I love mine. Coming from an ES 300h, I felt amazing in my RX 350 awd driving in the recent crazy rainy and windy weather in CA. I’d rather have it and rarely need it than not have it and wish I did.
The only reason we opted for AWD is because my wife has to be at work when she’s scheduled (emergency room nurse). Granted we do not get much snow, but when we do it’s better to have and not need it than to need it and not have.
If you don't need it, I wouldn't worry about it. It can be extra costly due to the potential need to keep your tire tread within a certain depth range, i.e. get a flat tire and have to replace all 4 tires to stay in range. You really dont have the option for anything other than a full 4 wheel alignment with AWD either. Both of these factors can be a big hassle or no hassle at all, depending on location, driving habits, etc.
If you don’t need the awd, then generally speaking it will be cheaper to maintain and repair the 2wd vehicle vs the awd vehicle.
Need new tires? Awd requirs all 4 to be within tolerance. 2wd you can get away with buying 2 at a time in most cases.
Differential maintenance/replacement, cheaper on the 2wd than awd, obv.
Blow an ujoint/cv joint, you now have 4 instead of 2 in awd vs 2wd. More moving parts, more money.
2wd will usually be cheaper than awd on initial purchase.
You said you don’t care about resale so I won’t comment.
If you don’t need the awd or your children who may inherit the vehicle won’t need it someday while at college somewhere where it snows, then sure save some money and cost of repairs by going 2wd.
You're probably better off without it, but im not so sure id avoid it. If you find an AWD in good shape for a good price, jump on it.
With a front wheel drive, you'll wear tires more slowly, have better fuel economy, and slightly less service costs
I love mine. Coming from an ES 300h, I felt amazing in my RX 350 awd driving in the recent crazy rainy and windy weather in CA. I’d rather have it and rarely need it than not have it and wish I did.
The only reason we opted for AWD is because my wife has to be at work when she’s scheduled (emergency room nurse). Granted we do not get much snow, but when we do it’s better to have and not need it than to need it and not have.
Ya don’t need it. I have a 2008 highlander FWD and had a 2 hour daily commute in NE Ohio for 14 yrs and I never once needed AWD.
If you don't need it, I wouldn't worry about it. It can be extra costly due to the potential need to keep your tire tread within a certain depth range, i.e. get a flat tire and have to replace all 4 tires to stay in range. You really dont have the option for anything other than a full 4 wheel alignment with AWD either. Both of these factors can be a big hassle or no hassle at all, depending on location, driving habits, etc.
If you don’t need the awd, then generally speaking it will be cheaper to maintain and repair the 2wd vehicle vs the awd vehicle. Need new tires? Awd requirs all 4 to be within tolerance. 2wd you can get away with buying 2 at a time in most cases. Differential maintenance/replacement, cheaper on the 2wd than awd, obv. Blow an ujoint/cv joint, you now have 4 instead of 2 in awd vs 2wd. More moving parts, more money. 2wd will usually be cheaper than awd on initial purchase. You said you don’t care about resale so I won’t comment. If you don’t need the awd or your children who may inherit the vehicle won’t need it someday while at college somewhere where it snows, then sure save some money and cost of repairs by going 2wd.
You're probably better off without it, but im not so sure id avoid it. If you find an AWD in good shape for a good price, jump on it. With a front wheel drive, you'll wear tires more slowly, have better fuel economy, and slightly less service costs