v_c@yahoo.com

I keep coming back to this forum cos I am amazed at the variation in reports of the RX330. This thread regarding the tyre wear is pretty interesting.

MY 2004 (2003 build) with almost 34000 still has the original tyres (MXV4-Plus) probably just over half worn, still plenty of tread left and I will be suprised if I dont see 50-60000,

You have the Michelins with the better treadwear around 400. The other tires are Goodyears with treadwear around 200. I think these are the only two tires available for the RX330 with 18" rims.

Lexus isn't looking for the "green" crowd with the 400h, they're looking to offer people more power and features while cashing in on the "hybrid" name which will bring Country Club noteriety (wow, Sally's got a hybrid etc)and will bring hybrid technology to the mainstream.

I agree with the "Country Club" wise-crack. Hybrids don't save money. Maybe they save gas.

Think about this: my RX330 reports an average of 24mpg. It will be driven about 15k miles per year. That's 625 gallons of gas. At $2/gal regular, it's about $1,250/yr for gas. Assuming you drive your car for 10years, that's about $12,500. So what if a hybrid will cut gas consumption to 50%. That's still $6,250 in gas saved. Now consider this: hybrids are going at a premium above asking. You've already blown the gas savings at that point. When it's time to replace the batteries, you're further into negative territory.

If money were not an object, I would buy the RX400h too. It's a cool car. But I still know I'm not saving money. If gas hits $5/gal within the next 10 years, then I'll concede to the 'saving gas' argument.

My RX330 is only 3 months old.  I seem to averaging only 16 mpg while the window sticker on the new car indicated 22 city and 26 highway, give or take.  I called the dealer, did the calculations twice as he instructed and came out with 15.6 mpg.  I took it in, they ran "diagnostics" and said the car was just fine and running as expected.  Help!  They can't really mean 10 mpg falls within "your mileage may vary" can they?  What kind of fuel mileage is everyone else getting?

By the way, I'm over 50 and have 2 kids.  I DO NOT drive like a race car driver.  Lots of city errands and about 30% freeway driving.

We have a new 330, bought about the same time. We get about that mileage, which is very disappointing since we traded in a LX 470 because of the mileage. We're in Texas, but I don't remember the sticker showing up to 25 mpg.

There are a lot of articles that came out this week on how wrong the EPA mileage estimates are. Basically, if you look at the ranges for each of the numbers (on the window sticker) and take the lowest numbers, then that's about what to expect. The computer on our RX330 reports an average of 24MPG for 80%Hwy/20%City with regular fuel. That's better than my Maxima at 21MPG on premium. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/u...buyersoffcourse