Impressions After A Week

[SloopG]

Today makes one week that I have been driving our 2008 RX400 AWD/Bamboo/Ivory. At 265 miles, I am averaging 25.4 mpg which to me is remarkable given that I have a 900 foot decent to commute to work and ascent when I come home every day. I try to use cruise control whenever possible and I definitely like using the B gear on the way down the hill. I normally have all green bars by the time I get to the bottom of the hill, about a 2 mile run. The RX feels solid with lots of pickup. The fit and finish is excellent . I really like the electric rear door and the memory seats, mirrors, steering wheel feature. I like the Michelin Energy MXV4 tires. Great handling and remarkably small turning radius for an SUV. My iPhone connects without any problem via Bluetooth and I am using a tape cartridge adapter to get to the ipod music stored on it. I am waiting for the Sirius receiver and a weathertech cargo mat. to come in at the dealer.

sloopG B)

[RX400h]

Congrats, Sloop,

We've had our RX for more than 2.5 years and are still loving it! (about 25 MPG)

Dave

[SloopG]

2 Week Update - 1400 miles ... 900+ this weekend.

Took the RX on a weekend trip from SF to LA. Averaged 24.7 mpg for the entire trip traveling at around 78 mph on Interstate 5. Mostly high speed highway driving. Very pleased with the handling and comfort of the ride. Performed great a highway speed... no trouble accelerating quickly, passing and climbing the big grades in and out of LA. The B gear worked very well coming down the big grades.

A few little negatives I noted...

--You are locked out of making adjustments to the navigation while you are driving. Wish there was an override so I can turn on the trip routing without having to stop especially when a destination is already programmed in.

--The interstate exit information only showed when a trip was being routed. Could not figure out how to get exit info when not in routed trip mode.

--The estimated time to your destination is based on preprogrammed speed settings and not a real-time calculation based on your actual speed.

--The radio does not autoscroll text so you have to hold down the text button to get the full song information. Wish it autoscrolled as it is safer than messing with the text button while driving.

--The Sirius sat radio performed well but the text msg is limited to 10 characters and you cannot scroll to see the rest. A real limitation. You would think for the money they charged, the unit would be able to handle this.

--The cruise control did not do a good job holding the speed constant coming down the big grades. Had to switch to the B gear and use the brakes as necessary.

--There is not enough storage compartment space in the drivers area. I am used to larger storage areas especially on a long trip. I will have to rethink how I organize everything for the next trip.

--Wish it had the double sunvisors like the Land Cruiser so you can flip one over to the side window and still have a visor to flip down in front. It was a pain having to shift the visor from the side window to the front window as the position of the sun changed while driving.

I know these are real nits. I am very pleased overall with the RX400h. I was greeted back to SF with $3.64/gallon premium gasoline prices. Can $4.00/gallon gasoline be far away?

[RX400h]

2 Week Update - 1400 miles ... 900+ this weekend.

Took the RX on a weekend trip from SF to LA. Averaged 24.7 mpg for the entire trip traveling at around 78 mph on Interstate 5. Mostly high speed highway driving. Very pleased with the handling and comfort of the ride. Performed great a highway speed... no trouble accelerating quickly, passing and climbing the big grades in and out of LA. The B gear worked very well coming down the big grades.

A few little negatives I noted...

--You are locked out of making adjustments to the navigation while you are driving. Wish there was an override so I can turn on the trip routing without having to stop especially when a destination is already programmed in.

--The interstate exit information only showed when a trip was being routed. Could not figure out how to get exit info when not in routed trip mode.

--The estimated time to your destination is based on preprogrammed speed settings and not a real-time calculation based on your actual speed.

--The radio does not autoscroll text so you have to hold down the text button to get the full song information. Wish it autoscrolled as it is safer than messing with the text button while driving.

--The Sirius sat radio performed well but the text msg is limited to 10 characters and you cannot scroll to see the rest. A real limitation. You would think for the money they charged, the unit would be able to handle this.

--The cruise control did not do a good job holding the speed constant coming down the big grades. Had to switch to the B gear and use the brakes as necessary.

--There is not enough storage compartment space in the drivers area. I am used to larger storage areas especially on a long trip. I will have to rethink how I organize everything for the next trip.

--Wish it had the double sunvisors like the Land Cruiser so you can flip one over to the side window and still have a visor to flip down in front. It was a pain having to shift the visor from the side window to the front window as the position of the sun changed while driving.

I know these are real nits. I am very pleased overall with the RX400h. I was greeted back to SF with $3.64/gallon premium gasoline prices. Can $4.00/gallon gasoline be far away?

I used my father's Garmin NUVI 660 NAV for quite a while and was very happy to get back to using the one in the RX - much better, IMO. And yes, gas prices are rising through the roof!

[vinovelo]

2 Week Update - 1400 miles ... 900+ this weekend.

Took the RX on a weekend trip from SF to LA. Averaged 24.7 mpg for the entire trip traveling at around 78 mph on Interstate 5. Mostly high speed highway driving. Very pleased with the handling and comfort of the ride. Performed great a highway speed... no trouble accelerating quickly, passing and climbing the big grades in and out of LA. The B gear worked very well coming down the big grades.

A few little negatives I noted...

--You are locked out of making adjustments to the navigation while you are driving. Wish there was an override so I can turn on the trip routing without having to stop especially when a destination is already programmed in.

