watch37

I spent Christmas/New Year's break going on a 2,000 + trip to visit family and friends. The driving took place in southern states, so there wasn't any snow to contend with. Overall, a very pleasant drive. But as others have commented, Lexus needs to increase the size of the gas tank to reduce the number of pit stops. For some reason, my mpg during highway driving was lower on this trip than on prior trips. Was getting around 16-17 mpg, instead of 19 mpg. We had 4 carry-on sized suit cases and several gift packages, and I found that putting the 3rd row seats up (as opposed to folding them away) increased our storage space. I know it sounds strange, but with the 3rd row seats folded to the sides, it actually decreased our space. Also, I noticed that when the kids were getting out of the 3rd row, I had to stand next to the door to hold up the second row seats, to avoid them from falling back down and possibly slamming on my kids' feet. The other option was to pull the straps out from underneath the second row seat and hook the straps to the grab bars, but that's a real pain to do every time someone gets out of the 3rd row. I don't know why Lexus can't design the second row seats to fold up and stay up by themselves.

hypervish

The gas mileage being lower than usual was probably due to winter blend fuel and the air being dryer.

watch37

Hypervish - I hope that's the case! I got 19.3 mpg driving in October when the weather was warmer, so I was disappointed when I didn't get the same mpg this time around. That makes me feel better that it wasn't something about my driving that caused the lower mpg!

tkbalt

I routinely get 16-17 at highway speeds (75-80).

UZ214

i did an 2600 round trip, around Christmas time into new years- i had 3 kids..1 teenager and 2 adults - i have to agree on pretty much on what you said..middle of my trip i was trying to buy a cargo box for the rack because there was no space in the car- other than that it was a champ, i was driving about 80-90 mph mostly on highway and my mpg were about 18

watch37

Funny you should mention the cargo box, because I was thinking the same thing half-way through our trip. Actually, instead of a cargo box, I probably will end up buying one of those cargo carriers that attaches to the rear hitch. I would be nervous adding weight to the top of such a large SUV. Plus, maybe having the extra luggage on the back of the LX will not affect wind resistance as much as being on the roof, and thereby not further reducing the MPG.

UZ214

yup i actually looked into those, i use my rear tail gate..if that is what is called- that thing in the back the drop down quite often i have 2 and a 3 year old the hitch cargo boxes would come in the way...