Nytimes Rx-400h Opinion Piece

[katzjamr]

LexRex thanks for your efforts to gather owners real world experiences. Patt i do agree with you that braking and learning to drive a hybrid makes a huge difference in mpg. It is something the NYT reviewer could not have time to learn. He also was not aware that cruise control on the freeway adds mpg over using the gas pedal. He drove the vehicle in mostly freeway conditions, not an honest way to test this SUV for mileage. He said it takes premium gas, also not true from what i can tell in my manuel. The graph that was used in his article indicated that gas would have to cost $23.50 per gallon to make it pay. That i thot had to be a typo but still it was there. He mentioned an electric whine at freeway speeds, i dont have that in my 400h. He mentioned nothing about the combination of quickness and handling that this vehicle has that is head and shoulders above anything else out there. The whole tone of the article was so unfair to what Toyota has created with the 400h. I get an honest 25 to 27 mph on regular fuel with mixed freeway/city driving. This replaces a 99 Ford Exploder that got 15 mpg, was less safe and had seats that felt like i was in a pit bulls mouth. You do the math. I am not looking through rose colored glasses with this car, yes its expensive, the interior to me is harder to maintain from a cleaning standpoint, everything marks the plastic surfaces, and the dog has been banished from this vehicle and yes hes very angry about it.

Bottom line, im happy with the mpg, very happy with the quickness and comfort, the car puts a smile on my face each time i drive it and i would do it again in a heartbeat. Keep giving em hell, sincerely yours Dave in Seattle

[RX400h]

We went from a Nissan Quest that was averaging about 17-18 MPG to the RX400h, which consistently delivers 25 MPG. The paint, fit and interior finish is superb and electric motor noise occurs only under heavy load. 28% better fuel milage and 110 HP and 450 lbs-ft of extra power is no compromise at all, and the way fuel prices are rising, even simple payback calculations show a time period that is reasonable. (....well, except for Lexkid!)

[patt]

...  He said it takes premium gas, also not true from what i can tell in my manuel.  The graph that was used in his article indicated that gas would have to cost $23.50 per gallon to make it pay.  That i thot had to be a typo but still it was there.

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Note that the article author LexRex is talking to is not the same as the one that wrote the review. The article on why real mileage isn't as good as EPA for most people was pretty well done.

The chart indicates that the $23.50 was calculated by Edmunds.com. The $23.50 per gallon comes from the gas savings necessary to make up the difference between base price on an RX330 and base price on an RX400H. The base price on the RX400H contains a lot of things that are optional on the FWD RX330 so it isn't a fair comparison. It isn't even clear to me that the base price is real because they don't seem to let you configure the RX330 in California without at least some options. It is a pretty bogus comaprison.

[katzjamr]

Thanks for the correction.