--The interstate exit information only showed when a trip was being routed. Could not figure out how to get exit info when not in routed trip mode.

--The estimated time to your destination is based on preprogrammed speed settings and not a real-time calculation based on your actual speed.

--The radio does not autoscroll text so you have to hold down the text button to get the full song information. Wish it autoscrolled as it is safer than messing with the text button while driving.

--The Sirius sat radio performed well but the text msg is limited to 10 characters and you cannot scroll to see the rest. A real limitation. You would think for the money they charged, the unit would be able to handle this.

--The cruise control did not do a good job holding the speed constant coming down the big grades. Had to switch to the B gear and use the brakes as necessary.

--There is not enough storage compartment space in the drivers area. I am used to larger storage areas especially on a long trip. I will have to rethink how I organize everything for the next trip.

--Wish it had the double sunvisors like the Land Cruiser so you can flip one over to the side window and still have a visor to flip down in front. It was a pain having to shift the visor from the side window to the front window as the position of the sun changed while driving.

I know these are real nits. I am very pleased overall with the RX400h. I was greeted back to SF with $3.64/gallon premium gasoline prices. Can $4.00/gallon gasoline be far away?

I used my father's Garmin NUVI 660 NAV for quite a while and was very happy to get back to using the one in the RX - much better, IMO. And yes, gas prices are rising through the roof!

Hmm.. Is that to say that the time to destination is not updated durring the trip based on your

current location?

My Acura NAVI system will update based on your current location such that the remainder of the trip

is calculated based on speed limits of the roads. If I am stuck in traffic I can see the time estimate

go up. If I am driving faster than the speed limit it goes down but only to the limit of the speed limits

programmed in the database.

I thought the RX's system was pretty much the same in that regard.

As far as not being able to use the touch screen once in motion, I agree, that it total BS. My Acrua

sedan has no such limitations. But, I was under the impression that the system could be changed

with voice commands while in motion. Is this not the case?

I am planning on purchasing an 08 RH400h in December. Location: San Jose

/Steve

[Jim Nazium]

2 Week Update - 1400 miles ... 900+ this weekend.

Took the RX on a weekend trip from SF to LA. Averaged 24.7 mpg for the entire trip traveling at around 78 mph on Interstate 5. Mostly high speed highway driving. Very pleased with the handling and comfort of the ride. Performed great a highway speed... no trouble accelerating quickly, passing and climbing the big grades in and out of LA. The B gear worked very well coming down the big grades.

A few little negatives I noted...

--You are locked out of making adjustments to the navigation while you are driving. Wish there was an override so I can turn on the trip routing without having to stop especially when a destination is already programmed in.

--The interstate exit information only showed when a trip was being routed. Could not figure out how to get exit info when not in routed trip mode.

--The estimated time to your destination is based on preprogrammed speed settings and not a real-time calculation based on your actual speed.

--The radio does not autoscroll text so you have to hold down the text button to get the full song information. Wish it autoscrolled as it is safer than messing with the text button while driving.

--The Sirius sat radio performed well but the text msg is limited to 10 characters and you cannot scroll to see the rest. A real limitation. You would think for the money they charged, the unit would be able to handle this.

--The cruise control did not do a good job holding the speed constant coming down the big grades. Had to switch to the B gear and use the brakes as necessary.

--There is not enough storage compartment space in the drivers area. I am used to larger storage areas especially on a long trip. I will have to rethink how I organize everything for the next trip.

--Wish it had the double sunvisors like the Land Cruiser so you can flip one over to the side window and still have a visor to flip down in front. It was a pain having to shift the visor from the side window to the front window as the position of the sun changed while driving.

I know these are real nits. I am very pleased overall with the RX400h. I was greeted back to SF with $3.64/gallon premium gasoline prices. Can $4.00/gallon gasoline be far away?

I used my father's Garmin NUVI 660 NAV for quite a while and was very happy to get back to using the one in the RX - much better, IMO. And yes, gas prices are rising through the roof!

Hmm.. Is that to say that the time to destination is not updated durring the trip based on your

current location?

My Acura NAVI system will update based on your current location such that the remainder of the trip

is calculated based on speed limits of the roads. If I am stuck in traffic I can see the time estimate

go up. If I am driving faster than the speed limit it goes down but only to the limit of the speed limits

programmed in the database.

I thought the RX's system was pretty much the same in that regard.

As far as not being able to use the touch screen once in motion, I agree, that it total BS. My Acrua

sedan has no such limitations. But, I was under the impression that the system could be changed

with voice commands while in motion. Is this not the case?

I am planning on purchasing an 08 RH400h in December. Location: San Jose

/Steve

My Navi system updates time and distance to arrival, as I make my way from my initial to final destination. I notice this when all of a sudden, my trip is bogged by traffic, as the average speed decreases the time factor increases for the same number of miles travelled.

Cheers,

MadloR

P.S. the Acura system is probably my favorite Navi system to date. I like it better than my M5 system.

[SloopG]

I am learning the voice commands. There is one specifically to disengage the route currently turned on but none to engage a new route. I found a navigation update screen that allows you to change the average speeds for street and highway travel.... must mean that it is using these settings to calculate your time to distance versus using your actual car speed.. seems lame as my 7 year old Magellan system in my LandCruiser uses actual speed to calculate time to distance and ETA.

The Lexus dealer in San Jose is OK. Ask for Brian, their internet sales manager. I bought mine from Serramonte... ask for Chris. Both were very responsive and professional.