Finally had a chance to take the LX for an extended drive. Drove about 200 miles.

Good:
1) Car is very comfortable, especially when setting the variable suspension to Comfy or even Normal. Quiet, plush and smooth. Sport setting seems to make handling a little more performance oriented.

2) Car has got POWER. Straight line acceleration is very strong, from a stop and while moving. Very nice.


Not so great:
1) 12mpg?

2) I probably need to just get used to it more but curve handling on the highway is a little butt puckering unless I keep it under the limit. And especially when using the softer suspension settings. I'm not sure what's typical for these kinds of cars but it's definitely not a comfortable feeling taking turns. I looked up rollover risk and this car didn't seem to get mentioned. GM/Jeep were mentioned. Surprisingly, even the T4R was mentioned as a high risk. The 2017 LX was actually rated pretty highly as not risky. Still, I'm not yet comfortable with the car on turns. Good thing -- my old GS seems to ride like on rails after driving the LX.

I see a lot of people in big SUV's and trucks take curves at relatively high speeds. I thought that having the 285/50/20 on the LX would be more capable than what I'm feeling. Maybe add a couple of psi to the tires? Check on the anti-sway bar bushings (worn? replace with PU?)? Stiffer bar? Or maybe it can handle more than what I'm comfortable with? It just feels like it's on the verge of kicking out the backend or rolling over, even though I'm doing the limit at most.

Overall, I think this is going to be good for trips. Very comfortable. Just need to keep the speed down.

Oh, and I think the rear corner sensors are not working. I'll need to research troubleshooting and fixing. The rear and front sensors seem to work okay. Not critical with the mirrors and the cameras.

What makes you think it's on the verge of breaking loose or rolling over?

Is it just body lean?

Any SUV is going to have a lot more body lean than a sporty car.

Any vehicle with as little suspension travel and as stiff a suspension as a sporty car would beat you to death on an unpaved road, much less off road.

You may just need to get used to leaning into the curves.
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Yea. It's probably okay but seems to lean a lot, at least more than I'm used to with the GS. It's probably just me and needing to get used to it. But it does seem to understeer more and lean more than I'm used to.

Most of the newer late model SUV.s have dynamic stability control, which like on a Volvo will prevent you from rolling over. It will apply brakes, adjust throttle, adjust the suspension, etc. if it detects any imbalance. Now remind you it will not prevent any Duke's of Hazzard type driving accidents. God Bless

It could also be tire roll.

I don't know how your car handles, but when I started driving my Ford Escape I was a little skittish on high speed freeway curves.

I got used to it and now I don't even notice the lean.

I went from a convertible to a SUV so I know what your feeling.

Ok. Yea, I've gone from MR2 to 300zx to the GS (w/ aftermarket suspension). So the SUV thing is new to me. Just need some acclimation I guess.

The 12 mpg is a trade off for driving a (basically) Toyota tank. Sorry...

The roll can be addressed with suspension adjustments, but remember that ride quality is sometimes inverse to suspension stiffness, so if it corners like a Bimmer, it'll probably take a pothole like a Bimmer also.

Don't have that problem in my SUV - Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT running Hankook Ventus ST 295/45VR 20 summer performance tires...

The govt-published "rollover risk" is not at all based on reality or statistics. It's just a width by height calculation. Don't let that worry you.

I guess I've gotten used to the feel after 25 years driving full size GM SUVs I take curves at the posted speed and haven't rolled one yet.

My first SUV was a 1978 Ford Bronco I drove it at some extreme angles at speed, never rolled it. Drove it over dunes at the beach, no problems. Now on the dunes I did let Air pressure down and when driving on blacktop I kept my tires at maximum inflation. Sure there was some lean, that's the nature of the beast. I also had a 1990 Bronco, Eddie bower it was a more of a luxury SUV and the suspension was some what softer (plus the 1978 had quad front shocks)

My Tundra crewmaxx has a lot more lean than the F150 it replaced. Took awhile to get used to it.

"Not so great" Sounds like #2 might be driver related and part of the reason for #1.

Did some reading.


Question: how do I determine what software versions are currently installed and what versions are available (and what changes are included)?

For example, one model had an update to improve the VSC behavior.

Is this something that is automatically checked when you bring in a car for dealer servicing? Or do you have to request it? Can any shop check?

MHO- for what it's worth...

I've driven many miles in many vehicles, from Porsche to lumber truck...

If you're experiencing 12 mpg, understeer, and serious lean...
You're overdriving your ride.

Stability control shouldn't even be felt/ needed unless avoiding an accident or such, and even then, I find mine to kick in after I've already noticed and begun correction (making the vehicle even less stable once the computer starts messing with me).

You will never see great mileage with that much weight and size of truck, but I'd think 14-15 should be easily attainable. I get that with a crew cab pickup with heavy tires.

Take it a little slower in the corners. If your tires show feathering, especially on the outer corners, it's likely a speed entering manuevers issue.

Altering one's driving style is difficult when you are used to riding with a center of gravity 12-18" lower for sure.

The 12mpg had a . Not too worried about that as I've been expecting something along those lines and this particular trip had some elevation gain so not too surprising at the dismal number. And yes, I probably over drove it a bit too just to test out incline acceleration.

I'm mostly worried about this kind of stuff since they don't seem to be testing at high speeds. On the other hand, there is a clip with an LX drifting so that's not bad either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHbn8-ROiQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaYFLb8WMGM


But it's the Hilux video that has me wondering if there is an update to ECU software that I should apply. And the Jeep clip makes me wonder if I should: 1) put 2-3 extra psi in my tires, 2) apply some negative camber as I'm used too in my sedans (bad thing for SUV? for AHC?).

I can control my speed. I'll get used to the car and know its limits over time. I a little worried about my wife where she doesn't judge speed and curves as well. So, getting a little safety headroom wouldn't be a bad thing.

While they're only going about 40 mph in those videos, they are also making VERY hard, abrupt turns. The middle turn looks about like taking an inside lane to inside lane right turn on a two-lane-per-direction city street.

Not only are the turns tighter than you would find on a highway, going from a hard left to a hard right to a hard left makes it worse - starting a hard right turn while the car is leaning far to the right (because you just finished a hard left) makes the suspension accelerate the roll to left until the car is level. Instead of going into the right turn in a neutral position, the car is going into the right turn with the car already rolling left pretty fast.

Pretty sure your tires would squeal well before any risk of a rollover.