Perhaps they meant 300hp? That would make a lot more sense.

 

Agreed. Or perhaps there is some Gs500h in the works

 

I would think the hybrid should be much more than 300HP. Somewhere closer to 350+, so 400HP might be a stretch, but maybe not. You have to figure if they are using the 276HP 3.5L motor thats in the RX350 right now, 300HP hybrid would only be a 25HP addition? Isn't the current RX400H something like a 70HP electric motor addition?

 

the current one is the 3.3L v6 with total output 268hp

remember SUV with AWD already wastes more gas, upping the HP in the current state of gas crisis will probably not be a good idea

 

My guess would be that since the HP wars are dwindling & the MPG are on ... maybe they decided to not make this a performance a hybrid. Altho 400hp is doable, it just seems excessive especially for a vehicle like the RX.

Then again, if the rumors of the cute-ute dedicated hybrid are true, maybe that is the model that they are going to stress mpg over hp ....

 

It was also a detuned version of the 230HP 3.3L that made something like 208HP with a total of I guess 268 that you mentioned with the electric motors, so that is about a 60HP increase with the electric motors.

With the higher gas prices it is all the more reason for a more powerful electric motor assist so you can use the electric motors more often. The base engine will still be the 276HP or whatever it is exactly that the 3.5 RX350 already uses, then just add much stronger electric motors to make 400 combined HP. Gas efficiency will be much better with stronger electric motors.

Also, it doesn't have to be AWD. The current RX400H also comes as a FWD Hybrid as well.

 

It drives TONS better than the 1RX Some people though rather a SUV drive like a wannabe sports car on stilts and have all the utility and cargo room of a pants pocket.

100k+ every year sold, the creator of this segment, surely Lexus knows how much is riding on this vehicle.

With gas prices being an issue, they cannot ignore not making it more fuel efficient. Not sure why they need 7 seats, clearly the majority of the market is fine with it being a 5 seater (that just adds weight).

I would assume the GS 450h powertrain makes it into the RX? Thing is that gets less MPG than the RX 400h.

 

I think the reason they are saying 400 is due to the fact that the GS450h has one electric motor with a total output of 340hp and the RXh has two electric motors so it will make more than 340 if they add an additional engine.

 

It makes no sense to do make a 400 hp RX hybrid, in today's economy and gas prices.

I'd much rather that they combine electric motors to the 204 hp 2.5L GR direct injection engine, for a total output of around 280 hp or so. Not only will such a hybrid RX get awesome gas mileage (hopefully around 30/28 mpg), it will be thousands of dollars cheaper.

Right now, the RX400h has about a $4,500 premium over a RX350. If the 2010 RX hybrid uses a 2.5L direct injection engine, I can see the premium coming down to about $2000 or so.

An added bonus will be that it'll be more "fun" to drive due to less weight and better weight distribution!

 

That does make a lot of sense the current IS250 gets 29MPG highway. Lets hope they do that.

 

So BMW can have a tt V-8 X6 with 400hp
Infiniti can have a 5.0 liter V-8 with 390hp
Porsche can have a 4.8 with 385 hp

But Lexus should NOT have a 400hp hybrid that will get better gas mileage?

Mind you the RX 400h now sells around 1700-2000 units a month, more than some gas only trucks.

I personally think its a typo or an error but maybe Lexus has to stay in the HP wars but offer better gas mileage.

We shall see!

 

this thing looks too much like a hyundai from the back.

and the front looks too toyota with the headlights.

come on man. make em look different. sheeeit...

 

Actually I think it makes perfect sense since the electric motors is what is giving it the bump to 400HP and not an increase in ICE engine size or HP. The base ICE engine should still be the exact same HP and size as the current RX350. The larger and more powerful the electric motors are, the more it propel the heavy SUV. I would hope you can run on electric power for longer at the lower speeds with something like 60-70HP equivalent electric motors and that would yield much better MPG than the current ICE only RX.

Perhaps the best solution is to run a 4 cylinder 200HP engine and run massive 100HP electric motors. I bet that would actually be a pretty darn good hybrid SUV.

 

I personally hate the RX, I think it has all the bad traits of a minivan - such as **** poor handling, silly dashboard ****fter, silly chair mounted armrests, and so on, without any of the good minivans traits such as cargo space, utility, etc. But I do have to agree with 1SICK, that thing sells, and sells in droves. Lexus surely knows what they area doing with this one.

 

^^... i find the dash board of the RX best in class, and almost best in the lexus lineup. i guess its preference, but i think the RX still looks good after all these years. note: you have to get the nav for it to look good.