i would get the recently discontinued Lexus TX 550h+
the 550h+ is a V6 plug in hybrid. after the 550h+ was discontinued all remaining versions are 4 cylinder.
the 550h+ used basically same drivetrain as 450h my parents have except the plus means it’s a plug in hybrid whereas my parents have a regular hybrid
the larger battery in plug in hybrid gives it more power thus 550 versus 450 - but the V6 is the same
Lexus downsized from V6 to 4 cylinder in the latest generation RX so the new one actually has less power than the older one my parents have … for a while they offered the TX ( which is made in USA and thus not subject to tariffs ) with the V6 but they dropped the only V6 model in the line up.
i really like the drivetrain in the RX450h that my parents have - i test drove several cars for them and it was the clear winner. but they no longer make that drivetrain because they decided you don’t deserve 6 cylinders anymore. the last car to get this drivetrain was TX550h+ which was discontinued middle of this year.
the problem is i just searched Edmunds and there are only two of them for sale in the entire country. A used 2026 and a used 2024.
and the funniest part is they are being sold for the same as BMW XM despite the XM originally being double the price. basically 2 year old TX550h+ costs the same as new one while two year old XM costs less than half of what new one cost.
this is the problem with used Lexus - they hold their value like crazy - so buying them used doesn’t really work that well. and it seems all the new TX550h+ have sold out.
i guess you missed the boat on that one… it makes no sense to pay new price for a used car even for a Lexus …
well, just get any new big Lexus or Toyota then.
their new turbo drivetrains ( at least the 3.5 liter turbo ) may be having issues though. i liked the old prius-based ones that had no gears but they are now using gears because retard customers demanded them.
i would also stay away from any Toyota or Lexus EVs because they aren’t known for the fastest charging performance or really for anything positive … at least not known to me.
Toyota is really the king of Hybrids … or was … but they decided to move away from their excellent hybrid synergy drive and towards the new “hybrid max” bullshit because customers wanted gears.
still, if money is a consideration get a new Toyota or Lexus. it’s going to last forever and hold its value. as i said some new ones are having issues but i doubt it can be as bad as BWM or VW. when in doubt ask AI - it knows which models are problematic.
i only mentioned German SUVs because they generally handle better than Toyota / Lexus but from perspective of safety Lexus is known to be very safe.
personally i would stay away from VolksWagen … they ride better than Japanese models but they don’t have enough power to be considered a driver’s car and reliability can’t compare to Toyota or Lexus.
Lexus RX still has the hybrid synergy drive but it isn’t made in USA ( Tariffs ) and it now has 4 cylinders instead of 6.
if i were you i would perhaps go to https://leasehackr.com/ and see which Toyota / Lexus have deals on them. although leasehackr is for leasing logically a car that has great lease deals probably has dealer discounts for buyers too. i would ask AI which models are made in USA ( those are likely to have better deals ). i would also ask AI about reliability of every particular model under consideration. then i would go to the dealer and test drive them all until you find something you can live with.
test drives are always surprising for me. the cars almost never feel like i expected them to. if the car isn’t noisy, isn’t clunky, isn’t wobbly, if the brakes feel good, if you can clearly see everything you need to see and feel comfortable in the seat - get it.
i would get a Lexus over BMW any day if i could find one that i can live with. but to me they always fall just a bit short in the test drive. however when i was picking a car for my parents it was instantly obvious to me that RX450h was perfect for them. it matched how my mother drives exactly. it had the exact same kind of lazy manner. when i made my mother drive the Genesis G70 Twin Turbo it just wasn’t working at all - it was great when i drove it - but horrible when my mother drove it - she never pressed the gas enough for turbos to spool up and her throttle application was so inconsistent that what would be responsiveness to me was just jerkiness when my mother drove - all those problems disappeared in the RX almost like magic. the G70 required understanding of how its drivetrain works in order to extract its massive potential whereas the RX had modest potential but always responded in exactly the way my mother wanted even though my mother didn’t even know what she wanted, but somehow the Lexus knew.
this is why you have to test drive the car yourself. you can’t rely on somebody else saying the car is great. it has to work for how YOU drive. Lexus tends to make cars for normal people. BMW used to make cars for enthusiasts but that has also changed. these things change all the time as automakers are trying to figure out how to appeal to new audience and so on.
this is why there is no substitute for test driving.
if you can get a big Lexus that doesn’t feel slow or sloppy TO YOU that’s a win.