scubamike

First let me qualify this post by saying that I just returned from Jump Starting my wife's RX400h. Now - who was the genius who designed a car that has megavolts stored in the drive batteries - but will not start if the 12v is partially discharged? What was he thinking? This was not the first time it has had to be jump started - and I assume it will not be the last. The "girls" went shopping today in Dallas - about 50 mile round trip. About 10:30 tonight they wanted to go to Sonic for a snack - and that is where i found them - car so dead they couldn't even get the power windows to work more than a few inches. It sure looks like they could figure out a way to power the computer up with the drive batteries. The price that you pay for the RX "H" series is a ripoff - especially considering the fuel economy you get. We get 24 mpg around town with "easy driving" Our record is 27.5 on a 3.5 mile grocery store run. Funny thing is that my BMW M5 with 400hp can get up to 23 around town and a little better than 26mpg on the highway if I keep my foot out of it and under 75. I had to pay $800+ gas gussler tax on this car when new - and it can eat the 400h's lunch on gas mileage. Maybe "eat it's lunch" is not quite accurate - but it can BEAT it. As to the post with the BMW330ci @ 14mpg - and when I drive the M5 for "fun" if you know what I mean I have never dropped below 16-17mpg Now for the guy in the posts that said in reponse to someone worrying about the cost of replacing the hybrid drive battery - and I paraphrase - "don't worry about the used 400h batteries as there have never been any Prius battery replacements - and they are older". Well - why don't I give you my Mom's phone number? Her 2001 Prius battery was replaced a couple of years ago and the dealer told her she was lucky that she bought the extended warranty - as the dealership had replaced another set a few weeks before for around $5,000. I am not a Toyota-Lexus hater, but it amazes me the folks who are drinking the Toyota kool-aid and deciminating such stupid advice. Almost done - rented a Dodge Charger a few weeks ago in North Carolina. Driving from Charlotte to Wintson-Salem I was surprised that once I reset the computer - I was getting 30 mpg on the highway at 70 - 80 mph. Around town got about 21 - 23. On the way back to Charlotte a few days later I thought that I would see how many MPG I could get - I still kept it around 70 - 75, not dropping below 65 and got up to 35.6 mpg before having to exit for the airport. Turned it in with 34.9 mpg on the computer. I will not be replacing the 400h with another rip-off Lexus Hybrid - probably go for the Hybrid Porsche Cayenne, better gas mileage than the RX-H series and a lot more fun.