LordBowral

Trust me ... It sounds like a vacuum cleaner when accelerating hard ... I've driven dozens of them

coolsaber

In normal driving CVTs dont sound bad at all. Its when you engage kickdown is where it gets droney. But again unless you drive every light to light like a 0-60 contest you wouldnt know a thing

kitlz

Vacuum cleaner, LOL! Even us hybrid owners like to know we have an engine under the hood every once in a while The 4RX 8-speed is an improvement from the '13 F-Sport I test drove a few years back. But I'm getting myself another 450h. F-Sport. Best of both worlds IMO.

s2000zr

What gas to put in a 450h? 10% ethanol 93 or 89 non ethanol? I can't find any gas station that sell 93 non ethonal

RXOwner

Lexus says 93. The price you pay for saving gas.

If you look most cities have places where you can find non ethanol gas but it is very expensive.

The truth is you can just use regular with ethanol and it will be fine. Your dealer, I bet, delivered your 450h with regular, mine did and it is the only gas they carry in their tanks.

Enjoy.

coolsaber

With a post-02 gasoline car engine, which will always run see constant operation, ethanol gasoline (E10) will not be a problem. E85 not sure

ericsan13

"I heard that the octane is rated without the added ethanol. Ethanol actually raises the octane rating of regular so you could potentially be getting higher octane gas with E10." - RON accounts for added ethanol

"Ethanol has an octane of 114, so 10% ethanol added to 87 gas will boost it to 89.7." - RON accounts for added ethanol

RXOwner

There is nothing good about adding alcohol to our gas!

It does not increase power, it decreases it.

This was another poor decision made by our government and it makes some states who grow corn so rich we will never be able to get rid of it.

coolsaber

-Ethanol usage is due in part to show results to corn subsidies.
-Ethanol attracts water
-Ethanol does boost octane and offer imprvemnts in perf, but at high concentrstioms, hence why E85 is used by tuners

However with the hybrid requiring 91, just use it and cal it a day. Noneed to over think t

Seeker4

Just went from a 2014 RX 450h to a 2017 RX 350. I presume some of the driving differences I am experiencing are 3RX vs 4RX.

I really liked the transmission on the 450h. It was seamless and gave lots of power immediately. However, I thought the ride too smooth and too isolated from the road (3RX vs 4RX? Extra weight of hybrid?). I much prefer the handling of the 2017 RX 350. I love the gas mileage of the 450h -- I could go a lot further on a tank and had to fill up less often. However, the extra $5K or so for the 450h was far in excess of any gas savings I might experience with my low mileage.

GoHuskers

...the statement above is NOT 100% true .

I read an article where they quoted that gas retailers only used 85 or 86 octane in the 87 octane E10 grade because of the 114 % octane in pure ethanol.....this sucks both ways for us consumers.

ggebhardt

I moved from a 2016 RX350 to a 2017 RX450h and could not be more happy. Was not a fan of the CVT tranny but like it much better than today's 8 speed tranny. No more searching for gear and hesitation, just smooth power.

ericsan13

You are correct, it looks like the RON already accounts for the amount of ethanol added!

ggebhardt

I wish they would stop putting the ethanol in our gas but the "corn states" would protest!

ericsan13

Ditto. Apparently ethanol not only has a lower energy density than petroleum, but it may also damage components and attracts water.