u/TOPEC

Doing some research on possibly buying a 5th gen RX350 gas or RX500h, any current owners can chime in on some questions I have? A lil bit of a back story, my 2016 BMW X5 may get totaled by insurance due to a recent accident, so I am looking at possibly purchasing a new RX, weather it be a 350 gas or 500h, I still havnt decided yet. Coming from a BMW with a sporty and somewhat harsh ride, I know the Lexus will be a lot more plush in comparison, reviewers call it "Lexus sporty", even with the adaptive variable suspension option, it will probably not be as sporty as the BMW is. I guess I am getting old and is willing to trade handling for a more plush ride. Anyways, here are the questions.

1. How is the gas millage for the 350 vs 500h? Currently my X5 gets around 450KM/280mi a tank (70L/18gal), or 14.6L/100KM 16MPG. A mix of around 90city/10hwy driving. I believe even with the 350 gas, I would be saving gas compared to the X5.

2. How is the AWD system(s) in the snow WITH dedicated snow tires? I know the 350 will have a traditional AWD system with a physically connected front and rear axel, but is front biased, where as the 500h uses a electric motor in the rear axel.

3. Does the 500h have a selectable EV mode? I believe it does not as most reviewers do not mention this as a feature. I assume the car will automatically select hybrid or ev mode based on your driving style then?

4. Feature wise, are the triple beam LED headlights a must have option? Does the light output make any difference? If I go with regular headlights, are they LEDs or HIDs?

5. Just like the previous question, is the Mark Levison a must have as well? I guess audio will be a bit more subjective as everyone's hearing and taste in music is different.

I am trying to avoid the 350h and 450h+ as I really do not like CVTs and hybrid (nth against hybrids, I just dont like driving them), and they do not have the F-Sport goodies the 350/500h has. My first choice would be a 350, but the 500h performance is really tempting. If the 500h can be more gas efficient (I know the 500h is not meant to be gas saving, but it is still a hybrid after all) over time compared to the 350 (say 10 years of ownership), then the initial price difference will be worth it. If not, then the performance is really not as tempting when you factor in the price difference.

Got around a full day to spend in/around Squamish in the up coming week, any location suggestions for wildlife spotting/photographing? I know spotting wildlife is completely by luck, but am hoping to see some less common birds, or eagle/bear catching salmon? Is there salmon run yet arnd this time of the year?

So far, it seems like the Mamquam Spawning Channels, Squamish Estuary Trail, Squamish Spit & Estuary r the bigger places to go to. Any other suggestions I should look into?

A store close to me has a RF L Prime for cheap, advertised with "scratch on rear element/housing wear". I have not gone to the store to check how bad the scratch is, but I did try and ask for pictures of said damage and was replied with "damages on elements r difficult to capture", which leads me to believe the scratch is not that bad? Now I know damages to the rear element is a lot more detrimental to PQ than damages on the front element. How bad can it be if it is just a light coating scratch on the rear element, or a scratch that is not too deep/big, n would u buy it for cheap at less than half price new?

My many years old set of Edifier S330D 2.1 speakers r dying, I believe. The left audio is cutting out intermittently which requires me to turn off and on the speaker system to get audio back in the left channel (n ive also replaced the control knob once or twice already due to the switch wearing out which causes loud static turn turning on/off).

Anyone have any recommendations for a replacement that takes up similar footprint and does not hurt the wallet too much? I am no audiophile by any means but I do like my audio to be clean and clear, and a subwoofer is not a must as long as the satellites can produce decent bass. These speakers will be connected to a DAC/AMP via RCA cables which in turn is connected to a PC via USBC, PS5 via Optical, dual use.

Footprint/size is very important, as desk space is limited, and I prefer not to go with those stylish slim speaker that looks good but sounds like ur underwater, unless of course they are indeed good sounding.