Posted 30 March 2012 - 09:01 PM
I got my 2009 RX400h (LE) in December 2011 - Christmas Eve actually - with around 18k on the clock. I wasn't really looking for a Lexus but wanted something spacious, AWD, well-equipped and was unimpressed with the glut of mid-size "SUV" that have swamped the streets with their LED lighting and panoramic sunroofs. I test drove the RX400h and enjoyed the driving position and really liked the knee room / head room in the rear. Having tall grown up children and tall/big friends made the RX400h pretty attractive and I liked the rear cargo area and power tail gate. I didn't like the narrow steering wheel (felt rather 70s) and I hated the anachronistic cassette player sitting in the console (how 80s!) but there was something fascinating about the energy display that totally distracted me from the unappetising noise made by the CVT when you give it the beans. Off the mark, the power delivery from the 3.3L petrol and electric motors, is frankly surprising, but don't look at the energy meter while your foot's pressed on the loud pedal, it will give you a serious pain in the wallet. The handling is not bad for a big, high wagon and I've actually surprised myself how well it hangs on, even when I thought I was pushing it around the limit of traction (but don't have passengers on board when trying this - it's more of a selfish thing). I love creeping around multi-storey car parks on silent electric power and watching people trying to figure out how. I've never had a car that had so little character - I think it's impossible to have a relationship with this car and this, for me, is the most disappointing thing about it. It's comfortable, it works, it's practical, it's very precise and responsive on the road. And then there's the fuel economy (or whatever the inverse is!). The salesman, bless his socks, promised me that I would get at least the 32mpg I was averaging in my trade-in. Perhaps in the summer this might be possible but in the middle of winter, when the petrol engine runs to keep the operating temperature up to the mark, you will be lucky to see 28. Driving the RX400h requires a different technique - it's more of a surge and glide approach and if you don't master it you will see 27mpg. If you invest in this technique you can get 29 in the winter. Now, as the temperature is warmer I can see 29-30 for a mix of local country road and quick squirt bypass driving. I suspect 32 may be possible in the summer, but stick it in the outside lane on a motorway at 80-85 and you will be lucky to see 29mpg average even on a warm (!) March day. So RX400h's economy habit is more aligned with mixed cycle urban driving than high-speed thrash. I doubt I will own this car for more than 1 year and expect to make a thumping loss when I sell it. I made a huge misjudgement when, on an impulse, I bought it. I keep looking for some redeeming quality that will allow us to bond but I now sense that this is not a car with whom you have a relationship. It's just an expensive, un-involving box to get you (and your un-impressed passengers) from A to B.
