vinster29

I am thinking about purchasing an RX400h and I would like to know what is the average mpg that you guys are getting. Is anyone getting close to 31/27mpg? Basically, is it worth purchasing an RX400h over an RX350 just to get more miles to the gallon? Please post your city/highway mpg along with your experience with the RX400h. Thanks.

nobuddy

We have about 3000 miles on our 2007 400h. We pretty much always get 25-26 MPG, combined driving. On trips, we are seeing 26, in town, never higher than 27. Neither one of us babies the car, but we also don't drive it aggressively.

Currently, hybrids only make sense financially if you drive them a very long time, though as the price of gas goes up, that time shrinks.

hope this helps.

Spinnaker

We also have about 3000 miles on the odometer. Gas mileage to date is consistently 26-27 mpg. As to recovering the cost uptick to buy the hybrid versus the RX350, I am baffled why people are looking at it this way. When you bought other options that added to the value of the car, did you expect they would pay for themselves? Not likely -- you expected to recover part of their cost when you sold the car I imagine.

Likewise, you will recover some portion of the increased cost of the hybrid when you sell it. In any case, you will also benefit by substantially faster accelleration and better suspension as well as the knowledge that you are helping to reduce imports of oil from hostile oil producing states. Perhaps that's enough. Naturally, it's your call.

Good luck.

rcf8000

I don't know about "substantially faster acceleration." According to Car and Driver, the 0-60 time for an RX350 is faster than an RX400h.

MadloR

DO not buy a Hybrid, with the goal of planning to recuperate your "additional" investment. Or, with the notion of saving money by the greater fuel efficiency factor, alone. AND, especially, if that hybrid is an SUV.

With that in mind, DO purchase the RX 400H for the feature packed technology, not available in ANY other SUV on the market today. Bullet proof reliability (Toyota Motor Company). Best in Class Style (IMHO) inside and out. Quality materials, and loaded with pretty much everything that a luxury SUV has to offer (ok, perhaps lacking the 2% stuff like keyless entry, 5.1 DD, Ipod and XM ready).

If you have ever owned a SUV before, you will know that in most every other Luxury SUV on the market you WILL be getting real world mileage in the low to mid teens. And that's a fact. I've owned '01 Infiniti/Pathfinder, '02 JGC Limited V8 and '04, and in all but 100% highway only driving, have I ever cracked in the low twenties mpg.

Cheers,

MadloR

Spinnaker

rcf8000 - I do not know how Car and Driver derived their data, but I have read tests in other reputable publications showing that the hybrid is quicker. If you doubt it, test drive both cars (back to back, as I did) and you will immediately be able to tell from the seat of your pants that the 400h is faster. Beyond that, torque is available instantly, unlike the RX350 which needs to build engine rpm to get into its peak torque and HP range. In real world driving, this means accelleration as soon as you put the pedal down.

Lexus labelled the car as the 400h because it considered its performance to be equivalent to that of a 4 liter conventional engined car, even though that is not the displacement of the 400h's gasoline engine. Its magic is that when called for, the gas engine combines with one or both of the electric motors for higher torque and performance than is possible in the RX350 with only a single motive force.

oldcajun

Real world gas mileage? At 15000 miles I am consistantly getting between 29 and 30 mpg in town. I live in Tucson, so in town means city streets with traffic lights and virtually no freeway miles. On the freeway I get around 26 when I cruise at 80 and around 27 to 28 when I hold it down to 70. On two lane country roads at 60 mph, the mileage is in the 29 mpg range. In the winter, we get gasoline which has 10% ethanol which costs around 1mpg.

I did spend some time learning to drive the hybrid to take advantage of its capabilities in town. On the freeway, I just let the cruise control do its thing. If I see traffic slowing ahead, I back off early and let the hybrid controller help. I have never gotten worse than 24 mpg on a trip, and that one was where I drove the 400h like I drive my G35 coupe with a lot of full throttle acceleration.
Steve

oldcajun

Lexus specifications for 0-60 times show the 400h AWD times at 6.9 sec and the RX350 AWD time at 7.4 sec. Is 1/2 second to 60 significant? In acceleration from 25 to 70, the 400h seems to be a lot faster than the RX350.
Steve

JZA80MHU38

When the RX400h first came out, it's quicker than the RX330 (350 not available yet at the time). I've driven the RX350 as a loaner when I took in my 400h for service, and I would say, the 350's acceleration is very very close to the 400h. If you like to push your car hard and want better responses and feel, get the RX350. It feels so much more balanced than the 400h, and even though you don't feel any gear change with the 400h (of course), the NVH is better in the RX350 -- you always get that whining sound with the hybrid motor running, which is very discouraging to push it hard. Plus, with a regular tranny, you can pick the gear you want to be in. Yes, it's still a slush box and it may have it's mind at shifting, but at least you have the option to upshift and downshift, while with 400h's CVT you don't get that option at all.

Now, to answer the original post. We got about 27 mpg during spring/autumn, a little bit less in summer, and WAY less (down to the high 25s) during winter (tire pressure checked at least once every two weeks). 70% highway/backroad, 30% local driving. I drove the loaner for one day, got about 20 mpg. Of course this is not conclusive as in that one day I do want to know how the engine and tranny response compares to the 400h so I push it a little bit harder. I didn't push it real hard because I have a baby onboard. Just for reference.

JZA80MHU38

I always have a feeling that Lexus is trying to make the RX350 sounds slower compares to the 400h, because they want to emphasize the "hybrid doesn't have to be slow and boring" point.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the 400h may be faster in "top gear acceleration" scenario, but there's always a delay in the CVT tranny, that makes it feel like a turbo-lag type of acceleration when you really step on it, while in the RX350, if you really want to punch it, you can downshift and step on the gas, knowing that you will be in a lower gear and here you go.

spamcop

I was a little (okay, more than a little) upset with my mileage initially. At highway speeds (I-44 in Missouri at 80MPH) I was getting 21/22 mpg. The "city," that is Bentonville, AR, we would see about 23 to 24 mpg. Not at all what the EPA estimates. Then we discovered two things: The EPA testing methods and reality have absolutely NOTHING in common, and that if we drive on the highway at 65-70 mph, we get North of 26 mpg. The city has improved a lot as we put some miles on it.

At 20,000 it is doing fine in the mpg area. As previously mentioned don't buy it thinking you'll save money (like we did). If you are in California, you get to use the HOV lane; that's something to consider!

nobuddy

Sorry, but in California, you don't get to use the HOV lane with an RX400h. Only Priuses, Insights and Civic hybrids currently (pun intended) can... I think a car must get more than 45MPG EPA rating to qualify

nb

spwolf

actually, RX400h is faster in 50-70 and 60-80 than any of the V8 competitors, let alone 350 :-).

If you slightly tap the gas before punching it, it will go into fast mode and there is no lag.. no different than down****ing in 350.

JZA80MHU38

Any, you mean, ANY of the V8 competitors? Well, depends on what you consider "competitor". How about the Cayenne Turbo and the ML63 AMG?

Of course, they both cost twice as much as the 400h

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

25mpg if i drive normal
28mpg if i literally think about saving gas...

60%/40% city/hwy