RX400h

I had to chuckle when I read that one. The RX400h has had the longest waiting list in the history of Lexus. And with city milage that bests the 330 by 78%, I would hardly call it a gas hog!

I must remind everyone that the RX400h is not even close to being the first of its kind. It uses the same technology as does the Prius, including the CVT tranny. Do you remember when Lexus came out with the first LS400? It was the first V8 engine that Toyota ever dropped in a car, yet it was extremely reliable right from the start. Nissan coupled a CVT tranny in the very potent Murano SUV. Consumer Reports rates it as very reliable. It was their first CVT here in the US. So, "roll the dice" is, in my opinion, not a very accurate way to decribe the purchase of the latest Lexus. I believe that Toyota wil stand behind every one they sell and should some catastrophic failure occur (highly unlikely, given the excellent reliability of the Prius), I am certain they will make things good. That being said, I must also thank everyone for their opinions. All are well-taken.

...just a bit over $2400 for 7 years, 100,000 miles if purchased at time of auto purchase. If you don't buy it then, the price goes up $300 per year.

If so, how much do they typically run? Is it true that you can buy it anytime before the original warranty runs out? The big question is: Is it worth the money?

Not only can you drive it on the beach, but you can also drive it in the snow and mud. You can't drive it up a 50 degree incline with boulders the size of refrigerators, but then again, who does that in an RX330 or RX300 anyway?

Primarily, it's: 1) Not having to stop at the gas station twice per week 2) Having 650 lbs-ft of torque at your toes 3) Having every option known to man (and woman) at your fingertips 4) Did I mention 650 lbs-ft of torque? 5) Not having any squeeks, rattles, or tranny hesitation issues 6) Getting stuck in traffic and not using any gas for 2 miles or more 7) driving the most advanced vehicle on the planet. Heck, even Porsche is asking to lease the technology, and you how nationalistic they can be!

Seems to me the reason to buy the 400h has little to do with fuel economy and more to do with better performance (or having a good greeney feeling). Let's see, the 400h is rated at 31 city and 27 highway and the 330 is 18 city and 24 highway. Let's assume you drive 14,000 miles a year, half in the city and half on the highway. By my rough calculations, that makes out to be 357 miles per tank in the 330 and 492 per tank in the 400h. Or 39.2 tanks of gas for the 330 and 28.45 tanks in the 400h. Assuming $2.20 per gallon, that makes the cost of a year's gasoline at $1,466 for the 330 and $1,064 for the 400h. Or a saving of $402 per year with the 400h. Assuming the 400h is at least $5,000 more expensive than the 330, it will take you 12.5 years to recoup the $5,000 initial cost and in that time you will have had to have driven 175,000 miles to make up in gasoline what you paid to the dealer. Uh, but by 175,000 miles your battery pack will probably have already been replaced, probably at a cost in excess of an additional $5,000. Even in a best case scenerio--you only drive in the city--the gasoline savings are $716 per year and it will take you 7.2 years to recoup the $5,000 added up front cost. Also in that period, you will have put about 100,000 miles on the car and what is going to be the resale value of a vehicle with that much mileage facing the probability of an at least $5,000 price to replace the battery pack? As I said, if you want more performance, buy the 400h; but you ain't going to make up the additional cost in gasoline savings. ← Ah, but your reasoning is faulty, grasshopper. Let's first consider driving conditions: The average person (who lives in a big city) has to deal with horrendous traffic congestion every day, and it only gets worse. Therefore, I will use city milelage as a basis for my calculations. Secondly, gas prices are heading up and will easily reach $2.50 per gallon by Summer. Now, let's talk torque. How much is it worth? 650 lbs-ft is worth $10,000 or more to some people, but for the sake of argument here, I'll select $3000, a figure that most would pay to have this much pulling power. Lastly, you forgot to mention the $2000 tax break that comes off the top of your income when tax time rolls around. For most people, that's a good $600 in their pockets. Now, taking all these factors into consideration, it would take 1.7 years to recoupe the extra cost of the RX400h. We can always go into why I didn't include discounting, but this is true for every new model comparison. New design=MSRP. BTW, batteries are projected to cost $1000 8 years from now, so even if you factor that cost in, you still add little to the "recoupe" time figure.

I have a confirmed date of April 25th for delivery of my RX400h, so in all probability, your info source is in error.

I agree, although it will be a couple of weeks before anyone actually has one.

The other thing you should consider is heat from sitting out in the sun. Black seats can get firey hot, but have the advantage of not showing dirt or dye as well as do lighter colors.

