When I was recently trying to make a decision about which GS to buy, I never even considered a hybrid, the GS450h, but have noticed on this forum that there seem to be quite a lot of 450h owners.

At about $10,000 more than than a GS350, and a couple of thousand more than a GS460, I'm just curious as to why people here bought the 450h. I'm thinking maybe I missed something when I was considering which model to buy. Gas economy is the obvious answer, but at a $10K premium?

 

Yes, you missed the Search button on your screen.

 

man it is so quiet, efficient, green and well, you said it, gas savings.

At premium fuel prices, and you keep you vehicle for 5 years, it will payoff and then some.

and resale value, etc...

 

I say why not?

 

anyone think there would be a problem adding a 700-800 watt sub setup in a 450h?

 

Free carpool usage when you're by yourself(I think)! =D

 

Because it is awesome, because they sell in the low 100's every month, this is the most distinctive ride one the road !

 

I don't know where people are getting the ideas about gas saving on 450h.
350 RWD, 19 city, 27 hwy
450h, 22 city, 25 hwy according to specs on lexus.com. Is real word mileage much different than this?
Driving 15000 miles per year all city, at $3.50/gallon, you would save about $378 per year. Image how many years you have to drive to recorver the added cost of hybrids. And by the time you recover that cost, it's time to replace the battery$$$. I am a fan of hybrids but 450h is built it for performance and being green at the same time but it's not built to save gas. It is no Prius.

350 does 60 in 5.7 seconds. 450h does it in 5.2 second. that's the reason you buy the 450h.

And it's cool and exclusive. But the trunk space was a deal breaker for me as I have to carry a stroller.

 

You're quite wrong because you compare mileage for the 350 and 450h. In fact, the comparison is between the 430/460 and 450h. In this comparison 450h is priced almost identically to the 430/460 -- a couple hundred dollar difference that is recouped within the first year of ownership. And when I bought my 450h, I still got half of the Federal tax credit ($745), making my car cheaper than the 430 that was available at that time.

By the way, my highway mileage is 29-30 mpg. My daily commute over the last 6,000 miles averaged 24.4 mpg. My commute includes about 5 miles city and 9 miles hilly highway with frequent bad traffic. I used to own a 2004 Acura TL, and was getting 19-21 mpg on the same commute. I seriously doubt that GS350 would be able to do better than 19-21 in my mix of traffic.

 

I've gotten 28 MPG on roadtrips and 23 MPG on my daily commute which is about 9 miles city and 5 miles expressway each way in my AWD (morning traffic's fine but bad traffic in the afternoon). I agree with Modeler that for people who are looking at 350, the hybrid wouldn't make sense due to difference in premium. However, for those looking for performance (430/460), unless one doesn't have an SUV for space, it would be a good idea to get a hybrid.

 

Mostly because the GS450h is faster, especially the instantaneous torque from the electric motor.
Gas mileage advantage depends on how you drive . . .

 

no..... who said you can get carpool sticker on the 450h.... only prius and civic hybrid (those categories)...

about the comparison, if today i don't really need the trunk space, the 450h would be a great contender. the car is much quieter than the gs350, and imho probably a bit quieter than the 460. the tq is very nice on the car, and not to mention the handling with the APSSS.

thinking 10k premium on just gas mileage that's a totally wrong concept period. gas mileage is a plus on the car to me

 

Reread the original poster's question. "Gas economy is the obvious answer, but at a $10K premium?"

He was questioning whether the gas saving is worth $10K premium. Obviouly it's crear that the comparison is between GS450h and GS350 and I stand by my answer that gas saving is not worth the price difference between 450 and 350.

GS450h instead of GS430/460 is entirely different story. Unless you need a trunk space and V8, GS450h is the better choice. Much better gas milage, better performance with minimal price difference. Sure, why not?

 

then unfortunately i have to say you don't see the whole picture like the OP. if you really have to compare between the 450h and the 350, who said gas mileage is the ONLY thing? how about the cvt? how about the more power? how about the APSSS? how about the avs? those are stuff "extra" on top of the 350 right?

it's ok to do comparison between the 450h to 350, or the 450h to 430/460. but you need to have the list out everything to make it the right comparison

 

Thanks guys for the great answers. I get 26mpg in my 460 on the highway and the gas savings difference in a 450h would not be a swinger for me, nor would the performance difference (5.2 vs 5.4). I guess I'm just not yet totally comfortable with hybrid technology -- complexity, future reliability, batteries, etc.

In hindsight, I should have given the 450h more attention before making my decision. I was so hybrid-phobic that I never even looked at the specs or asked to look at one at the dealer.