Considering Buying A Rx400h

[Lexus876]

I am considering buying a RX400h because of a new job that I got :) I was just curious about it and had some questions. The driving conditions where I am from ( Baton Rouge, Louisiana ) are fairly ok but I would say 65% of the time I drive in the city. Is the 400h specifically built for stop-and-go traffic and will it achieve better gas mileage in these conditions? I really want a Lexus again because it is the first car I ever had and because of the customer service. And I have to ask is the navigation add-on worth the extra money if I have an iPhone that I could use instead??

[RX400h]

For the most part, the more city mileage you drive, the better the average fuel economy. So yes, this sounds like the perfect vehicle for you. Does the iphone have GPS navigation? I highly recommend the navigation option in the RX. I compared it directly to a Garmin NUVI 660 and I felt that the Lexus Navi has the edge when it comes to voice-guidance. Yes, the 660 is less expensive, but the Lexus Navi is very convenient to use.

[Jim Clark]

You'd have a hard time finding a new 400h without nav. Dealers nearly always order these cars loaded because the great majority of customers want them that way. When you go to re-sell it, the next buyer will want the nav. It's a pretty good system, better than your Ipod.

Your gas mileage will be better on average with more city driving. BUT, gas mileage by itself is not a good enough reason to spend the extra $3700 for the hybrid. The payback is too long. But there are other reasons that make it worth it like the excellent torque provided by the electric motors and the CVT transmission.

I'm not sure the Mark Levinson stereo is worth the extra money. For that money, you could do a better aftermarket upgrade.

[JimsGX]

I am considering buying a RX400h because of a new job that I got :) I was just curious about it and had some questions. The driving conditions where I am from ( Baton Rouge, Louisiana ) are fairly ok but I would say 65% of the time I drive in the city. Is the 400h specifically built for stop-and-go traffic and will it achieve better gas mileage in these conditions? I really want a Lexus again because it is the first car I ever had and because of the customer service. And I have to ask is the navigation add-on worth the extra money if I have an iPhone that I could use instead??

Part of the fun of owning the 400h is being able to see via the NAV screen what the battery status is and what the driveline is doing visually. You lose this by not having the NAV display plus the other visual's that I wouldn't want to give up like the speed dial for the phone, etc... I don't know if the ML is worth it in this vehicle, but if I had to do it again, I'd take the time to find one with it and listen to it. One of the shortcoming's in the 400h is the base radio isn't very good IMHO...

[Lexus876]

I am considering buying a RX400h because of a new job that I got :) I was just curious about it and had some questions. The driving conditions where I am from ( Baton Rouge, Louisiana ) are fairly ok but I would say 65% of the time I drive in the city. Is the 400h specifically built for stop-and-go traffic and will it achieve better gas mileage in these conditions? I really want a Lexus again because it is the first car I ever had and because of the customer service. And I have to ask is the navigation add-on worth the extra money if I have an iPhone that I could use instead??

Part of the fun of owning the 400h is being able to see via the NAV screen what the battery status is and what the driveline is doing visually. You lose this by not having the NAV display plus the other visual's that I wouldn't want to give up like the speed dial for the phone, etc... I don't know if the ML is worth it in this vehicle, but if I had to do it again, I'd take the time to find one with it and listen to it. One of the shortcoming's in the 400h is the base radio isn't very good IMHO...

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I decided to wait to get one, mainly because the college kids where I live are very lousy drivers and I'd feel alot safer not having to drive it around campus for obvious reasons. And as to the job, just incase you are wondering how a college student can afford a car like this, I fix and install computers/ computer systems. Thanks for all of the help, I will definitely get a nav system now. Only complaint is that the smokey granite mica color doesn't allow an ivory leather interior :(

[Lex Rida]

Let's not forget about the backup camera, I wouldn't want to go without it. No Nav no backup camera.

And since it's a hybrid, it's fun to see the mpg statistics and also generated electricity levels. I love to floor it from time to time but it also became a habit to try to run with low or no fuel consumption. Hard to do without the Nav screen.

Stop & Go traffic has never been so relaxing then with the RX400h. SUV style overview, enclosed in your comfortable cockpit sealed from hardly any outside noise, running on battery most of the time and feeling sorry for all the other drivers wasting gas & nerves.

