UCFdude

iTrader: (1)

I didn't look at the 450h because i knew what i wanted. I want a V8 with the reliability from Lexus.
I don't care how well the married between the hybrid system and the 3.5L in the 450h, it will never beat the naturally aspirated power of V8. Sure you might be quicker but how many of you will feel that thousand of a second difference?

I'm average about 24 with 70% city and 30% highway,
If I wanted MPG, I would have buy a Prius, it is the same reason I think hybrid performance cars are a joke.

Maybe i'm old school but that's just me. You can't replicate a sound of a V8

dapimpee

My friend works for Lexus and he says that he hasn't seen anything Lexus H comes in for the hybrid system issue before 200k miles.

49erGS460

Owned a 2010 GS350 and the V6 didn't cut it for me, but I loved the styling and everything about the 3GS. Went to test drive a GS450h and as a Prius owner, the Hybrid system was definitely performance tuned! However, just didn't have that feel I was looking for. Fortunately a 460 popped up in my area and I went just to test drive and see how it felt.. Well, my decision was made up right then and there.. The V8 is everything and more than what I could ask for. And averaged 25 MPG on the way home driving 80..

SC4Hundred

Close minded, not a hybrid person unless if I want a carpool lane sticker in LA which I don't need at this time.

Schmexus

I just stay away from the h for fear of the damn battery going out and costing me a ridiculous amount of money to replace. My personal preference is a gas motor which I'm perfectly capable of working on.

XxGoKoUxX

I HAVE driven the 450h, couldn't for the life of me get past 24mpgs. I drive like a grandpa, FOR SURE! I can't ever figure out the driving habits of the damn thing to get more than 24 mpgs highway+city combined. I get about the same mileage on the 430 I have. I voted 460 and would vouch for it over and over in the fact that it gets SUCH great mileage for a v8. I've driven a LS460 on 22s for a week, and I avg'd 24mpgs EASILY. I enjoyed it, even for a bigger heavier car, it got great gas mileage, and like I told UCFdude, the car performs great on the side also!

h vs 460, I think the h outperforms the 460 a bit last I checked. Even the dealership has told me the same thing. Then again you can't trust the dealership when they don't own and track the car.

People say the 460's faster, I'm sure it is HP-wise, but there's the fact of CVT+the TQ ratings of the hybrid that come into factor.

If someone could finally verify this and put peace of mind through my head, I'd love to see a video of a 450h vs. a 460. To put this debate to rest .

You can't deny the 450h isn't fast for what it is though.... You just expect it to bounce off that redline and upshift... I know I expected that a few times on the 450h I drove for a week.... I didn't enjoy it too much as the car felt like I needed to give it GAS to keep it in gear and cruise.... That was probably the sole reason why I barely got past 24mpg.... Giving me a bad opinion on the car.

FWIW I drove an 07 450h, and while people say it's great on gas, I didn't find it to go past the .1-.2 mi in stop and go before engine reengaged. This same 450h has been in service for almost $15k in repairs, all in Lexus' hands.... I believe some system for the hybrid that helps it regenerate power had to be replaced, which was 10k all in itself, and a battery bank was replaced for $5kish.... Luckily this was all under warranty and he recommends against a hybrid to me, from his ownership.

Other 450h owners can chime in against me, but from my perspective, it's just not worth the headache , OP DID say he wanted the car to last a long while.

Nice, I'm sure if you took it easier you'd avg 27-28 on a long drive to Mia LOL! I avg 26mpg on my 430, on the 6-sp transmission. Drive was from Orl to Mia (4hrs) and I whomped the gas everytime I accel'd to speed.

Can't call him close minded if we state our opinions too though, everyone's entitled to one, and like you, he likes the H more than the 460.

If the H system was really really bulletproof, parts were cheap as hell, I'd be all for it! Just for now, battery technology, and hybrid technology only allows us to pay a premium to get by on parts.

Agreed, LOL! the H battery for the GS is 15 years or 150k last I checked though, isn't it?

