Lexus RX test drive since 2012 SUV

Dispute drive Audi Q5 or hypnotizing comfort Lexus RX350?

Two luxury stamps fight for the souls of premium customers. Does the soul get what he wants? Can comfort be opposed to controllability? With inexpensive models, everything is clear their manufacturers are trying to make the highest quality car with a minimum cost.


With the premium, everything is much more interesting: in order to force the sophisticated consumer to fork out, you have to climb out of leather, suede and alkanatra. Therefore, today we have two prestigious models: Audi Q5 and Lexus RX350. We are able to find out the desire to find out what is the luxury of each of them. Why do they take so much money for? And, of course, the main technical question: what is cooler?


Talents.
Audi definitely knows how to ride, and Lexus has a completely different talent he knows how to like it, and therefore is popular


The owners of these cars will not cut each other into pieces. They can exchange condescending, in extreme cases with destructive views

In acceleration to hundreds of Audi noticeably faster than 7.2 seconds against 8 in Lexus. The Japanese is 400 kg heavier, and his gearbox is more thoughtful, so even a larger motor and extra 66 horsepower do not save him. Three and a half liters and six RX350 cylinders reach a peak of power only when you spin the crankshaft already up to 6200 revolutions. And two liters and four Q5 cylinders give full contact already with 4300. The same picture and with a torque: Audi tears almost from idle, and Lexus begins to pull from 4700. But who is interested in acceleration at an average flow rate of 20 km/h? Let's discuss more important issues. For example, the fact that the secret movements of the soul have always forced me to ignore Audi. This brand is cold, stiff, serious always seemed to me alien and arrogant. A joint life with her seemed sad and therefore unhappy. But I always loved the Lexus RX350. I liked almost everything in him. Good appearance. A vigorous interior. Even a slippery tree on the steering wheel was perceived as a sweet whim. I admired how the amplifier is configured, even just twist the steering wheel is unusually pleasant. Only because of this I would have acquired RX to sit and rotate this wonderful bagel. The suspension settings conquered both the lulling settings, and how the manufacturer in taking care of security placed the multimedia screen deep in the front panel so that he did not glance, and as close as possible to the windshield, is available for lateral vision. Can anyone catch up with Lexus in a race to satisfy the client? Nothing prevents her from achieving success in this noble cause. Neither European traditions, which have forced the Germans for decades to hold on to unsuccessful technical solutions, nor American tightness and slowness that inhibit technological progress. Therefore, I immediately sat in Lexus to spend the first couple of days of dough in paradise.


Track races.
Severity and inertia make themselves felt


15 circles for a while.
The question is one: how does he do it?

Victory can be linden
Two paradise days ordered to live long, because we went to the Drive Land landfill to compare the Germans and the Japanese on the racing track. Here, my confidence in the unusualness of Mr. Raex was shaken. Fifteen circles on each car ended in a dumb question: how is Audi doing it? I will not say anything about Lexus. Ordinary car. Washing because of a high center of gravity. It is stupid due to ESP settings and an automatic box. No surprises. But Audi! Mystic. Compared to other German brands, this difference cannot be felt, but against the background of the Japanese Q5, there was turning with such ease, as if so soared in the air, and not rolled along the asphalt. The maximum speed of Audi on the track reached 154 km/h, and Lexus reached only 98. In other words, one rode, and the other simply stood. The difference is colossal. But the fortress of my love for Lexus has not yet collapsed. I did not take it without struggle. I decided to travel in the city, as usual: the victory on the track costs nothing if there are inconvenience in everyday use.

Rhinestones are not luxury
What is good Lexus if you do not take controllability? Excellent smoothness of the course, high -quality interior, large trunk and good for the SUV by cross -country ability. I decided to devote the remaining days of the test to the emotional qualities of these positive qualities of the RX350. But for some reason, he noticed only shortcomings. The interior of the Japanese in comparison with German turned out to be a wild and tasteless collection of poorly combined colors, textures and shapes. The intention to mow under premium with the help of the maximum amount of gloss and sparkles is too frankly. Here you have a sparkling polished steel, and matte plastic, and a smooth tree, coupled with all the colors of the rainbow on the speedometer, LCD screen and the front panel. As a result, it turned out not at all a suite, but a kiosk at the railway station with beads and playing cards.

