I went to the Lexus Training Center in N.J. on Monday and drove the RX400h, we went for a 100 mile drive taking turns driving and also switching over to RX330. The 400h was all that I had expected it to be, even though this was pre-production it was very quiet and you could not even hear the engine start up. The suspension is a little stiffer because it weighs 300lbs. more than the 330, it handled very well. The back seat is about 1 inch higher because the battery pack is below the seat, there are 3 vents below the seat to exhaust interior air accross the battery pack and out of the vehicle to keep the battery pack cool. The road test , you get in turn the key to ON there is no start position, the engine might start if it is cold, ready light will come on in left guage where tach used to be, put shifter in D step on gas pedal and your off in total silence, the engine will start shortly after you start going depending on speed and terrain [ you can't tell the eng. started ] while driving engine will start and stop you won't know unless you watch the guages.
Everytime you let off the gas pedal to coast the motors become generators and start pumping juice back into the battery pack, when you apply the brakes slowly you are charging the batteries . We were told to expect 30city/ 26 hwy mpg, EPA has not released their numbers yet.
Its faster than rx 330, I pulled alongside rx330 with rx400h at 60mph we both took off and I walked away from him . This post is getting too long sorry, anyone who has a deposit and liked the 330 will not be disappointed Lexus has done it again I am sure it was worth the wait.

 

Good little write up how's the acceleration compared to the 330? A friend has a Prius and i'm trying to imagine a cross between the two for an idea.

 

acceleration is fine, I don't have any 0-60 numbers in front of me. You can feel the difference.

 

How Exciting! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait until they arrive. How were you selected to drive it in NJ? Where in NJ? Do all the dealerships get to participate in this experience?

 

Lexus asked for a few people from each dealership sales and service to kick off the training. My sales manager picked me because I used to be a mechanic before I got into sales. The day after the drive was spent in the classroom so we all had a good idea what was going on under the hood. I also got to check out 06 gs awd, we could not drive it but we got a good look they did a great job, its still looks like a gs only nicer, more up to date I am sure we will be sold out for quite awhile, we will probably have a row of used 5's for sale

 

thats the oddest thing i ever read.

 

that's nothing the 300C can switch to 4 and 8cyl modes seemlessly. Pretty sophisticated engineering over at Mercedes-Chrysler. It's nothing less than I expected, Toyota is far ahead in the hybrid game, their systems work perfectly.

Is the RX400h awd?

 

yes rx400h is awd, the rear axle is driven by electric motor only there is no rear driveshaft

 

heard it doesn't work very well at saving gas, and the fact that you dont know it's on means you dont know if it's really saving gas for you or not.

might as well say they have that feature on every engine since you dont even know when it's on Couldn't they put a little light on the dash or better yet, let you switch it on when gas jumps 30 cents overnight?

 

you do know when the engine is running, just look at the info screen or the bottom of the center guage for a small display. both displays will tell you whats going on. my customers are buying the 400h because they want the newest technology, the extra performance doesn't hurt either.

 

We have a 2004 RX330 AWD, and I drove the RX400h a couple weeks ago.... the difference in acceleration is very significant.... I want to trade mine in for one, but I'll wait for them to add ventilated seats and smart access....

 

I think he was talking about the 300c