jzdulexus

I have been lurking in the forum for a long time and a Lexus owner (LS models) for over 15 years. Finally, I took the plunge into the LX club. What took me so long? because LX/GX atrocious gas mileage in its class. Now with gas being cheapest in years I finally pulled the trigger. But virtually every monster SUV in sight---Suburban, Yukon, Tahoe, Navigator, Escalade....----you name it, have much better gas mileage, ie highway of more than 22mpg. That's 30% better than LX570! Now I am not going to complain about the cost of gas. But I want to understand if there is a tradeoff between really poor gas mileage and reliability? If there is, what is the story behind it? If there is not, why does Lexus take us so much for granted?

ClaytonW

Do not look at the paper data. If you compare these SUVs in the real world, you will find that their mpg is much closer. For example, you can compare the real data on fuelly.com
If there is a difference between LX570 vs Yukon, Tahoe, Expedition etc., it's about 1 mpg. Now compare the reliability :-)

malba2366

Tahoe/yukon have cylinder deactivation so if you are cruising on highway at a steady speed they will do better. Other than that around town and with stop and go the LX will not be too much worse.

ClaytonW

I think that many Tahoe/Yukon owners would be happy it they could deactivate this feature :-)

jzdulexus

It's curious why Lexus does not stake out a better claim on gas mileage. Even the city mpg is much lower than its competitors. I am about to find out myself, but is it really that bad?

ggebhardt

All depends on how you drive. Stop and go traffic with a 6000 pound vehicle is no going to give good mileage. I did mixed between highway and city and got 17.5 mpg yesterday but that was driving conservatively. If you are feeling "sporty" you can easily get below 10 in the city. All highway at 65mph can get you 20mpg or slightly more.

Most who get these "beasts" are not primarily concerned with mileage or the cost of gas.

jzdulexus

I am not concerned about mpg in particular. I am more worried that Lexus seems to be far behind in technology than its rivals. It has taken its loyal customers so much for granted that it stops to innovative.

yakim

Big 8-CYLINDER engines + 6000lbs of weight equals 16 mpg mixed driving in my case.
All competitors in this category are about the same, plus/minus 2-3 mpg.
No idea what you are talking about and how it translates into not being innovative

jzdulexus

Maybe the difference in marketing is all there is to it. But it is interesting that LC/LX have not had any mpg improvement in the last twenty five years while Detroit and Europeans have made big gains. (perhaps just on paper?) I am just sick and tired of reading car/truck reviews every year for the last decade that say "LXs are so old school....". Do not get me wrong though, I love my Lexuses. I just think they should do better.

ggebhardt

I have tried Porshe, BMW and Mercedes SUV vehicles and the "old school" Lexus LX is fine with me. The LX just got a pretty nice "refresh" and I am quite happy with mine as most owners would be.

If mileage is so important to you, do not buy a LX.

malba2366

The Germans (and ford) have gotten better milage by using smaller turboed engines. The real world gains in these engines many times is much less than the sticker indicates. Look around for posts from owners of the new V6 biturbo MB GL450, or Ford Ecoboost and you will see complaints about milage. These engines would be expected to be less reliable than non forced engines as they have turbos which are more prone to failure and the engines are driven harder for their displacement. Many also prefer the feel of a traditional V8 in a big truck like the LX,

These turbos do much better on EPA test cycles than in real life. Toyota has been able to resist these moves until now because they make so many other fuel efficient cars. However they are getting into the Turbo game to with the 2.0T.

Another consideration for a lot of the euro makes is the displacement based taxation schemes in the EU. This is why all euro makes basically have 2.0L turbo 4, 3.0L turbo 6 and 4.0L Turbo 8 engines. As lexus expands its model lineup it will have no choice but to move in the same direction

jzdulexus

Thanks Malba for great explanation.

jzdulexus

One glaring example of Lexus taking LX/LC customers for granted is that Lexus did not give us BSM until this year while even RX and much lower models had it for years.

yakim

I didn't know what BSM was until now(had to google it) and never missed it or needed it on my LX's.
The reasons I drive LX have nothing to do with technological advancements . It is because I dislike the image projected by any other luxury SUV and don't like their driver archetypes. So, I am more than happy to be taken for granted technologically. Love my ML sound system though (its better than my $30k reference home audio system)

jzdulexus

If you never had BSM then you probably don't know what you are missing. I didn't think it was a big deal either until I had the loaner car for the weekend a few years ago.
So is there an LX driver stereotype? Always happy like a mini van driver, environmentally conscious, etc.