Lexus, trying to entertain the client, dragged a little by little into the interior. Audi worked on the style. Two different worlds: casino and design studio


Devices with zero below


The buttons are organically inscribed in the interior

But the trunk is large, I thought and tried to push a medium -sized chair into it. And he stumbled upon some strange high podium, preventing him from accommodating a overall cargo here. It turned out that in order to shove a full -fledged spare wheel into the underput, the Japanese built a hump on the floor, and now it spoils the pleasure of cargo transportation. The Germans, on the contrary, blew out the spare tire, and the floor was lowered. And although the chair in Q5 will still not enter, the approach itself is already captivating.


The steering wheel shines like a railing in Hillton
Светлый салон это прекрасно, но невозможно


Бортовой компьютер просто подавляет интеллектом


Приборы напоминают неоновую вывеску

КОМФОРТ ОСНОВАН НА УПРАВЛЯЕМОСТИ
Еще одно преимущество японца плавность хода. Разъезжая по Москве днем и ночью, я старательно прислушивался к телесным ощущениям. Да, он определенно мягче немца. Жаль, что настройки RX350 хороши, пока едешь по прямой и не тормозишь. Во всех остальных случаях, при любых перестроениях, поворотах, разгоне и торможении комфортнее в Q5. Его кузов всегда стоит прямо, а значит, и водитель не напрягается. Потому что зачем елозить человеку, слившемуся со своим автомобилем?


- Мрачновато, но удобно. Места на втором ряду предостаточно.
- Задний ряд. Посередине подлокотник, похожий на гибрид пуфика с пудреницей

Остался один вопрос: проходимость. Мы выехали в поля, и японец сразу вырвался вперед. С его подвеской можно было ехать по пересеченной местности быстрее. Но когда дело дошло до засадных мест, Lexus потерялся. Его электронный мозг начал думать, и кроссовер из Страны восходящего солнца сел в лужу.

Audi поначалу трусливо подрагивал на кочках и шел в хвосте японца, но легко проехал по тому месту, где застрял RX350. Полный привод Q5 и электронные помощники работают отменно, что мы подметили еще на зимнем тесте в глубоких подмосковных сугробах. Только геометрическая проходимость Audi не столь хороша. Передний бампер постоянно цепляет, и дорожный просвет всего 180 мм. В этой дисциплине Lexus выигрывает. У него и свесы меньше, и база короче.


Диагональное вывешивание.
Электроника допускает возможность пробуксовки


Acrobatics.
Ходы подвески невелики, а вот геометрия превосходная

Пожалуй, у RX350 есть все для счастья. Но, как известно, большое количество удовольствия природа всегда чем-то уравновешивает. После праздника болит голова. Секс заканчивается общим истощением и свадьбой. А Lexus рано или поздно приводит к Audi, потому что в конечном счете автомобиль создан не для наслаждения, а для езды, и ездить Audi умеет гораздо лучше. Если тянет купить Lexus, закажите лучше хороший дорогой диван с мягкими подушками, можете даже поставить его в гараж.


Японские просторы. Здесь места побольше. Мешает только подиум над запаской


Во имя простора. Пол низкий за счет оптимизированной запаски



ОСТОРОЖНО, ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДРОБНОСТИ
Lexus RX350 a machine with refined comfort. So, the EPS steering electrical power not only helps easily maneuver and removes vibrations, but also saves fuel. Electronic control of all -wheel drive and brakes is aimed at achieving maximum safety. On the track, in acute moments of turning, smart brains strangled the car so much that it did not respond to control organs until all the tires entered a confident engagement with the road. But the actions of electronics absolutely do not provide, for example, the possibility of hanging on the ground ...

Audi Q5 is a driver. A skilled pilot will receive a real buzz from her. Reactions to the steering wheel, accelerator pedals and brakes are exactly what you expect from Audi. A comparison of two machines on the asphalt track revealed the absolute advantage of the German in the dynamics of acceleration and inhibition and in the ability to pass turns. The oak suspension on the off -road will shake your soul out of you, but it will preserve the trajectory and will never work until it stops. And the electronic assistants will not let you get stuck until the angles of patency, clearance and adhesive properties of tires will grab.

It is better not to drive both cars. Because the air intakes are brought forward just below the hood. And an attempt to force a deep puddle can end with a hydraulic boat.


Author: Dmitry Leontyev, photo of Alexander Ortnova-Baranov
 

Source: Magazine 4x4 [February /2012]