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They don't call them wagons here; they are refered to as "crossovers". The only wagon I see is the Audi. The term "Station Wagon" is essentially, obsolete. What's in a name? btw VW has wagons too, so has MB and BMW... anyway cars that look like wagons but are called differently are the future! :P

Wagons have traditionally been poor sellers; that's why you probably won't see a wagon hybrid anytime soon. However if they were to make one, they'd most likely use the Camry hybrid as the platform. Wagons were poor sellers in the US because everybody was buying SUVs... now the tendency is going in the same direction as Europe, where wagons are hugely popular because they offer the best space/fuel consumption combination. More and more car makers are re-introducing wagons in the US, they will be very popular, very soon.

Well, if Lexus would come out with a luxury wagon with the same technology as the upcoming Prius, it will be a winner.. and a huge one. I was hesitating between the Prius and the RX400H... The Prius being a bit too bare, but best economics, the RX being a bit to big and worse economics, but best comfort... I choose the RX.. but would swap for a Hybrid luxury wagon the day it would be on sale.

You do? The RX has a max towing of 3500... a 16' Bambi weights 2,825 empty.. add some water, propane and personal belongings and you're very quickly over 3500.... if you have the airco it is even more.... sounds rather dangerous to me. From personal experience I would never tow something that weights 3500 with a car that has less than 5000 tow capacity. (I had a 16' CCD Bambi behind my FJ Cruiser, which was JUST ok in some circumstances)

The DICE is another iPod solution http://www.diceelectronics.com/ipod_integration.htm It costs around $150 and connecting it is a piece of cake, no drilling... just connecting to either the SAT radio input or the external CD changer input (not to be confused with the build in cd change) gives either the info on the touch screen if you have the sat nav, or the smaller display. I did it myself in 20 minutes. Sound quality is perfect. You can connect also other mp3 player or other sound players to the DICE as it also has an aux input.

I've noticed this already a few times on my 08 RX400H when stopping while driving over a small pothole or similar. Although the car does stop normally, and I don't think it is a dangerous "defect" it surely feels strange since you think the brakes stop working for a fraction of a sec.

Exactly what I was thinking... that's the only reason I can come up with too... There might be a problem with finding the right dvd though.. Since the nav has been upgraded lately, not just the maps, but also the software (I noticed many menus and items on my current RX400H are different than they were on my euro RX330) Don't know if this has any influence, probably not since the DVD just contains the map info and nothing else. Which country did you import it to? I'm wondering since a family member is asking me to buy him a RX and I would like to know more about doing such a transfer.

Hi, Just installed the Dice Silverlink on my 08 RX400H, works like charm.. done in 20 minutes and costs $160. Very happy!

Good Info! My previous RX330 in Europe (called RX300 there) didn't have the roof rack, wasn't even an option! It still isn't in most markets. My brand new RX400H obviously does have the roof rack and it has to go. I think it looks much better without... never understood this roof rack thing anyway, I suppose it looks "manly"? Anyway, you cannot discuss taste.. well.. most of the time... I'm going to inform myself in europe if I can order those plastic pieces to cover the holes.

This is new for me, never heard of it. I don't have my manual from that euro car, but pretty sure it mentioned to mount only chains on the front or on all 4 wheels, never just on the back. From all the mountain people I know and who have 4x4's, (most don't) they all mount chains or spikes only on the front wheels, the wheels that steer the car ned the most traction, especially going down hill. There is NO tire shop that will install tire studs on only the front of a FWD car, the liability due to the additional potential for an accident due to loss of directional control is far to great. Just think of a tractor/trailer rig going downhill on a slippery roadbed with only tractor/"front" brakes. And no reasonably experienced 4Wd/4X4 owner would EVER install tire chains on the front first. The rule is to put them on the rear first and then add the fronts if conditions warrant. I suppose if you only want to PULL/drive uphill then desparately heavier traction on the front might work okay. But yes, for FWD or F/AWD you often have no choice but to mount tire chains first, and often only, on the front. But keep in mind, CONSTANTLY, that the resulting potential for loss of directional control is so severe as to often be EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, especially on a slippery downhill drive, and even moreso on a curving slippery downhill drive. And be prepared to QUICKLY shift your automatic transmission into neutral should engine compression braking on the front wheels begin threatening loss of directional control. And remember that ABS cannot be as effective, and may even become completely non-functional, if the roadbed is slippery enough and/or a significant level of engine compression braking is also "in play". I think you might be mistaking permanent 4x4 and AWD, RWD and FWD, Winter tires and Studs. There is absolutely no point installing tire studs on the rear wheels of a FWD. And you also mix up down hill and uphill; it is uphill you would need more grip on the back, and downhill more on the front. The most grip has to be where the most weight is and that changes going up/down hill. Since you don't wants to change your chains all the time from the front or the back.. nor taking off/ putting chains on all 4 wheels... and since going downhill has the highest risk of something going wrong, again because of the weight, it makes the most sense using chains/spikes only on the front. Just like everybody does in the Swiss Alps, where I've lived for 15 years.

