Eritsuke

Okay, so I went to the dealership because my fiancee is going to buy an RX, she was wondering, is there a big difference in gas mileage between the 350 and the 400h, I told her of course this is because one is a hybrid and the other is a regular gas car. So instead of trying to argue with the person I love, I decided to prove myself right (or wrong) by asking the people that actually own and drive the car. So any type of insight would be welcome.

salimshah

The milage is posted on the sticker for each vehicle. How they measure is up for debate.

Actual milage will depend on usage. For in town (stop and go) traffic the 400h will be easier on gas, while on hwy speed the 350 will consume less gas.

Salim

lexuslover

here is some real world data:

me - i have an 04 330, 55k miles
my friend - he has an 06 400h, 15k miles

the 350 is supposed to be 1mpg more fuel efficient than the old 330 b/c of the new improved tranny.

my friend and i have similar commutes, about 60/40 hwy/city. my friend has become total hybrid driver and drives much slower than he used to do gain mpg. i on the other hand have had my 330 for 3 1/2 years and drive it non-conservatively; in other words, i don't watch my mpgs at all, and i'll gun it as i see fit .

me - 20-21mpg average
him - 23-24mpg average


so it's how you perceive the 3-4 mpg gain. some people think it's alot, other ppl don't think it's much. my friend and i did the math and figured out that he needs to keep the car to 100,000-120,000 miles to breakeven on the add'l cost of the 400h over the regular 350, and that INCLUDES the hybrid credit factored in. (i think we used a $3.00/gal assumption or something like that)

performance-wise, the 350 is practically the same as 400h, so i guess it ultimately it depends on your intended use of the car and how long you plan to keep it.

good luck w/ your decision!

Bongos

I have the RX350 for a few weeks now and I average 27MPG, cruising at 70mph I can get up to 29.4 MPG but if you get stuck in traffic, it goes down fast. The RX400h advertised 31 MPG which is very good for the SUV and it is good for the environment. Reason I went with the RX350 is here in SoCAL none of dealers would sale the RX400h at invoice, where the RX350 I go it over $1000 below invoice. So instead of a cost difference of $3600 between MSRP, price difference for me is actually more like $7,000.

TripleDES

Real world difference between the two is a lot less than the EPA estimate. Whether or not you're willing to pay for the difference for the few extra miles gained is the question. I had the same dilemma a couple months back. I decided to go with the RX350 because the up front cost was too much for the long run savings.

JorgeGVB

I agree with you Matt. The extra cost for the 400h basically wipes out any hope for cost savings over time. The Lexus hybrid is just too expense to make it worth buying.

In addition, I have found after 2300 miles on my 350 that I am only getting around 16.5 MPG in the city (I rarely drive on the highway). As we discussed in another thread, if you are using gas with 10% Ethanol you will probably not achieve higher MPGs.

Eritsuke

All of these are really good points, I don't know if she does a lot of highway driving because she's a part time student and a part time worker, but she can afford to buy an RX, I'll show her some of these posts that we have on this part of the forum.

Bongos

If you are planning to buy, I would get a Lexus credit card, I missed out because I did not know you can earn 50,000 points which equals $900 to be spent at the Lexus Dealership, also see if you can find a "Taste of Lexus" event, they were passing out $750 cert toward your Lexus purchase...This too I missed.

salimshah

Folks:

It is more than just the $s. Dont forget the real reasons to go hybrid .... pollution.

Hats off for the ppl who spend a few $s more to leave behind a better planet.

Salim.