Well thats if fuel savings is the ONLY reason for buying a car. For most people its more than that.

 

Well and the Fusion hybrid is more powerful than the regular Fusion.

 

I love the '10 Prius with the 17's....it sure doesn't look like a normal car...it looks way better IMO.

 

The Prius look like a normal car to me. What exactly is a normal looking car? Is there a definition that say this is a normal car and that is not?

 

Yes. think of the convenience of only filling up every 2 or 3 weeks instead of every week. That alone is a huge benefit. YMMV

 

Well it certainly is for me. But isn't it the main reason people buy Hybrids? And you have an hLexus don't you? What have you experienced with fuel savings. Just curious.

 

Funny but I don't and haven't calculated any fuel savings b/c that wasn't the only reason I bought the car for. Compared to my 430 its
faster
quieter
newer
more features
SULEV compliant
rarer
fun to me
The fuel economy is a big plus and yes, a reason for buying it. Since the 430 didn't have a MPG meter I can't compare computer to computer. BUt here are some findings.
430 has a 18.9 gallon tank-Average about 330-340 miles a tank. My best ever was 400 miles highway usage to Florida. City MPG was dismal 15/16 MPG and Highway was 22-24 maybe on its best day.
450h has a 17.2 gallon tank-I just saw 438 miles till empty when it was filled up last week. That is 100 miles more than the 430 in a smaller tank. I haven't tried to stretch it yet but I am going to shoot for 500 miles to a tank. Should be interesting.

Last week (I need to post in the racing forum) did some runs of the 450h vs the 430 and the car whoops its *** everywhere. 0-60 the car is nearly a car length ahead, from a rolling start and passing power completely eclipses the 430. Though I notice I don't drive this car nearly as aggressive so thats another benefit. Less stress and no tickets.

Hope that helps.

 

This is my breakdown of it from a while back:

An '08 RX400h (FWD) starts at $42,080. $37,700 is the base price of an '08 RX350 (FWD). The 400h comes with Navi standard and thus that should be factored into the price of the 350 (whether you like it or not). Navigation is a $2400 option increasing the base price of a 350 with Navi to $40,100 a difference of $1980. And frankly, most people opt for the navigation anyways these days, thus I think it is very fair to include it into the equation.

So...

350 (FWD): Averages 20 MPG and you drove 15k miles a year at $3.00 a gallon = $2250 per year on gas

400h (FWD): Averages 26 MPG and you drove 15k miles a year at $3.00 a gallon = $1730 a year

= a difference of $520 a year. Thus it would take almost 4 years to recoup the extra cost of the hybrid. Unless you live in a state like PA where they give you $500 for buying a hybrid, then only 3 years.

Therefore, if you plan on getting a navigation system and keeping your RX for more than 4 years it makes sense (as gas is on the rise). Of course, this isn't quite a fair comparison. The 400h is faster than the 350 and supposed to be.