I think there are more deals fo the 400h now...so it isn't really 10k...as for 23mpg highway...that is pretty good...i get combined city and highway at 25-27mpg...which is not too bad for an suv...i really don't know if there are a lot of suvs that can hit the 20's much less the mid 20's so I think it is alright...but i still get shocked when it doens't match the prius (45-51mpg) i have...but then i remember it is an SUV...lol

 

My 330 gets about 19 city, 27 highway miles - in my case the hybrid would help considerably in urban driving, but the advantage disappears on a long highway haul where the electric drive is not used. I like the idea of the increased performance of the hybrid, but I am one of the few who actually uses the AWD feature for very limited off-roading sometimes required for my business. I think in my case I'd be better off with an AWD 350 than the 400h - but I'm perhaps the exception.

As more hybrids hit the streets and prove their effectivness and reliability, they are making a better case for themselves. Falling premium prices from the dealers also mean wider acceptance. Meanwhile, I'll keep an open mind on the issue.

 

True. I personally prefer true AWD than RX 400h's "AWD on demand." Many 400h owners have reported the torque steer issue, which is non-existent in AWD RX.

I think Lexus should give the RX400h just one electric motor with drive shaft. So that all 4 wheels are given power. A rear bias may be helpful as well. The X5's torque distribution is 35% front, 65% rear - which is great for "spirited driving."

 

The Toyota prius saves money, any other Toyota/Lexus above that is all performance. So where is the confusion?

 

heh...very true!!

 

kind of... Problem is that RX400h is essentially FWD. It can not move any engine torque to back, which you know. So electric motors at 4 wheels wouldnt help, easier solution would be real AWD system. Problem with that is that it is even heavier and decreases mpg, which is why Lexus didnt want it in RX400h. However, LS600h from what I read will actually have AWD.

 

ls600h...i never understood why high end luxury cars for older people needed soooo much power...heh...S55amg, CL65amg, BMW 760...

 

These cars are for those rich 40-something with mid-life crisis. Older people buy Buick - left-lane blocking pace car for American roads.

 

and there was a run on them. Most of the Lexus owner's can afford a price spike in gasoline but they like to do their part for clean air and enjoy the many benefits of the 400h. The price spread is very small and it mostly compensated in a Federal Tax Credit of approx. $2,200. In Washington, DC there is no sales tax on hybrids so the 400h actually costs less that the RX350! The original press about gas saving payback were figured at $2.00 a gallon and list price without the tax credit. Recalculate it now and you get a return the moment you file your 2006 taxes next year. You will get close to 100 extra miles per tank which means less time spent filling up.

As far as the drive train the 400h's rear motor is very powerful and since it has VDIM it is the best at getting traction while cornering of all RX models to date. There is a video of a slalom course set up in the snow the 400h just takes the most direct line like an Olympic skier while the RX330 took wider arcs as the VSC reacted slower in the tight radius turns. Off the line the 400h gets more torque involved and is very quick. The RX350 is right behind it. The RX400h does exhibit pronounced torque steer so hold on with both hands! The RX400h is quiet. It doesn't pollute and is a transitionary step towards the Hydrogen fuel cell as that will make electricity and not be combusted and will require electric motors. The RX400h is the future of the Lexus lineup as we will expand it year by year until all models are available in a hybrid. The new GS450h just outperforms every Euro or Japanese V8 in its class and gets 8 MPG better too. The 600hL will arrive in about a year and turn on its head the concept of what an Ultra Luxury Sedan will perform and look like.

Lastly, whenever you slow down by either letting up on the pedal or using the brakes you are converting your motion into electricity to maintain the charge of the 288V battery. When you slow down to about 5-8 MPH then the friction brakes do the final task of coming to a halt. The brake pads should last a lot longer which means less maintenance. There is an electric power steering motor that replaces the conventional hydraulic type which tends to leak eventually. So no maintenance in the power steering dept. either. There isn't any alternator as the hybrid has a power conversion center so you won't ever be replacing that or have its drain on the gas engine's efficiency. In summary, less maintenance cost.

Once people are educated to the benefits you will see more and more of them next to you at a stoplight as I did yesterday while delivering an RX400h to Chevy Chase, MD. There was a Prius on each side of me at a major intersection and I realized some folks are definitely getting the message...

Rock

 

For a while, it seemed that there was a decrease in demand for the 400h, with a good choice on the dealer's lots. The new RX350 had closed the gap to the 400h in both performance and mileage, making the 400h less attractive. Now that gas is back up over $3, the demand is back. The local dealers have none in stock. This should limit the available deals on the car. Maybe the bloom is not off the rose.
Steve

 

Every dealer within 100 miles of me has many, many 400h's in stock. Maybe when gas hits $4.00 a gallon, sales will improve again.

 

Help me out guys. The Lexus website lists MSRP for a RX Hybrid 2WD as $45,355; a RX gas 2WD as $38,095. My math tells me that the premium then for a hybrid is ~$7,200. Where are some of you guys getting a $2-3K difference??

Sure no one is paying MSRP on the hybrids, but they're not on the gas model either, so the difference will be about the same. So where's this $2-3K difference? Just trying to understand.

 

The base price difference is in the standard equipment. Although I have never seen one, the base price on the RX350 has cloth seats, 17" wheels, etc. If you add the premium package to match the standard on the RX400h, the price spread is about $5000. With the tax credit, that makes the price difference about $3000. For that $3000, you get better performance and better mileage. How much better the mileage is depends on how and where you drive. The performance difference between the AWD versions of the 350 and 400 is still significant.
Steve

 

So which one performs better? Have they made a test against these two SUVS?

 

I haven't seen a comparison test, but on a back to back drive, the AWD 400h felt much quicker than the AWD 350. I did not do a back to back with the FWD versions, but the FWD 350 should be faster than the AWD 350 and the FWD 400h is slower than the AWD drive version so they may be close in performance.

I'm not sure why the 400h feels so much faster, but it is probably related to the high torque of the electric motors at 0 rpm and to the CVT transmission.

The 400h does have more torque steer than the AWD drive 350.
Steve