[silvercorvette]

I owned a 2007 RX400H with the NAV and it was a POS compaired to the Garmin 7500 I own. The Garmin is a far better system, however I would recommend getting the Lexus NAV for the energey display and the back up camera. The GPS fuctions will blank out almost all of the functions while the car is moving which makes it useless for finding and calling ahead to reserve a motel . On long trips I keep the Garmin on the dashboard, but around town and short trips the Lexus is OK. One feature that the Garmin has that should be included in the Lexus is a traffic jam aleart. The Garmin gives you the option of setting it to automatically re-route you around traffic jams or just let you know there is a problem and let you decide if you want to continue on the route. There have been many time when I asked both the Lexus and Garmin to find a detour route. In some locations the Lexus couldn’t do it but the Garmin did.

You will regret not getting the Lexus NAV even with the limited capability, but spending and extra $1,000 for the Garmin will give you the best of both systems

PS don't expect good MPGs till you get at least 5,000 miles on it and learn to drive the hybrid to take full advantage of the hybrid system. Just before I got rid of my RX I was getting between 30 and 33 mpg.

[RX400h]

Unlike Silver, I actually prefer our Lexus NAV over a Garmin Nuvi 660 that I bought for my Dad. I spent at least 3 hours using the Garmin and I was glad to get back to our Lexus NAV. I especially appreciate the brief reminders to stay on a particular highway before another route heads into view. The Garmin didn't seem to give me enough warning when a similar incident occured.

What I'm trying to say is - the NAV is a great thing to have even if it doesn't have every feature you could possibly want. I am certainly glad I have mine and I'm sure you will, too.

Dave

[silvercorvette]

I am not familiar with the unit you mentioned, but I did have and older Garmin that I gave to my cousin when I got the 7500 and the 7500 is far better that the other Garmin I had, it also has the same screen size as the Lexus NAV. I have never had a problem with the 7500 not giving advance notice, and the Garmin has an auto zoom feature the zooms in for more detail when you are getting near a turn. The Garmin also gives better voice instructions, it will say turn right at terry road instead of turn right at next street.

Again I think it is worth while to get the factory NAV but the Garmin and the factory NAV together are nice to have. If I had to choose just one I am not sure which one I would get

[SW03ES]

I've had the factory nav for 5 years (actually have it on two cars) and have never regretted buying it once. I also prefer it to Garmin and TomTom units ive used.

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Let's not forget about the backup camera, I wouldn't want to go without it. No Nav no backup camera.

. . . . . . . . . . snip

Are you saying the 400h can't have Nav w/out having a backup camera? Or do you mean you PERSONALLY wouldn't be w/out both. After all, the MFD is installed regardless of Nav. All the backup camera needs is the MFD. The Nav & backup camera are completely independent, so you COULD have one w/out the other.

Unlike Silver, I actually prefer our Lexus NAV over a Garmin Nuvi 660 that I bought for my Dad. I spent at least 3 hours using the Garmin and I was glad to get back to our Lexus NAV. I especially appreciate the brief reminders to stay on a particular highway before another route heads into view. The Garmin didn't seem to give me enough warning when a similar incident occured.

. . . . . . . . snip

Yep, the Garmin simply tells you, "off route .... recalculating" when you go the wrong way.

[Lex Rida]

Are you saying the 400h can't have Nav w/out having a backup camera? Or do you mean you PERSONALLY wouldn't be w/out both. After all, the MFD is installed regardless of Nav. All the backup camera needs is the MFD. The Nav & backup camera are completely independent, so you COULD have one w/out the other.

I apologize for any false information I may have distributed.

that's what I was talking about:

This IS an RX400h, check the kW-gauge on the left (funny gear shifter BTW)

[SW03ES]

That shifter is just missing the knob ;)

Yeah the 400h doesn't have the MFD when it doesn't have nav like the Prius does. So no backup camera or economy screen.

[RX400h]

Here, I have the perfect shift knob for the discerning female driver.....

http://www.conceptualpolymer.com/2008ScionPink.jpg

Actually, this picture shows a it in a new Scion Xb, but our shifters are exactly the same.

[silvercorvette]

Let's not forget about the backup camera, I wouldn't want to go without it. No Nav no backup camera.