Majek

I just drove about 345 miles and averaged 30.1mpg on my 07 450h. It was mostly highway driving and with lower temps of about 40F. If it was summer time or a warm climate like in Florida, I would have got closer to 33mpg on this same trip. You really see the advantages of the 450h fuel economy in highway driving, city not as much.

I think the 450h you had been driving had issues specific to that vehicle. I talked to a Lexus hybrid specialist technician and he told me he only knows of 3 GS450hs that had batteries replaced since 2007 in all of Ontario, with 1 of them having an unknown service history. He said the hybrid components are the same as the Toyota Prius and that I should rather focus on the traditional engine components that would fail before the hybrid components.

BinaryJay

We don't have to drive very much at all so I don't really care about fuel economy and would get the V8 any day. There are just too many extra doodads on hybrids to *eventually* break... they have all the same complexity as a regular combustion car + tons of extra **** so there is no way in the long term for them to be as reliable.

Remember that hybrids do pretty much nothing for fuel economy when cruising. In my case since it's mostly short city type trips it would probably be much much better than the V8 in fuel economy but overall I think it would end up costing more to own in the end.

Majek

If you're going to think like that, a base Corolla has less extra **** than any Lexus vehicle. Does that mean there is no way a Lexus will be as reliable as a Corolla in the long term?

Can you get 30-33mpg cruising on your 350 like I can, even though my 450h is significantly heavier? I guess being hybrid has nothing to do with it If I recall, in one earlier post by you, you were complaining about how you can't wait until these dino oil cars go extinct and replaced with all electric parts vehicles (think: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/8160923-post9.html)

jet460

I recently had a 2013 450h loaner and my 2008 GS460 is way my powerful and responsive. If the 450h is quicker, someone would have to prove it to me. I would be willing to line up against any 450h. I do not have any mods and I believe my car would out perform all of them.

460 hands down. As far as MPG, I drive from ATL to CLT about 4 times a year to visit my mom and I average 29-31 miles going 75-90mph.

BinaryJay

Sure if the corolla was the same except it lacked AFS, motorized sun shades, etc. etc. those extra things are all things that can't break down because they don't exist.

A hybrid can only save fuel for as long as the charge in the battery lasts, are you saying that you can cruise down a highway indefinitely and the battery can somehow magically provide infinite amounts of power from the ether? Once the battery is out of extra juice, if you're not doing anything to passively regenerate the battery it is using gasoline for everything.

And yes, I can't wait for internal combustion cars to go away. If I was asked if I would rather have a Hybrid, a V8 internal combustion or an electric GS I would take the electric. There is a big difference between an electric vehicle and a hybrid... the hybrid has all of the problems of an internal combustion drivetrain + all the problems of an electric drivetrain... it would be statistically impossible for it to be as reliable as an all electric or all combusion car, it has twice the amount of things to go wrong. I don't even know how you can fail to see this.

What is more likely to go for a longer period with fewer things breaking... a mechanical watch, an electric watch, or a mechanical watch which can wind itself with a battery? I think most people would say the one that includes both the mechanical and electrical watch components has more points of failure.

TRD_Power

GS460 all the way. I absolutely love mine. Nothing more satisfying than blowing a WRX away while getting my rearend cooled and listening to jazz through the ML surround sound.

LexLeezard

2008 GS 460, not a 450h. This pic is from our trip from Edmonton to Calgary this past Sunday. Nasty, nasty, nasty conditions. Accidents everywhere, trucks and trailers in the ditch, time for what you might call "hyper-vigilance". White-out and solid ice from Wetaskawin to Airdrie, and an awful East wind plus endless blowing snow. Studded Hakkepelittas made all the difference in the world, even with RWD only and an open differential. How was the GS460 in these conditions? Fabulous. Best RWD I've ever owned. Cheers to all / LexLeezard

Stormforge

2013 GSh is 4th gen GS and uses a different hybrid system, specifically for better fuel economy. Therefore performance is worst than 3GSh. You need to compare a 2007-2012 GSh to your 08 GS460 in order to see the difference.

Stoodo

iTrader: (4)

The 450h is faster, regardless of whether you believe or not.