ANYONE KNOW WHY THE RX300 IS CLASSIFIED AS A LOW EMISSIONS VEHICLE (I.E. "LEV") AND THE RX330 AN ULTRA-LOW EMISSIONS VEHICLE (I.E. "ULEV")? OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING WAS IMPROVED ON THE 330.

 

The LEV or ULEV are emission status indicators. Why one meets it and the other does not would be a matter of the design of the engine, the catalyst make up or even simply the ECU program. There are many things that could make the difference.

IMO, I would like to see the actual output number as i suspect there would be minimal difference unless the catalyst was changed significantly.

 

For 2004, the California Emissions Stds requires that all light-duty truck and medium-duty vehicles below 8500 lbs gross weight will have to meet passenger car requirements. This requires reduction of Hydrocarbon and Carbon Monoxide emmisions by roughly half while NOx stay the same as the pre 2004 standard.

The 2004 ULEV standards for pass cars is:

NOx 0.07 g/mile
CO 2.1 g/mile
NMOG 0.055 g/mile