1. Kinetic energy is recovered during braking. 2. The front and rear electric motors redirect this as electrical energy to the electronic control unit. 3. The electronic control unit returns energy to the high voltage battery. As far as EPA figures, look here: http://www.invoicedealers.com/cars/Summary...me=Lexus+RX400h

Yes, the official EPA ratings are 31 City and 27 Highway for the RX400h. Anyone who really believes that the 330 will get better city milage should back away from their crack pipe. Remember, 0-40 MPH without using ANY gasoline says it all. Having what amounts to an electric supercharger AND large enough motors to propel a vhicle on their own is called having your cake and eating it, too. B)

The AWD RX330 is rated (using the same EPA test cycles) at 18/24 MPG, so no matter how you look at it, the RX400h far exceeds the city mileage (72% increase) and even surpases the highway mileage by 12.5%, and I expect real-world-driving to produce the same increases. As I mentioned a while ago, if you drive primarily on empty country roads and average 50-60 MPH, then cylinder deactivation is the way to go. However, if frequent stop&go driving is the norm, you will make up the extra cost of the hybrid is short time, especially with these and future gas prices.

Thanks, Patt! Yes, Lo Jack is a dealer-installed option. Another DIO is a GPS system that allows you to track the whereabouts of your vehicle by going online and viewing a realtime map. If your vehicle is stolen, you can track its wherabouts and call the police. If your kid borrow the car, you can not only track its whereabouts, but can also prevent it from being started after it is shut down. With a Lo Jack installed, only the police can track your vehicle. Although both cost about the same to have installed ($1000 or so), the GPS retreival system requires recurring costs (from what I hear). I will be getting a list of available dealer-installed options soon and may post them for others to see. And no, I will not be getting any $1200 Teflon coating option!

That's typical of ANY vehicle. As a matter of fact, many car magazines achieve FAR less gas milage than EPA figures show. Remember that many of us live in large cities that produce plenty of stop&go traffic - traffic that suits the RX400h perfectly, since speeds up to 40 MPH are attained via electric power only. BTW, take anything you hear with a grain of salt. Case-in-point: I heard from a salesman that the Toyota Highlander hybrid uses a low-ower drivetrain that is very similar to that of the Prius and far less powerful than that of the RX400h. ....see what I mean?

I just finished speaking to a very courteous Lexus salesperson and manager and found out that my RX400h is due to be delivered on April 25th. I was even given the VIN number! Out of the 14 people who were above me on the list, only one picked the same color that we did - Bamboo Pearl. A couple of people picked "any color" and the majority picked Savanna Metallic.

Actually Nissan has had a high-HP vehicle with CVT tranny for quite some time now and reliability has been excellent. Therefore, yes, it is not that difficult to build a reliable CVT that is linked to a high-HP engine. The CVT has FAR fewer parts and should prove to be a much better alternative to the ever more complicated granny trannies. :chairshot:

The fix is arriving April 18th. It's called the RX400h - CVT tranny and enough torque to pull a house off its foundation. ....gotta love it!

I find it extremely odd that the rear rotors need replacing. The typical rear rotor or drum should last over 100,000 miles of average driving. As far as the tires, I would've bargained down the price of the vehicle, using the shallow thread depth and the prediction of having to purchase tires within a short time period as justification. However, that's water under the bridge. I would ask why the rear rotors need to be replaced and I would also buy replacement tires from Tirerack. You can save a bundle.

Yes, I believe they are the same combos. I also heard today that each dealership will receive one "test-driver" on or around April 18th. Needless-to-say, I am eager to try one out! :D

I was told (today) that 60% - 80% (no DVD) is the correct number.

I don't have the breakdown of leather color combos, but this is what I was able to jot down after a conversation with a dealer today: 18% Savana 10% Flint Mica with black interior 10% Flint Mica with gray interior 14% Silver 10% Black 12% Bamboo Pearl 15% White 4% Neptune The remaining will be interior combos within these color options.

Bill, You should have started the quote mark with "Superior technology creates superior value. ..since that began the e-mail message that Lexus sent us. When I first read your post, I thought Lexus was asking you whether you would pay the $1200 for body prep. My Lexus dealer maintains that they will charge MSRP only and will NEVER add a markup. However, I would be upset if they did try to sneak in the $1200.

...from a recent issue of Car & Driver..... "At the rear wheels we find the rear electric motor (MGR), which is hooked directly by gear drive to the rear differential. This one is air- and oil-cooled, since it only functions intermittently (the other MGs are water- and oil-cooled), and it adds another 67 horsepower to the mix. Hermance says this motor cranks over 650 pound-feet of drive-axle torque to the vehicle’s overall tractive effort when it’s energized. We believe him. Nail the RX400h’s throttle from rest, and you might hear front or rear tires chirping, depending on available grip. The V-6 growls with the usual determination when you’re hard on the gas, but the continuously variable transmission pegs its rotational speed somewhere near the torque peak and maximum volumetric efficiency, producing sound effects that are the opposite of a slipping clutch. Instead of a rising engine note as vehicle speed remains constant, the vehicle speed rises as the engine speed remains constant." All-wheel drive is a common solution when torque gets above managable levels in front wheel-drive vehicles. However, this may mean that the 2 wheel-drive Highlanders may be a bit squirrely upon takeoff!

Patt, No. I have not been given a date. We are number 15 on the list, so I expect that the delivery date depends upon the number of those before us who have chosen the same color. We too, may have grandkids within the next 10 years but don't normally think that far in advance! :)