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Considering An Rx400H Versus Ml Versus X5 Versus Touareg


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I have recently test driven the ML, the X5 and the Touareg - but this weekend I testdrove the RX

Well I must admit to being bowled over by it, I was kinda hoping to dislike it (I like the chunkier looks of the others) but as my wife will probably do more of the day to day driving of the vehicle we had to consider the Lexus as it has such good economy, especially in urban driving.

Heres the requirements, we moved to a house a bit out in the sticks which means in the last two/three winters we have averaged 3/4 days stuck at home when we should be at work, I also dread a really bad winter at the moment. However we only do 8,000 to 10,000 miles per annum but a lot of this is my wife's 10mile commute into the city.

We also have a couple of dogs and like to take them off the beaten track a bit for walkies.

I loved the RX on test drive but having done a bit of research I was wondering, two things

1) Is it rugged enough for our requirements ?

2) After reading the forums I am seeing a lot of people complaining of Economy in the 20's mpg, (I managed to average 30mpg on the test drive and that included burying my foot in the carpet three times to see how it picks up - pretty darn good on that front isn't it !!)

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me

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Hi

Had my RX400h now for about 4 months, I have not seen the mpg go lower than 29.7 this is made up of about a 25 mile commute daily combining urban and motorway. We have also been down to Cornwall and up to London driving at about 80/85 and still it returns high 29's. Driving smoothly is the key. I think the Lexus will fulfill most of your requirements although you should remember it really is a "softroader" and therefore muddy fields would probably defeat it. It should be fine for country lanes and part snow providing you have decent shoes on it but it's never going to be a cross coutry beast.

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Shame that the Lexus is the worst looking (in my opinion) out of those cars. The Beemer looks the best :)

So you have to own a big 4x4 because you live in the country, drive into the city, scared of getting stuck at home in case it snows (not gauranteed in Britain) and you need to fit your dogs in.

Surely an Audi 4x4 estate diesel meets your requirements and you won't be labeled a Chelsea tractor driver! Lol :)

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I was in the same boat a few weeks ago and went the RX400h, never looked back since. I've average 30mpg and done about 800 miles including trips to London and Leicester.

The engine sounds much more refined than a diesel and found the servicing quite reasonable.

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I have a 350 SEL. Its permanent 4x4, the Hybrid has vario-whatsitcalled-computer driven 4x4 and I have Continetal Winter tyres for it that I fit October to March. Its awesome in the snow on the Winter tyres. I also have two large dogs, boot liner and dog guard fitted by lexus. Its 100% tough enough for roughing it with light offroad and snow/mud stuff. I only assume the 400h would be just as good if you fit the right rubber for the conditions.

Kwikfit store my tyres and swap them over with their tyre hotel scheme.

In fact nearly every normal car fitted with winter tyres will out perform most SUV's with regular high performance tyres in the snow...

The only real disadvantage of fitting your car with the right rubber is the twonk behind you going too fast for the conditions cant stop as fast as you can!! LOL

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I've been exposed to winter conditions in Slovakia where for several months a year the roads can consists of packed snow and gravel plus the occasional spot of ice. You are required by law to have winter tyres fitted from September to March over there and I was initially, having lived in the UK most of my life, highly dubious as to their likely effectiveness.

I was completely wrong. Apart from actual slopes of ice that needed a run up driving an ordinary saloon car on winter tyres felt perfectly normal. So I'd recommend winter tyres without hesitation regardless of the car.

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I'm using it like snow-tractor in winter, with snow-tyres. In Estonia always will be lots of snow. It has intelligent 4wd not robust like ML or x5. You cant digg in, tractioncontrol dont let you. Meter by meter slowly.

This summer trip in Norway mountains 6000km I got 9l/100km=31mpg

And most important- no diesel engine sound and perfomance like ML or X5 V8 petrol engines.

2005 built and from 2010feb 117000-166000km in my hands only problem was inverter fault but replaced by factory and no cost to me. (1KBA-044,Production Period 24 Sep, 2004 through 09 Aug, 2006)

400h1.jpg400h2.jpg

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I have recently test driven the ML, the X5 and the Touareg - but this weekend I testdrove the RX

Well I must admit to being bowled over by it, I was kinda hoping to dislike it (I like the chunkier looks of the others) but as my wife will probably do more of the day to day driving of the vehicle we had to consider the Lexus as it has such good economy, especially in urban driving.

Heres the requirements, we moved to a house a bit out in the sticks which means in the last two/three winters we have averaged 3/4 days stuck at home when we should be at work, I also dread a really bad winter at the moment. However we only do 8,000 to 10,000 miles per annum but a lot of this is my wife's 10mile commute into the city.

We also have a couple of dogs and like to take them off the beaten track a bit for walkies.

I loved the RX on test drive but having done a bit of research I was wondering, two things

1) Is it rugged enough for our requirements ?

2) After reading the forums I am seeing a lot of people complaining of Economy in the 20's mpg, (I managed to average 30mpg on the test drive and that included burying my foot in the carpet three times to see how it picks up - pretty darn good on that front isn't it !!)

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me

Strange that. I looked at most of your selection (not the X5, too pig ugly) and have opted for the new generation Toureg. A 3.0 V6 Tdi that does real world 30mpg around town, decent returns on A road/motorway runs, a low VEL band and can genuinely run off road. The Lexus is nice, but I just can't live with a car that you can't leave standing too long before the dreaded flat Battery plague causes you problems. I did like the ML but the £450 a year VEL is not acceptable to me and the new generation ML is still too pricey. Besides the wife thought the ML looked too masculine and aggressive. So Toureg it is.

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I had a 400H - while it was okay in snow, the 400H and mud are incompatible. Any significant loss of traction and the electric motors shut down - completely dead as a dodo....but if you are only going up and down your drive which is semi sealed/okay condition and B roads it fits the soft roader label. I go shooting and stalking and found out the hard way. I would go Discovery or Toureg (or Cayenne S Diesel if a horse comes in at the races)....

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The danger with the Disco 4 is that the 3.0Tdi has to have the whole chassis lifted off to get at the twin turbos if they fail. The 2.57doesn't have the problem.

Copied from Honest John:

What to Watch Out For

19-2-2011: LandRover forum reports of Discovery 4 losing power and going in to limp mode , also transmission warning light problems.

4-4-2011: Unlike the 2.7V6 diesel in which designers had anticipated the problem and replumbed the engine with only one turbo, the twin turbos of the 3.0V6 diesel require the completre body to be lifted off the ladder rail chassis to provide access to the turrbos. The photos show a Disco IV 3.0V6 turbo replacement taking place.

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