New ride = Lexus RX400h

[jaaX3]

Hi gang! After only 7 months with our beloved X3, we bought a Lexus RX400h last week. We were going to trade the X3 but the dealer didn't want to give us as much as we thought the car was worth. So instead, the car is staying in the family and we are selling it to my wife's mother!

As for the 400h, it's a cool ride. We are gonna get a ton better gas mileage, it rides more comfortably, and it has a lot of nice standard equipment. The navigation system seems like it's almost light years ahead of BMW's system. It also came with a facotry back-up camera. We also got the rear seat entertainment system (that we have yet to use and might not get to use that much). Sure we will have kids in the next couple of years, so maybe that will come in handy soon. I've found a way to wire it so we can watch movies on the front passenger screen while driving, but that's against the law . We also got the Mark Levinson upgraded sound system (although it does sound good, it has only a lowly 210 watts). The in-dash 6-cd changer is convenient. There are so many nice amenities in the car.

What I don't understand is why the cd player won't play mp3's! As for the handling, sure it's good, but not nearly as good as the X3 (and why would it be). It also rides more smoothly, but you aren't as "connected" to the road as with the BMW. The X3 is more of a drivers car. What nice about the 400h is the power and transmission. Car and Driver tested the car at 6.9 secs for 0-60. It has a CVT which is smooth as silk and the power is ALWAYS there when needed, no wait for a downshift.

There are things that I really love, and I'm gonna miss, about the X3 but I'm happy with our purchase.

Anyways, I'll still be hanging around because the X3 won't be too far so I hope you'll all still have me.