RX mpg

[RichardSt 0]

I drove my local dealer’s 70 reg RX today and thought it was sublime for the features and benefits I’m looking for but, at the end of a 30 min reasonably sedate drive I was stunned to see the mpg readout for the journey being 23.1 mpg. I realise a big, heavy SUV isn’t going to be the most economical of cars but assumed 30-35 on average was a realistic expectation.

I’d be interested to hear from existing owners what they’re achieving from theirs.
Many thanks

Richard

[royoftherovers 2,486]

Welcome Richard.Good to have you on board.

RX owners will be along presently, but a 30 minute drive in a mobile brick isn`t going to break any records.

One needs to consider the entire Lexus Package starting with Reliability.

[Fatts 69]

5 minutes ago, RichardSt said:

I drove my local dealer’s 70 reg RX today and thought it was sublime for the features and benefits I’m looking for but, at the end of a 30 min reasonably sedate drive I was stunned to see the mpg readout for the journey being 23.1 mpg. I realise a big, heavy SUV isn’t going to be the most economical of cars but assumed 30-35 on average was a realistic expectation.

I’d be interested to hear from existing owners what they’re achieving from theirs.
Many thanks

Richard

On motorways I easily achieve between 34 -38 mpg. When driving in town it drops to about 26mpg especially if the journey is short 

[katabrontes 94]

If I get 24 from my 350 I am very content.  If you do a modest mileage the difference in mpg amounts to very little compared to the other costs of owning and running.

[08ISF 59]

The fuel consumption does  increase in very cold weather and on short runs as the engine runs longer  to warm itself up and keep the inside warm and the batteries don't perform as well in the cold. Similar increase can occur in very hot weather because the air con depletes the batteries quicker causing the  motor to run to charge them.

If it's any comfort my RX was showing about 25mpg when I test drove it in March 18. Since then my average has been about 34mpg with over 40 mpg possible on a long steady run.

[mikey2001 47]

I've found I can get around 37-38 on the motorway in summer, around 34-35 in winter. Around town in summer I can get about 36, and about 32 in winter (my driving style is fairly relaxed though 😉). Currently, my average consumption is 34.6 MPG over nearly 4000 miles using brim-to-brim calculations.

As Graham mentions above, the cold weather seems to have a big effect on the fuel consumption, at least in my experience. Also, being brand new the engine may need a little time to run in and after a period of time the fuel consumption should improve.

[Herbie 1,818]

2 hours ago, katabrontes said:

If I get 24 from my 350 I am very content.  If you do a modest mileage the difference in mpg amounts to very little compared to the other costs of owning and running.

But that's comparing apples to oranges. Your 350 is petrol-only whereas the OP is talking about a hybrid.

[Illogan 166]

Our 2014 RX450-F  has turned in 33mpg around town in the summer, (and currently 31mpg)

Motorway journeys (rare for us this year!!!) rewarded us with 37mph.

I am a gentle driver, - [I have no reason to enter the 'Traffic-lights GP' norfeel the need prove my virility ) - but if, purely for reason of sheer enjoyment, I give it an hefty squirt down the road, I realise that a couple of tonnes of steel, moving quicker that it should (!), will have an healthy appetite.

But the car - big, bold, understated, comfortable - is a winner.

 

 

[Zotto 260]

Short journeys, especially in winter, are the worst situations for mpg results. In a hybrid , you can have some advantage keeping car  parked in warm ambient, not using AC till engine is at working temperature (meanwhile heated seats are very useful), and avoid moving , or moving very slowly, during 1st minute of thermal engine on (it is called S1 phase and it uses much petrol); to force in your hybrid thermal engine start you have, after coming to ready state in P, to press accelerator pedal and when engine is on depress it leaving it to do S1 phase, if you need or are in a hurry you may go in D avoiding to exceed 20 mph.

Another suggestion to spare some fuel is to drive in ECO mode, where also AC is made to work without needing to set thermal engine on for heating abitacle.

Remember that short journeys are the main reason you achieve low mpg, as the first minutes are the worst fuel wasting times, better programming longer ones if possible.

A last suggestion, in winter tyres pressure goes down, control it and restore proper pressure if it is low.

[C Mclean 172]

Getting on average 34mpg just pottering about A roads and some dual carriageway, but I’ve only reached 14,500 miles in two and a half years.

[RichardSt 0]

Many thanks for the replies. Real world fuel consumption of 30-34 mpg looks realistic and tallies with what the fuelly.com website is saying. Much more like it.

[First_Lexus 372]

On 12/10/2020 at 4:44 PM, RichardSt said:

I drove my local dealer’s 70 reg RX today and thought it was sublime for the features and benefits I’m looking for but, at the end of a 30 min reasonably sedate drive I was stunned to see the mpg readout for the journey being 23.1 mpg. I realise a big, heavy SUV isn’t going to be the most economical of cars but assumed 30-35 on average was a realistic expectation.

I’d be interested to hear from existing owners what they’re achieving from theirs.
Many thanks

Richard

I had an RX 450h for three months in Winter 2017, and struggled to achieve 30mpg at the national speed limit on a 15 mile commute using the M4.