. . . . . . . . . . snip

Are you saying the 400h can't have Nav w/out having a backup camera? Or do you mean you PERSONALLY wouldn't be w/out both. After all, the MFD is installed regardless of Nav. All the backup camera needs is the MFD. The Nav & backup camera are completely independent, so you COULD have one w/out the other.

Unlike Silver, I actually prefer our Lexus NAV over a Garmin Nuvi 660 that I bought for my Dad. I spent at least 3 hours using the Garmin and I was glad to get back to our Lexus NAV. I especially appreciate the brief reminders to stay on a particular highway before another route heads into view. The Garmin didn't seem to give me enough warning when a similar incident occured.

. . . . . . . . snip

Yep, the Garmin simply tells you, "off route .... recalculating" when you go the wrong way.

Garmin makes dozens of different units if you are comparing the lexus to a less expensive Garmin it isn't a fair comparison. It's like saying a Chevy Corvette isn't fast because you drove a Chevy Colbalt that was slow.If you haven't used the Garmin 7500 you really haven't seen how many more things a GPS unit is capability of doing. The Garmin 7500 is better than the Lexus and maybe the best GPS on the market. It has a built in MP# player that I like to use to listen to old time radio shows on long trips. It has a built in XM radio that gives traffic weather, and stock reports. It has a better database that shows more stores and businesses than the Lexus, and most of the streets in Anderson SC that show up on the Garmin are missing on the Lexus GPS.. Even though it is better than the Lexus I still would want the factory unit for the additional display features.

PS AS crazy as it may seem to have a remote control for a GPS, I have found that the Garmin Remote control comes in handy because it allows me to use the unit without reaching over to touch the dashboard. But on the other hand the Lexus blanks out most of the features while the car is moving.

[vinovelo]

Let's not forget about the backup camera, I wouldn't want to go without it. No Nav no backup camera.

. . . . . . . . . . snip

Are you saying the 400h can't have Nav w/out having a backup camera? Or do you mean you PERSONALLY wouldn't be w/out both. After all, the MFD is installed regardless of Nav. All the backup camera needs is the MFD. The Nav & backup camera are completely independent, so you COULD have one w/out the other.

Unlike Silver, I actually prefer our Lexus NAV over a Garmin Nuvi 660 that I bought for my Dad. I spent at least 3 hours using the Garmin and I was glad to get back to our Lexus NAV. I especially appreciate the brief reminders to stay on a particular highway before another route heads into view. The Garmin didn't seem to give me enough warning when a similar incident occured.

. . . . . . . . snip

Yep, the Garmin simply tells you, "off route .... recalculating" when you go the wrong way.

Garmin makes dozens of different units if you are comparing the lexus to a less expensive Garmin it isn't a fair comparison. It's like saying a Chevy Corvette isn't fast because you drove a Chevy Colbalt that was slow.If you haven't used the Garmin 7500 you really haven't seen how many more things a GPS unit is capability of doing. The Garmin 7500 is better than the Lexus and maybe the best GPS on the market. It has a built in MP# player that I like to use to listen to old time radio shows on long trips. It has a built in XM radio that gives traffic weather, and stock reports. It has a better database that shows more stores and businesses than the Lexus, and most of the streets in Anderson SC that show up on the Garmin are missing on the Lexus GPS.. Even though it is better than the Lexus I still would want the factory unit for the additional display features.

PS AS crazy as it may seem to have a remote control for a GPS, I have found that the Garmin Remote control comes in handy because it allows me to use the unit without reaching over to touch the dashboard. But on the other hand the Lexus blanks out most of the features while the car is moving.

Very interesting on the Garmin unit. I wonder if you got the two units working at the same time if they would get into an argument on

route instructions!

Another benefit I would imagine is the ability to leave the dash display on INFO while using the Garmin so you can see maps and drivetrain information at the same time. The ability to use the Garmin while driving is a BIG motivator. I find the Lexus unit voice recgnition practically useless. Sometimes it get names correct easily and other times no matter how clearly I speak it is off the wall. Plus little things like always having to run through state, city, street enter addreses is an annoying.

I have a 7 year old Acura NAVI that has a much better GUI. The only thing the Lexus unit has over it is it is faster and displays intersection graphics better with a larger display.

/Steve

[JeffDonnelly]

We get 27 mpg with ours for mixed city and highway driving