I currently have a 54 reg RX300 SEL from new and will be looking to change. Can anyone advise real world economy from the hybrid and other advantages / disadvantages over RX350 or when the new RX will be launched and any info on it?

There are many threads on the forum about the pros and cons of the rx400h so worth a look through the old posts. As far as economy goes, I get 30 - 32mpg but it really depends on how you drive....

Last September we drove down to Assisi in Central Italy a round trip of 3000 miles. This was a mix of motorways, main roads, town driving and local running about for a week whilst we were there. The journey included a spell on the German autobahns at 100+ mph (max 120mph just to see what the car was like - very impressed!), down through Switzerland and over the St Gotthard Pass (so plenty of up and down in the mountans - again very impressed!), Italian autostrada where the average spped of the traffic seems to be about 90mph! and, as I said, a week of local tootling around followed by the reverse journey home. The average fuel consumption for the holiday was 31.5MPG. (This was with the outside temperature mainly in the upper 20s)

Last Sunday we drove over to Felixstowe and back from Milton Keynes in the falling snow and freezing temperatures - a round trip of 240 miles with an average fuel consumption of 27.4MPG.

Just popping up to the shops and back in the winter with a cold engine gives about 15-20MPG.

Best average consumption to date was a drive from Norwich to Milton Keynes 2 weeks ago (outside temperature about 10 - 15 degrees) using ordinary country roads where possible and a very light foot giving a figure of 35.1MPG!

To sum up - it all depends on the type of journey, the length of your journey, the outside temperature (and whether or not you have the cabin heater on or off), and most importantly your style of driving!

Overall we have been very impressed with the fuel consumption, especially as there is no compromise with the performance of a vehicle of this size and comfort.

Thankyou - any of the reported flat battery problems if left for two weeks?

Hi Sossages,

After alot of dithering I finally decided to take the plunge and bought an Rx400 after loads of scouring the internet for real life experiences of the car. So after a couple of weeks of ownership I may be of some help to you.

My most notable economy figure was actually from the dealership to home, about 15 miles through the center of a city, out into country B-roads and then through a town to the house. This journey covered crawling through traffic and about 50-60mph on the country roads. So I was pretty impressed when I got home and the overall consumption measured in at 39mpg.

On a daily basis, my commute is 4 miles each way around a heavily congested ring road. On this journey the car does about 27-30mpg. (Using the heater on cold days makes the engine run more with correspondingly poorer figures. To put that into perspective my old Audi S3 would average out at about 22-25mpg and Golf 2.0 GTi at about 26-28mpg. Another factor is how long the car takes to warm up. I find that its definitely getting more efficient towards the end of the journey so you may find that the longer you go for the better.

So for a 2.5 ton, large car I’d say it’s pretty impressive. You do need to keep your right foot in check as when you do drive quickly you’re often seeing very low economy figures (I’m sure I could get 20mpg or less without trying very hard ). The car itself is great, very quiet and serene. In fact I have to check the speedo as I seem to be doing about 10mph faster that I think I am all the time. On the negative side, it doesn’t corner that well with a bit of lean but I guess that has to be expected with this sort of car. (Coming from an S3 you really notice it but then again the S3 would practically knock your fillings out on a bumpy road).

As for battery problems…. Well my two year old car did seem to have a dodgy one which went flat on me on the first day (with a bit of help from me fiddling with it for less that 1 hour in the driveway). Having said that, the dealership changed it for a new one and it’s been perfect ever since (even when I sit in it and fiddle with the gadgets for a while, so I’m happy again with the car).

Hope that helps,

Unity

I've had my RX400h since last July (new) and have now done about 8000 miles.

Like other owners I've found fuel economy to be dependent on the usual factors that affect other cars, like short/long journey, congestion, heavy foot etc, but also ambient temperature. During the winter I was getting 29/30 mpg overall. Now it's spring, it's going up to the 32 mark. I don't think any other 4x4 can get close to that and match the performance.

I've also noticed that it's important to keep the tyres at the correct pressure. A drop of a one or two psi affects mpg disproportionately.

I've had no battery problems. I was away for 6 weeks before Christmas and the car started without any problems. I've just returned from a 3 week trip, and again no problem; unlike my partner's Audi A4 cab - I had to give him a jump start from the Lexus!

Absolutely agree with dncm 1. My Rx400h - SE has just had its 40k service and first MOT - all good and returning similar mpg to previous post. Never had any battery problems - even after 3 weeks parked.

Dealer is just sorting a minor paintwork issue on leading edge of bonnet - very minor surface rust in one area of stone chip; dealt with under warranty.

Also agree that tyre pressures are critical to getting best mpg (common sense really I suppose !).