[Illogan 166]

4 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

I had an RX 450h for three months in Winter 2017, and struggled to achieve 30mpg at the national speed limit on a 15 mile commute using the M4.

Ahah!    That's Southern motorways for you!  

In t'North, on us proper motorways, where we are chased by whippets, and the Traffic Police still use Lotus Cortinas, and the (solitary) motorway services still sells hot dogs for 1/6d - we don't get none o'them traffic jams either  - so we's able ter drive flat out at 60mph  without a care in t'world.

That's how we get 34 mpg.  (But don't  tell anyone - 'cos they'll all want us peace n quiet)

 

 

[Spacewagon52 933]

4 minutes ago, Illogan said:

Ahah!    That's Southern motorways for you!  

In t'North, on us proper motorways, where we are chased by whippets, and the Traffic Police still use Lotus Cortinas, and the (solitary) motorway services still sells hot dogs for 1/6d - we don't get none o'them traffic jams either  - so we's able ter drive flat out at 60mph  without a care in t'world.

That's how we get 34 mpg.  (But don't  tell anyone - 'cos they'll all want us peace n quiet)

 

 

Brilliant!

[Spacewagon52 933]

9 hours ago, Zotto said:

Short journeys, especially in winter, are the worst situations for mpg results. In a hybrid , you can have some advantage keeping car  parked in warm ambient, not using AC till engine is at working temperature (meanwhile heated seats are very useful), and avoid moving , or moving very slowly, during 1st minute of thermal engine on (it is called S1 phase and it uses much petrol); to force in your hybrid thermal engine start you have, after coming to ready state in P, to press accelerator pedal and when engine is on depress it leaving it to do S1 phase, if you need or are in a hurry you may go in D avoiding to exceed 20 mph.

Another suggestion to spare some fuel is to drive in ECO mode, where also AC is made to work without needing to set thermal engine on for heating abitacle.

Remember that short journeys are the main reason you achieve low mpg, as the first minutes are the worst fuel wasting times, better programming longer ones if possible.

A last suggestion, in winter tyres pressure goes down, control it and restore proper pressure if it is low.

Could not agree more! I have been doing 2 x 2mile journeys each day (school run) nothing else - my consumption has gone down to 21.5 mpg. Not really surprising at all - car cold - Battery lower than normal. only gets to temperature by the time I get back.

If I did the same run in the RX 300 I would be lucky to get 16 mpg I think.

[olliesgrandad 768]

You need to learn to drive a hybrid (see the Lexus YouTube video) . I have averaged nearly 37 mpg over £10,000 miles with my 2017 Premier. That is genuine mpg from an app on my phone checked tankful to tankful. 

[Zotto 260]

A really helpful android app to get the best mpg results with RX and other cars also is Hybrid Assistant.

It works with OBD interfaces (some suggested on site but you can boy whatever you like).

The app is from eCVT enthusiast app developers and totally free and they made a great work. 

Hybrid Assistant

 

[Jeff Roscoe 6]

Averaging  between 32_ 35 mpg part motorway and town driving in a 70 plate rx with just 1700miles on clock

[WipeOut 8]

I am doing a lot of short journeys, such as drop offs at the station, shopping etc, on cold start up and getting 32mpg on every tank. About 35-38mpg on longer trips.

[baggins 0]

Mine's an 06 RX400h AWD I'm tagging on the end of this thread without digesting most of it so not sure if this comment is even relevant............

90% of my motoring is around town and I hover between 27-28mpg

[royoftherovers 2,486]

8 minutes ago, baggins said:

Mine's an 06 RX400h AWD I'm tagging on the end of this thread without digesting most of it so not sure if this comment is even relevant............

90% of my motoring is around town and I hover between 27-28mpg

Welcome Simon.Any contribution you make willl be welcomed my friend.

[Superduner 56]

In my case, my 2007 RX400H does about 2 mpg more on 98 octane than on 95 octane.  Right now in rural France on country roads I'm getting about 28 mpg (on 95 octane).  My next fill will be on 98 octane, and I'll expect to get 31 ish.

 

Not much urban crawling, so hardly any electric only running, but it does kick in on hills sometimes.

[T Sport 1978 8]

When i had my 2010 RX450H it averaged 31.5MPG overall over 2 years, and i was very happy with that.

[royoftherovers 2,486]

Just now, T Sport 1978 said:

When i had my 2010 RX450H it averaged 31.5MPG overall over 2 years, and i was very happy with that.

As one would be DES.

[impero 28]

On 12/21/2020 at 11:21 PM, Superduner said:

In my case, my 2007 RX400H does about 2 mpg more on 98 octane than on 95 octane.  Right now in rural France on country roads I'm getting about 28 mpg (on 95 octane).  My next fill will be on 98 octane, and I'll expect to get 31 ish.

 

Not much urban crawling, so hardly any electric only running, but it does kick in on hills sometimes.

Hello there. In my case i drive a 2008 RX 400H AWD and depends on how i threat her. :0

If i drive like i should, i usually have kinda 28-28,5 MPG on 95 octane.

I will try 98 octane to check if it really make more MPG.

Cheers