I am about to sign a deal for a 2006 400h. I drove the vehicle for 2 days and the readout on the dash told me I averaged 12 litres per 100 km, which translates to 19.5 mpUSg.

Not really very impressive. I know all about excellent resale value, low emissions... However, I did expect to see a better number regarding fuel consumption.

I am not heavy on the gas pedal. I do drive more over 60 kph (40 mph) than under. The vehicle had no load, only one person. The weather was cold, but not freezing - around 3C or 38F.

Could this be an anomaly? I have read the threads here, several reviews and the Consumers Report on the vehicle.

Is temperature an issue? Could this one test vehicle be faulty? Is there a right way to drive these cars?

Thanks for your input!

 

After break-in you will get better mileage.

 

Hybrid technology is a marketing gimic. We should be using fuel effiecent diesel. VW has a 10 cyl diesel that wastes the same amount of gas as your hybrid.

 

The RX400h is, in my experience (~3,000 miles), very sensitive to the type of driving one does. Maybe more sensitive than other SUV's. One thing most owners have found (me, too) is that city mileage actually experienced doesn't come very close to the US EPA rating. Our typical mix of city streets and freeway driving (and hills) yields about 24 mpg (about 9.8l/100km) with winter fuel formulations in the Pacific Northwest, but mileage is especially poor during warm-up (about 5 minutes of 15-18 mpg or 13 - 16l/100km), and climbing hills. The best mileage comes from slow stop-and-go traffic after reaching operating temperature. Highway or freeway driving involves mostly direct use of the ICE and produces something close to the US EPA rating for highway use. Compared with real-world mileage for the RX330 the hybrid is definitely better. Of course, there are other nice features -- a smooth transmission, low emissions, excellent performance, entertaining technology, etc. The tough question is, who would buy this car in the US with an EPA city rating of 24 or 25?

 

Is the vehicle brand new? It takes several tankful to fully charge the hybrid battery. My sister's Prius was getting mid 30s mpg when she first got it. Now she's getting high 40's.

 

Just break in the car...but I think cold weather affects your fuel consumption because in our 2005 prius...it takes awhile for the hybrid batteries to charge because the cold weather actually drains the batteries. I think we are going to get a RX400h soon....found a deal for a lease...heh...I think it was $0 down and $530 a month for 3 years...so I guess that's not too bad. I guess I will be driving that until my GS450h is ready to be picked up.

 

Thanks for your input. The test car had 8000 km. I have put the deal on hold because of this issue. Is 19 mpg reasonable for this car?

 

Just drove the new RX400h we got today. After 115 miles the mpg is at 26.8. I think to get the best mileage you have to fiddle with the acceleration...but since I have a 2005 Prius I kinda know how to balance the car between using the electric motors and the engine...heh...just keep on practicing..

 

Of course 19 MPG is NOT reasonable for a hybrid car. Even our regular old RX330 gets a consistent average 22 or slightly better MPG since we bought it brand new in 2003. From day one the MPG hasn't varied much from that with a mix of city and highway driving. Even when I put on my 20 " rims with the oversized 255/50/20 tires I still got 20 MPG or more. I've never dropped below 20 MPG ever.