Never lease before, so I don't know. But if you plan to keep the vehicle less than 2-3 years, it's better to lease it. Buying it brand new you will take the steepest depreciation on the vehicle for the first 2-3 years, sometime as much as 45% in 3 years. Lease, you may have some limitations, such as 10-12K per year, do you drive a lot? Plus, you'll have nothing after 2-3 years. I recently bought my RX400h after driving my Maxima for 12 years, 172K. I now park it in my backyard. Plan to give it to charity or my nephew cause I will only get rip off if I trade in, and I hate car salesman making profit by ripping people off. Conclusion: Buy if keep more than 5 years. Lease: if only keep 2-3 years Up to now I have always opted to buy the car, making a healthy down payement, and selling it after 2 years. It always turned out cheaper than way than the leasing options I was given by the dealers.

Really? did you get bigger wheels? It wasn't needed on mine at all, I used Spiders on the 18'

This is new for me, never heard of it. I don't have my manual from that euro car, but pretty sure it mentioned to mount only chains on the front or on all 4 wheels, never just on the back. From all the mountain people I know and who have 4x4's, (most don't) they all mount chains or spikes only on the front wheels, the wheels that steer the car need the most traction, especially going down hill. UPDATE: I just read the manual of my Rx400H.. it indicates to "have your vehicle fitted with four snow tires or purchase a set of tire chains for the FRONT tires". and then again, on page 183, which size chains to install: " INSTALL THE CHAINS ON THE FRONT TIRES. And again on page 184: INSTALL THE CHAINS ON THE FRONT TIRES ONLY. DO NOT INSTALL TIRE CHAINS ON THE REAR TIRES.

FWD is perfectly fine in most situations. The AWD on snow can help, but not necessarily. On snow it is the weight of the car that is the biggest handicap when going downhill or when sliding. I managed to slide in the Italian Dolomites with my previous RX 330 AWD with chains on the front and going 5 mph. Actually in the Dolomites you see many similar cars, especially the Cayenne, that crash because the drivers think they're safe because of the AWD. I just got a RX400H AWD, only because of the color really, if they would have had a FWD I would have taken that one for that extra 1 mpg (slightly lighter car) So, if you like to feel more secure, get an AWD, but don't rely to much on it!

Congratuations! Wow, your must be fully loaded! Mine was $50,500 MSRP with everything including towing package (except DVD entertainment). My dealership was really nice, they treated me like royal(holding door, call me sir, open vehicle's door, pulling chair, bring me water etc...) that made me ALMOST uncomfortable. I thought Lexus has a reputation of treating customer REALLY WELL in their dealership. Where I live, the BMW dealership treat people like crap, I vowed not to come again! What car did you trade in? How much? They usually rip you off when you trade in. Why didn't you sell online on your local listing? (unless your car is still worth a lot so the tax credit may worth it). I have been putting on 91, .20 difference. But my dealer told me it's ok to use 89, don't use 87. Thanks! I absolutely love this car! and am so happy about the all silver/grey and black color combination. The car is fully loaded, more than we wanted really, but it was the only one like it on the lot... and we were lusting for it. an AWD, It has everything including the towing package and rear dvd entertainment and 18' wheels... only thing missing is the radar cruise control. I traded in a 2 year old FJ Cruiser, Kelley Blue book indicated 19000 - 21000, got 19000. I could have had more for it if I sold it online, but since I'm about to travel abroad, I didn't want the hassle of selling it privately. I did go to several places for quotes, they all told the same story: your car would be worth more if the used car market wasn't flooded with that kind of bad mpg SUV's. Thanks for the info on the gas.. When I need the fill up I will try 89! Next monday they will install the Ice link for my iPod/iPhone, perfect!

Hi, We just bought our Rx400H yesterday. Full price was just above $53,000. We managed to get $3000 of the price and another $1500 more for our used car than they were offering in the beginning. We almost walked out of the dealership when we realised how little the vendor new about the actual car but he did know all his vendor tricks... All of a sudden we started to feel that we were there just to make them money.. which is of course true, but a client should never ever feel that way... then his boss saved the sale by quickly offering more for the used car and discounting the new one... maybe not enough, but it made us feel "clients" again and we decided to buy. I would prefer to use regular or medium gas instead of premium... any problems?

Hi fellow Lexii owners! My first post....We just bought our RX400 H yesterday. Back in Europe we had a RX330 before the hybrid came out, we loved that car.. and now, finally after one other car (FJ cruiser) we got it back, this time as a hybrid. We really wanted the Brandywine color, which looked beautiful, but we didn't like the Ivory Leather Trim with Light Golden Bird’s-Eye Maple Accent and black dash and silver detail interior mix that was on all the Brandywine models our dealer had.. Personally I don't like wood in interiors, I rather have the all "aluminum" look, but that wasn't available either on the full package car we wanted.. And then we drove home with a Classic Silver Metallic, with Light Gray Leather Trim with Black Bird's-Eye Maple Accent... I never thought I would buy anything in grey leather.. but it suits the silver metallic perfectly, and basically the car is 2 tone.. black and grey... We're very happy with this color combination.. although the floor mats are already dirty after 30 miles!