more you hear the other. Again my example is my Audi has just ok wind noise suppression so on the highway I mostly only hear the wind because it drowns out the road noise but at lower urban speeds I hear the road noise.

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JasDmw

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 29, 2014

I'm not on that particular road frequently, but the fact that there was noticeable road noise is an issue. The surface is fine; not new but no pot holes or the like. I'm noticing constant rumble, not thumping induced by joints/imperfections, etc. My Focus does that a lot too with the hard summer low profile performance tires which is diminished a lot with the 15" winter tires. So this might be another tire thing, although as you stated, they could have designed for it. I'll be on familiar roads on the drive home from the office tonight and can tell more then.

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JasDmw

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 30, 2014 (Edited)

So I'll be taking it back today. Overall impression, pretty nice. Will I buy one; not sure yet.

Highs; really smooth engine. Virtually no vibrations at idle. Only heard when pushed. Wife thought that was noisy, but I didn't think so. Lots of equipment. This one was the top of the line and listed at over $54,000.00 CDN. No torque steer at all, no turbo lag to notice. Seems like good power availability. Handles well in corners. Good size; fit in the garage in the spot where my Focus goes no issue. Center display is close at hand and a short reach.

Lows; gas hog! Although it's brand new (54KMs, about 30 miles when I picked it up) I averaged 11.4 L/100 KM or 20.4 MPG. I didn't push it overly hard and drove a mix of city/highway, maybe 50/50. For comparison my 6 year old Lexus RX does about the same! It's noisier than I thought it should be. Tire noise does intrude in the cabin at all speeds on all road surfaces. This one had Michelin tires. Power expires quickly when passing. Took it out on a road I know with substantial hills to test passing. I tried to do 2 cars and could only get by 1. Would have made both in our Lexus. Interior quality is nice, but still not up to the levels of the competitors. Did see some sharp molding flash on plastic bits and the hard surfaces of the gear selector buttons and that part of the dash were a little cheap looking. The steering wheel is shaped odd; kid of oval in cross section. Was difficult to hold comfortably. Seat coolers don't seem to cool the back, just the bottom. Sound system was ok; I'm not a blast the groves person, but it sounded a bit flat even after adjusting bass and treble. With the GPS display in the lower portion of the center dash, under the vents, that requires looking down quite a bit. Wife thought that would be an issue; requires looking away from the road.

So in all an OK vehicle. But for the price, it's going to be tough to pass on a Lexus RX at about the same price. Couple that with the entire buying/after sales experience which I know is much better at Lexus, that may tip the balance.

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sg021

· #6 · Jul 30, 2014

Thanks for the thorough write up. I've had an RX as a loaner for my wife's car a bunch of times so I'm somewhat familiar with it. For sound insulation and interior quality it's probably tough for the MKC to match an RX. Those tend to be its strong suits.

How'd you like the touchscreen compared to the Lexus joystick?

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JasDmw

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 30, 2014

sg021 said:
Thanks for the thorough write up. I've had an RX as a loaner for my wife's car a bunch of times so I'm somewhat familiar with it. For sound insulation and interior quality it's probably tough for the MKC to match an RX. Those tend to be its strong suits.

How'd you like the touchscreen compared to the Lexus joystick?

Our RX is a 2009; really old technology (circa 2004; even has a cassette player!) as in no joy stick. One of the reasons we are looking to replace it. So I really can't comment as I have no experience with that. However, am following the NX and apparently Lexus is doing away with the joy stick in favour of a touch pad in the next generation models. So that tells us maybe it's (joy stick) not the best solution either.

I have MFT in my Focus and am accustomed to that technology. I use mostly voice commands and don't need to touch the screen too often. Works well for me. Although the controls in the Lincoln are different. Focus has a "paddle" on the right for activating the voice system. Lincoln has a tinyish button in between others on that "pad" which is a bit hard too find at first without looking down, sort of defeating the purpose.

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MkcYYC

· #8 · Jul 30, 2014

MKC vs RX

sg021 said:
Thanks for the thorough write up. I've had an RX as a loaner for my wife's car a bunch of times so I'm somewhat familiar with it. For sound insulation and interior quality it's probably tough for the MKC to match an RX. Those tend to be its strong suits.

While I agree, a fully equipped RX costs $10k more and I personally like the styling of the MKC much more.

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JasDmw

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 30, 2014

Here' the rub; I'm pricing a 2015 RX 350 Sportdesign with the touring package and it's $53,999; without any serious haggling yet. That includes everything except GST (tax). No, it's not the top of the line, but it's close enough for me.

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sg021

· #10 · Jul 30, 2014

JasDmw said:
Our RX is a 2009; really old technology (circa 2004; even has a cassette player!) as in no joy stick. One of the reasons we are looking to replace it. So I really can't comment as I have no experience with that. However, am following the NX and apparently Lexus is doing away with the joy stick in favour of a touch pad in the next generation models. So that tells us maybe it's (joy stick) not the best solution either.

I have MFT in my Focus and am accustomed to that technology. I use mostly voice commands and don't need to touch the screen too often. Works well for me. Although the controls in the Lincoln are different. Focus has a "paddle" on the right for activating the voice system. Lincoln has a tinyish button in between others on that "pad" which is a bit hard too find at first without looking down, sort of defeating the purpose.

You are not missing much with not having the joystick IMO, I found it pretty difficult to use. For me personally I don't like the RX because the driving dynamics are so poor and it sits really high. It also feels like a much larger vehicle than it is, which my wife really didn't like. Supposedly the 2016 RX will be a bigger redesign (so maybe late spring '15?). I'd imagine the touch pad will get swapped in for the joystick among other transfers from the NX.

As Lexus goes I like the NX the best on paper. Hopefully I can get it as a loaner next spring. I have never used a vehicle with a touchscreen, which is why I am curious.

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sg021

· #11 · Jul 30, 2014

MkcYYC said:
sg021 said:

Thanks for the thorough write up. I've had an RX as a loaner for my wife's car a bunch of times so I'm somewhat familiar with it. For sound insulation and interior quality it's probably tough for the MKC to match an RX. Those tend to be its strong suits.

Click to expand...

While I agree, a fully equipped RX costs $10k more and I personally like the styling of the MKC much more.

Also they are really not the same class of vehicle, especially with the NX coming out. RX is a little expensive for the CUV segment, but pretty cheap for the mid-size.

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