rxets

In the early brouchure, Lexus indicated "40mph", this is wrong. It's 40KMH or 25? MPH. Anyway, you have to press it to engage it premanently under that speed. If your speed is above that, pressing the button won't do anything. If you're going to cruise on the snowy roads under that speed mark, my suggestion is to press it to engage wheels, this will help you to gain more controls and safety on the roads.

rxets

I think the same thing...

rxets

Pretty interesting. I thought 450h can act like the full-time AWD, do you mean that the speed restriction - 35MPH is still applied on 450h? Thanks.


I was thinking of getting the 450h-like SUV in the future in addition to the permanent AWD vehicles if 450h electric motors can work all the time.

picker

> I thought 450h can act like the full-time AWD, do you mean that the speed restriction - 35MPH

I don't know if its 35mph, but I do know there is a 167hp supplemental electric motor in the front and a 67hp electric motor in the rear without transmission, so it must disconnect at some point, and can't provide full torque. For the 350, the diff lock goes off at 25mph.

Fogcutter

I was driving on a back road and playing with the settings. If you follow the energy consumption graphic that shows what the system is doing, the rear motors are not powered unless slip is detected, then they cut out as traction recovers.

In Hybrid Snow mode they are powered continuously below 35 MPH and cut out above that, and back in regardless of traction status as you slow down below 35 MPH.

I haven't found any documentation regarding the system specs, so these are just my observations.

While in Hybrid Snow mode, the middle 'eco' light never comes on, and the battery drains more quickly. The regenerative systems seems to operate as usual.

This tells me that the rear motors are quite a drain on the battery and that's why the system uses them very sparingly in most driving conditions. Hybrid Snow is to be used when things are really tough.

I haven't run Hybrid Snow continuously long enough to know if it would drain the battery below tolerance levels, but I have to say it looks as if the potential is there.

The way to test it would be to take a prolonged trip below 35 MPH in Hybrid Snow mode.

Betcha the rear motors kick out before the battery gets in trouble.

All that said, my experience so far is that the system transitions from FWD to AWD seamlessly and automatically in winter driving conditions. I can't say that the full time AWD vehicles I have owned had any real advantages. They did burn 30% more fuel all of the time. So there's that.

My advice would be to take a 450h out on a test drive in awful weather and see what you think.

Audriuss

u can press that button anytime...it only activates in speeds under 40 KM/H...

p.s. anything in cars and such things for most users are userfriendly, that means if u can touch it or press it so ú won't brake it...even you put in P on 100km/h nothing will happen...

rxets

Btw, the dealer didn't want me to test-drive 450h during the snow days.



Well, really appreciated your notes above. This is the great observation! Wish someone here can find teh tech manual and post it here in the future.

rxets

How's your RX moving so far over there? It seems Europe is also full of snow.

Audriuss

yeah, got some snow, but not as much as in canada (saw some photos recently, where there is like 2meters of snow )

As car to be driven safely on snow conditions, it is working very well, though as a AWD to have some fun with is not good at all...AWD system is constanly overheating (showing on display) and it is not making powerslides anygood...

Compared for example with Toyota LC200 > LC is just pure fun going sideways on such road conditions...

Comared with LS600hl > it is ***********g scary to get it sideways, because it looses end soooo widely, that before starting to powerslide, it looses car end through 2-3 lanes and just then it starts to tow out, though LS600hL has very good AWD system that has TorsenLSD in it...

Audriuss

P.S. if u're watching the news with London UK and see panic there, or Paris France...it is not a problem in my country or countries around because in winter time it is a MUST to have winter tyres on...in FRANCE, UK and othe West Europe countries it isn't so, so they have such problems if snow occurs...

rxets

2 meters of snow... this reminds me of the newfoundland...

.

Audriuss

This is what I am talking about (it says Saskatoon Canada), but it is nothing, I see, compered to Newfounland

Cruiter

We usually get one or two notable snows a year that cover the roads. Last nights was no exception other than we're loaded with a bunch of idiots down here as the video link will attest. http://www.11alive.com/weather/story...139464&catid=4

I took my RX450h out early and made some of the 1st tire tracks. It was about 22 F and the snow was a crunch type that was powder if you tried to make a snow ball. The car performed so well I couldn't tell when I had the snow mode on or off except from the light in the dash. When stopping hard the brakes would alternate and pump as necessary to stop straight and not slide sideways. I consider this perfect in a car as heavy as this and as tall as this. When accelerating hard enough to break traction, it just seemed like it would retard the throttle if traction started to break. When taking a turn I found out that unless you just insisted on living too far in the fast lane, it held it's own in the turns. BTW, I have the 19" Michelin's.

Bottom line, you had to try and try hard to get out of control below 40mph. I didn't get to go faster than that. No complaints, just admiration.

Now for some laughs at the expense of GA drivers. It appears in the video that one 2nd gen RX driver pulled off the road to let krazy's by and one Lexus sedan was an early enough model to not keep the driver (lady) from doing a 180 and using the side of a pickup to stop. for her