FLdriver

It should also be said the the RX400h puts a lot of torque on the ground through two front wheels. particularly if you occasionally "enjoy" the performance. Personally I don't expect tire wear comparable to your typical rear wheel drive vehicle.

Tom

I've replaced the "recommended" GYear with Sumitomo LSV Touring, reasonably cheaper and has better tire wear rating. My only concern was road noise and performance. After 6 months, they are still great with little thread wear.

FYI.

The "Driving conditions" factor cannot be overstated. Being that the majority of us live in fairly large cities (or close to them), payback comes at a much faster rate than calculated by the various "experts". For example, the MPG advantage attained if heavy traffic is encountered every workday can mean a difference of 80-100% between a non-hybrid and hybrid. City mileage for non-hybrid SUVs is often atrotious, to say the least.

Even at 4-5 years payback, most owners of hybrids will enjoy the benefits many years beyond that, as the average length of vehicle ownership in the US is approaching 10 years. (Canada's is just a bit over 8 years).

Based upon the durability and reliability of our RX400h, there really is no reason to buy a new vehicle anytime soon.

As far as stocks are concerned, this is not a good time to day-trade unless you really know what you're doing.

Regarding resale value: Hybrid SUVs are holding their value far better than their non-hybrid counterparts.

I dont know what all of you are thinking about but have any of you considered the greater resale value of the hybrid 400h?

I trade cars a lot more frequently as I want the latest way to often for my own good,,lol anyway resale on other SUV's is dropping like a rock, along with pick up trucks ect. I know you pay more for your hybrid, but as gas prices increase so does your resale value on a hybrid.

I looked at a 2 year old Prius last year, Carmax wanted within $2000 of the price of a new one and it had 21000 miles on it. So I bought new, and i bought a new 400h just this March. Also I am getting over 28.5 MPG average so far and at times on the highway I have gotten 32.6 MPG, it is all in how you drive, but owners of the newer ones seem to be reporting higher MPG's. Oh and by the way the manual on the 2008 400h says premium required!

dennis

Don't you love the passing power of the 400h ?????

FYI: my 400h is 71k miles now. Doing about 28-29mpg mixed, but I stopped paying attention to that, and more to the shear fun of driving on the road.

As stated in my previous post, it's just naive to quote a 4-5 yr BEven when there's more to the assumptions. The best way to quote a breakeven is "MILES driven to BEven" which is a more normalized factor. But even at that, you must quote the gas price assumption.

Also regarding 400h, the RS/A wears out too quickly, so quickly that they don't even quote any mileage warranty on it. A 2 tire direct replacement would set back $600 or so. So I am trying the lesser known Sumitomo LSV rated at 70,000miles. It's deep threaded, V-rating (don't believe it), fairly quiet. A 2-tire replacement costed me $400. Handling is very good under FL hot sun/pavement. more to come later

How about RX400h? How long does it takes to payback with this new gas prices?

Yahoo and Cars.com ranked the 400h at #5 for hybrid that worths your money (payback at 8-9 years at $3.00 a gallon). Obviously the excluded the benefit of CTV and V8 equivalent power on the 400h that the RX350 doesn't have.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_cont...10-2008-hybrids

Btw, I look at a consumer report magazine yesterday, it said the 400h requires "regular" gasoline, and the RX350 can use either "Regular or Premium", the rest of the Lexus line-up requires "Premium". Is that true? If so, it is another good reason why 400h is justifiable.

My last 3 cars are: Prius (old version), Prius (new), and Rx400h.

If you are concerned about BreakEven, then go Prius.

The factor that few people mentioned about breaking even is the annual mileage you drive, in which we are different. So to quote years of BreakEven without stating basic annual mileage assumption is DISHONEST, or perhaps "ignoramous".

I bought Prius' because at my 36,000miles/year I would BEven at 2 yrs at $1.86/gallon. As you can see, we are way past that now.

I bought Rx400h, not for solely because gas mileage, but because huge power PERFORMANCE on the road: almost immediate power response at the slight touch of the pedal. It seems I can pass cars at highway speed BEFORE they can react (goes to my head LOL).

I bought this car used a year ago and don't like the road noise, but maybe it is the tires, Goodyear Eagles. Locally I have been told by the tire guy to get Bridgestone Alenza at one shop and the other recommends Sumitomo touring LSV with 70,000 mi tread wear warranty. I read a lot of reviews for the Bridgestone, but nothing about the Sumitomos. Anyone have any information on them? My cost would be a couple of hundred less with the Sumis including a 5 year alignment warranty. Any information appreciated. 2004 RX 330 with 235/55-18. Thanks a bunch. I guess I need all season since we don't have snow here in Hilton Head.

Since there are no replies to this post, perhaps I should explain a little more clearly my delimma.

I bought a 2004 RX 330 with 18,000 miles on Goodyear Eagle RS/A in January last year. Have put another 7,000 miles on it since then and am told I need tires. I have never liked the road noise from this SUV but was told it is normal. After reading posts here I see that it may have something to do with the tires, so am shopping for replacement tires. The two local tire dealers have given me some choices between Michelin, Bridgestone and Sumitomo. The Sumitomo would be a little less expensive, but I don't see any posts about them. Has anyone had any experience with Sumitomo? These particular tires are not listed on any of the tire websites. They are Sumitomo 235/55 on 18" wheels. I think he said touring lsv, with a 70,000 mile tread warranty. If a tire has that much tread warranty, wouldn't that lead you to believe they would ride harder? I would like a quite riding tire even if it would mean a little less long lasting, since I don't really put much mileage on the car. Thanks for your input.

Having the Sumitomo for about 40 miles now.

I'd say if the RS/A sound is at 5.... then the Sumitomo is between 3-4 quieter, may be closer to 4.

If you like quietness, try Micheline (sp?)

I bought this car used a year ago and don't like the road noise, but maybe it is the tires, Goodyear Eagles. Locally I have been told by the tire guy to get Bridgestone Alenza at one shop and the other recommends Sumitomo touring LSV with 70,000 mi tread wear warranty. I read a lot of reviews for the Bridgestone, but nothing about the Sumitomos. Anyone have any information on them? My cost would be a couple of hundred less with the Sumis including a 5 year alignment warranty. Any information appreciated. 2004 RX 330 with 235/55-18. Thanks a bunch. I guess I need all season since we don't have snow here in Hilton Head.

I decided to buy 2 Sumitomo LSV tires for the rear. $400 total installed.

There is no web search result for this tire, that I can find. Thread is very deep, seems would be good for FL rain storms.

You're right. High thread rating seems conflicting. And it's V rating. Weird.

The problem is GYear RS/a wears out too quick for me, possibly hot pavement in FL doesn't help.