My First 2000 miles Road Trip on the 450h
02-21-12, 06:47 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
My First 2000 miles Road Trip on the 450h
I just got back from a 2000 miles road trip (sort of ), from Lincoln, NE to Houston, TX. I drove 12 hours 45 mins with 2 stops for gas/foods all by myself for a total of 899 miles 1-way. The RX is amazing for long drive. Here is the gas log
From Lincoln, NE to Wichita, KS - ave 24.9 mpg using 91 gas with speed ave of 73 mph (65-75 posted speed so I cruised from 70-80).
From Wichita, KS to Lewisville, TX ave 25.4 mpg using 91 gas with speed ave of 75 mph (70-75 posted speed so I cruised from 75-80).
From Lewisville, TX (just North of Dallas) to Hutchins, TX ( just outside of Dallas on the I-45) ave 32.4 mpg using 93 Exxon gas. It was noon time so I just went with the flow, mostly 50-60 mph. This set me off when I looked at the "Tank Average". My sister who owns a 3-series did not believe her eyes at all. We drove all the way to South Houston, TX (I-45 and Beltway 8) and the ave for this tank is an even 29 MPG.
We drove a total of about 200+ miles from South Houston to the Bellaire area taking the I-45 then Southwest Gulf-way or 59 in Heavy rainstorm and I still ave 31.9 mpg on 93 Citgo gas. We had lots of stop-n-go, up the ramps then braking, some crawling. I was bragging all along with my cousins about the mpg since they all have Excursion Diesel, GMC Denalli XL, Hummer H2, and GMC Sierra which ave about 15-18 mpg. It sucks when it rains in Houston and I now know why they want big vehicles.
On the way back is a total different story. From Houston to Gainsville, TX I averaged about 21.9 MPG. You read that right, 21.9 mpg using 93 Citgo gas. It was 3:00 AM so I cruised mostly at 80 mph. Also, we are going up hill all the time. The needle is always at the upper limit of the green area and in the power area for up hill climbing. From Gainsville, TX to Salina, KS I averaged about 24.8 mpg at about 75-80 mph. From Salina, KS to Lincoln NE I averaged 26.2 mpg at about 75-82 mph. We are not going up hill that much in this area since Kansas and NE are very much flat.
The Verdict: The RX450h AWD can get over 32 mpg in Stop-N-Go traffic (in heavy rainstorm as well). MPG will suffers tremendously when you go pass 70 mph, much much worst when you pass 80 mph.
One Note: My dad (who was on the trip with us) said that my 350 is faster than the 450h and he likes the 350 better, he test drove both vehicles. There are couple occasions in Houston when I have to pass other drivers to get to our right lanes. I was at about 45 mph and I floored it, I was so surprised that it got to 70-75 mph so fast. I meant sooooooooooooooooooo fassssssssssst. He then believes me that the 450h is faster than the 350.
From Lincoln, NE to Wichita, KS - ave 24.9 mpg using 91 gas with speed ave of 73 mph (65-75 posted speed so I cruised from 70-80).
From Wichita, KS to Lewisville, TX ave 25.4 mpg using 91 gas with speed ave of 75 mph (70-75 posted speed so I cruised from 75-80).
From Lewisville, TX (just North of Dallas) to Hutchins, TX ( just outside of Dallas on the I-45) ave 32.4 mpg using 93 Exxon gas. It was noon time so I just went with the flow, mostly 50-60 mph. This set me off when I looked at the "Tank Average". My sister who owns a 3-series did not believe her eyes at all. We drove all the way to South Houston, TX (I-45 and Beltway 8) and the ave for this tank is an even 29 MPG.
We drove a total of about 200+ miles from South Houston to the Bellaire area taking the I-45 then Southwest Gulf-way or 59 in Heavy rainstorm and I still ave 31.9 mpg on 93 Citgo gas. We had lots of stop-n-go, up the ramps then braking, some crawling. I was bragging all along with my cousins about the mpg since they all have Excursion Diesel, GMC Denalli XL, Hummer H2, and GMC Sierra which ave about 15-18 mpg. It sucks when it rains in Houston and I now know why they want big vehicles.
On the way back is a total different story. From Houston to Gainsville, TX I averaged about 21.9 MPG. You read that right, 21.9 mpg using 93 Citgo gas. It was 3:00 AM so I cruised mostly at 80 mph. Also, we are going up hill all the time. The needle is always at the upper limit of the green area and in the power area for up hill climbing. From Gainsville, TX to Salina, KS I averaged about 24.8 mpg at about 75-80 mph. From Salina, KS to Lincoln NE I averaged 26.2 mpg at about 75-82 mph. We are not going up hill that much in this area since Kansas and NE are very much flat.
The Verdict: The RX450h AWD can get over 32 mpg in Stop-N-Go traffic (in heavy rainstorm as well). MPG will suffers tremendously when you go pass 70 mph, much much worst when you pass 80 mph.
One Note: My dad (who was on the trip with us) said that my 350 is faster than the 450h and he likes the 350 better, he test drove both vehicles. There are couple occasions in Houston when I have to pass other drivers to get to our right lanes. I was at about 45 mph and I floored it, I was so surprised that it got to 70-75 mph so fast. I meant sooooooooooooooooooo fassssssssssst. He then believes me that the 450h is faster than the 350.
Last edited by GoHuskers; 02-21-12 at 06:52 AM.
02-21-12, 07:43 AM
#2
Moderator
Appreciate the stats, facts and trip log -- Very interesting. I'm sure this will set off another set of discussions on MPG and octane 
With premium already nearing $5/gallon here in San Diego, and my doing more "city" than "highway" driving most days, I'm even more excited about taking delivery of my new RX450 next month with it's improved mileage over my trusty RX400h.
With premium already nearing $5/gallon here in San Diego, and my doing more "city" than "highway" driving most days, I'm even more excited about taking delivery of my new RX450 next month with it's improved mileage over my trusty RX400h.
Last edited by BertL; 02-21-12 at 07:47 AM.
02-21-12, 12:27 PM
#5
Lam
Great write up, giving all the different stats shows what happens when you factor in high speeds and hills or both.
Glad your dad see's the light now. Probably because the 350's tranny is conventional and 1st gear is really low it feels faster from the standing stop. But once rolling, all of us with the (h) find out why it's hard to keep your foot out of it
. Yep, it's FAST !!!
Great write up, giving all the different stats shows what happens when you factor in high speeds and hills or both.
Glad your dad see's the light now. Probably because the 350's tranny is conventional and 1st gear is really low it feels faster from the standing stop. But once rolling, all of us with the (h) find out why it's hard to keep your foot out of it
. Yep, it's FAST !!!
02-21-12, 12:31 PM
#6
Racer
Thread Starter
Lam
Great write up, giving all the different stats shows what happens when you factor in high speeds and hills or both.
Glad your dad see's the light now. Probably because the 350's tranny is conventional and 1st gear is really low it feels faster from the standing stop. But once rolling, all of us with the (h) find out why it's hard to keep your foot out of it. Yep, it's FAST !!!
Great write up, giving all the different stats shows what happens when you factor in high speeds and hills or both.
Glad your dad see's the light now. Probably because the 350's tranny is conventional and 1st gear is really low it feels faster from the standing stop. But once rolling, all of us with the (h) find out why it's hard to keep your foot out of it
. Yep, it's FAST !!!
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