Can't decide on the hybrid. Can ya guys help me out? Here's our driving habits.

15,000 miles or more a year with mixed local and highway since we live in los angeles. 91 octane gas is really expensive here and only going higher with a new gas tax.
We tend to keep our cars as long as we can. We have an Audi Q5 that's 8 years old and are still trying to get more out it...it's been a great reliable car just need to get a bigger crossover for the kid and family stuff activities now.
I believe the optional safety package is standard on the hybrid right?

We are looking at a 350 with the optional safety package as well.

 

Some will argue that the 450h is smoother and doesn't have hesitation and vibration issues that some 350 owners are experiencing. It's really is up to you whether the extra premium to get the hybrid is worth it. It will take a long time to "make back" the extra expense in getting the hybrid, especially when the 350 only requires regular unleaded. Keep in mind that the 450h comes standard with several features that are optional in the 350. Both should be equally reliable. Make sure to test drive both back-to-back.

All RX come standard with the Lexus Safety System+ for 2017.

 

I own two 450h and love them. You do not need to put premium in your tank, it will run great off regular. I get 31-32mpg in town and 28-29 on the highway at 65mph. I have also owned the RX350 and the 450h is so much smoother and seems to have more acceleration when needed.

No no complaints here, the hybrid system work very well.

 

Whether the hybrid is "worth it" depends a lot on where you live and how you drive. I had an RX hybrid and when the lease was up I replaced it with the 350. I live in Tucson and most of my mileage is at highway speeds where the hybrid is of little value. If I lived in a place like LA with many traffic jams or drove primarily in the city, I would choose the RX450h. One thing I miss about my hybrid is the air conditioner. It is electric powered and runs at full efficiency even with the engine at idle. It is the best A/C in any car I have ever had.
Steve

 

I have driven the RX450h for 8 months and love it. The transmission is very smooth and the mileage is great. The engine is silent in battery and quieter than the RX350 under gas. The hybrid engine provides much more instant go than the RX350 that I tested.

In the Dallas area with traffic, I routinely get 32-33MPG in the highway. At 75MPH, the mileage drops to about 28MPG. This is the first hybrid that I can start from a stop without running the engine. I am able to drive up a parking building ramp on battery.

I have tried 87, 89, and 93 gasoline. 93 will give me about 1MPG more than 87. Most of the time the difference is negligible. i drive over 40 miles a day and the savings in gas are significant from my previous Acura MDX that routinely average 16 MPG. With my driving, I calculated a payback of about 5 years with $3 gas for the extra cost of the hybrid. With current gas close go $2, it would take about 6-7 years to break even.

Finally, the satisfaction of a being a little greener and contributing less CO2 warming gasses.

 

I have to agree. Love my 450h. You don't get it to save money over the non, it's just a nicer feel and quieter. I had a loaner rx350 and the diff was immediate with the tranny. IMHO the 350 tranny was abysmal. Make a couple of hard pressed on the accelerator in unison and the vehicle doesn't know what to flipping do. Get the h.

 

With gas at $2.10 a gallon this is a great time to buy a hybrid. Gas at $4.00 and you lose your bargaining power. We owned a RX350 and now a RX450h and no comparison. We will never go back to a gasoline engine.

 

(In Canada) It's the 15K difference that made me go towards the 350...

But I regret not chosen the hybrid... In my area there are lots of stop signs... And I am pretty sure it would have been a quieter ride.

 

Another consideration for those of us that keep a car longer, the brakes on a Hybrid last longer.
Conventional car slows from highway speeds by converting momentum into brake dust and heat.
Hybrid gains back (some) of the electricity that was used to gain momentum during acceleration.

 

After two 350's the next one is a 450H. In Canada where the gas prices are much more than the US, today 105/liter or $4.20 US gallon getting more mpg is great. Most of my driving is city, don't put that many miles per year, and you can run regular, are only a few reasons to choose the 450H. The fact that the acceleration is smoother and instant throttle response are two other facts that are important to me.

I don't know if I would ever see that difference in price be realized in gas mileage alone. However, when you trade the 450 in for something else, the dealer will value the 450 at a higher price. So the overall cost is probably negligible. When gas goes up in price and demand for Hybrids increase, the 450H seems like a better deal as each year goes by.

Good luck on your decision.

 

My dealer had the same 350 and 450 and only was asking $7,400 difference.....should have gotten the 450 bit just wasn't ready for the Hybrid.

 

I agree.
The A/C is awesome in FL heat. Especially in traffic and at stop lights that take forever to change! If you compare it to a car with the start and stop system (if you use it) the A/C starts to die when waiting at a light and then the engine has to kick in. The start/stop also isn't as smooth. The RX350 doesn't have start/stop so it's probably a good thing, but then again I find start/stop useful here in FL since the stop lights take forever to change. One of the reason's I love the RX Hybrid, the A/C can run without the engine having to be running.

If you live in a hot state and drive in traffic a fair bit, I would say that alone is definitely worth it.

If you don't drive in traffic often, or where it doesn't get very hot, you'd probably be more focused other advantages of the hybrid system.

 

On any conventional IC engine the A/C compressor is belt driven and the RPM varies widely.
The "Perfect Storm" scenario is a newly started IC motor (cold start) at idle (inefficient) being
asked to power the compressor (100 degrees plus down to 72...right now!). We are familiar with
the Automotive A/C unit being quite large under the hood because it must be vastly oversized to
create any pressure at such low RPM.
Our home A/C unit purrs along at the precise speed needed and most are 220v. Glance into the
backyard box and discover the compressor is smaller that your car's unit. Running at the proper
speed allows much more efficient operation. Guess what? Our hybrid's A/C unit runs on 288v at
the exact speed needed, regardless of the IC motor speed (including 0 (zero) RPM.

 

Bought it in March (4 months after the arrival at the dealers for the 2016). Did you buy in the Fall? They might have started to introduce some incentives at that time.

I can see that they still currently have some 2016 in stock on the Lexus site, and the incentive is currently 7000$ off for hybrid.

The 15K difference, I include taxes in. And in Quebec, we pay an extra provincial tax.

 

Very well said.

I have owned the previous gen RX350 and RX450h, same configurations, at the same time. The h was about $4500 more expensive than the regular. I drove the 450h while my wife drove the regular. At that time I drove lots of miles, mostly highway and the h gave me LITTLE value comparing to the regular. While I can get 30-31 mpg on the h locally, it can only get ~25 mpg on highway @75-80 mph cruising. The regular RX can get 24-25 mpg at highway speed as well. It would make better sense for my wife to drive the h BUT since it was Black on black and she hates black interior.