Why I'm Likely To Be An Admirer, But Not Buyer

[ihpj]

I have so much wanted to like the RX400h. So much ha already been written by experts and reviewers alike that it is not possible to write something about it without going over the same material. It is, without question, a very good car; very well specified and equally well put together. Then there is the technology that has allowed Lexus to prove the paradigm that has been the mantra of the Tree Huggers - Hybrid: Good for you and The Environment. But is it truly, really all that?

Sadly, in my view, no.

I am a first time Lexus convert., having bought a RX300SE (MKII) recently in February of this year after an idle query. Superb vehicle. So, logically, with an eye on the RX400h, I wanted to fall in love with it; I wanted to believe the dream Lexus were selling and so desperately wanted it to be so. So much so that I avoided the RX400h while I got used to the Lexus Experience with my own RX300. I wanted to get a feel for the car and appreciate the ever so clever gizmos and gadgets before muddying the waters with the (again) oh so clever RX400h - hoping that way to have an undiluted experience of Lexus pinnacle.

But having had one for the last 48 hours, it has got me thinking. When the unfortunate owner of a Merc C Class nudged the rear of my RX300, I was given an RX400h SE NAV + MM as a replacement (well he was at fault and this was a non-fault claim against the Third Party so why not?) that I was very eager to see how my love affair would play out. With great anticipation I took the vehicle to do with as I pleased over the next ten (10) days (or so).

The vehicle is brand new, a 2007 '07' plate with only 700M on the clock.

I immediately felt at home with the car and made myself at home very quickly. It took me some time o get used to the 'new display' screen (mine does not have the NAV or MM or ICE) and familiarised myself with the key controls, namely the Hybrid output displays and SatNav system. The reversing camera too is a joy to use with its varied parking assist modes (you can configure it to help you drive 'into' a space or help parallel park or even help identify how much you are turning as you reverse) and of course the MM. There is something quite magnificent in turning the key and being greeted with the 'Lexus Hybrid Drive' display and 'ready' light illuminated and simply driving of (under batter power). Like a predator the vehicle wafts away froms standstill, totally silently - and to the total amazement of others around you :)

Unfortunately the RX400h experience for me doesn't get better than that, its all very much a disappointment after that. Why? Well allow me to elucidate:

1. When running on Battery power, and having ample charge (graphic showing green) th vehicle doesn't seem to want to run on Battery for too long. How long is too long? Well about 5 minutes as a general rule. Should you have the Climate Control on as well as the radio then that reduces the time to no more than a minute or two before the engine kicks in. With all the gadgets switched off and keeping to a steady 25MPH (or below) the car insists on switching to engine power all to quickly with the readout panel showing me that the engine is powering the (front) wheels and also charging the front motor, which in turn is charging the Battery. No good to me really as I want to travel on Battery for as long as I can and save fuel.

2. The electric motors seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time charging the Battery and very little time running on the Battery. Yes it charges the Battery when I'm going down hill and braking and rolling with inertia, but the Battery life doesn't seem to me to be all that at all. And no Lexus Dealer will give me an answer as to how long the Battery should run before engine kicks in (with all things being equal). I fully appreciate that its down to driving style and terrain etc. but on a flat road, in straight line, the engine seems to kick in all too soon even at a steady speed of 25MPH or < - so where is my fuel economy?

3. Yes the car is quick and it feels so - to me noticeably more so than my humble RX300. But that comes at a price. You see the engine only drives the front two wheels and the front electric motor kicks in to hurry you along - but again acting on the front wheels. The rear electric motor only drives the rear wheels when needed. This for me compromises heavily the handling of the vehicle. My RX300 feel very planted and firm on the road and on corners - thats because each wheel is a driven wheel...I know exactly what its doing. But with the RX400h, take straight line acceleration, the vehicle acts like any front wheel drive car, you feel the power going to the front wheels and you feel the car want to 'go' - but the front wheels can have trouble gripping the road as too much power is going to them and they aren't gripping too well (traction control kicks in etc. etc) and the when the rear electric motor kicks in you feel a definite bias to the front and straight line acceleration isn't as smooth and 'planted' as you would expect. This then leads onto my other point, the RX400h is really a two-wheel drive vehicle. In my driving thus far I have only rarely seen the rear wheels 'driven' - 90% of the time the vehicle is front wheel drive only and it behaves as such. IMHO, a car as heavy and as large as this should be all wheel drive all of the time...not just some of the time. And this is why I feel the standard petrol RX handles better.

4. Driving the same journeys at the same speeds in almost similar weather conditions, I have averaged around 30MPG in the RX400h - compared to the 23-25MPG I get in my RX300. I appreciate that my RX400h is 'new' and the engine is perhaps yet to 'bed in' fully, I am however disappointed by this figure...and before anyone says, it is a proper brim-to-brim figure and the Computer is about 5% inaccurate in its readout (which is very good in my experience). I am yet to trial it in a Town only driving environment but I reckon it wont be too far of what my RX300 returns either because the engine (on the RX400h) seems to kick in too soon.

5. The Battery technology therefore does no seem to me to be perfected yet. It simply does not seem to hold enough charge for long enough to power the vehicle even on a short journey in town. I appreciate using the A/C puts a load on the engine, but even without this I cannot get anything more than 5 minutes drive time out of the car - to the extreme that I have tried to drive at 10MPH (constant) to keep the engine off. It comes down to the Battery type.

I know reviews rave about the RX400h, and rightly so. But having used it in the 'real world environment' that I inhabit, for my uses, it doesn't stack up. That is why I feel that I will always be an admirer of what Lexus have achieved [in the RX400h] but not a buyer. I think come upgrade time, I will want a RX350SE with NAV + MM instead of a comparable RX400h.

Thank you for reading my contribution, comments invited :)

[stringbender]

Once you have exhausted the on board batteries then you are simply carrying them as dead weight. I didn't know they were exhausted so soon though so a long motorway trip never sounded economical to me. There is also the problem that after 10 days of non use your hybrid car won't start and you're stuck! Does this apply to the Prius as well?

I'm probably wrong but I was under the impression that the RX300 was mainly front wheel drive and that power was only sent to the rear wheels when slip was detected.

Alan.

[jbanfie]

Hi ihpj,

Having owned a 400h for 18 months now I do agree with some of your comments, but my main point to make is that once the car reaches 10,000 miles, the 25mph point your talk about becomes 40mph. That is, you can slowly accelerate to 40 mph and hold it (on the level) on just the batteries. This makes the car a totally different beast to one that only has 700 miles on the clock, and I would recommend to friends that they bought a 1 year / 10,000 mile version rather than new purely based on that!

The other really good thing is the company car tax benefit in kind of 23% or is it 24% this year, much better than the 35% of the X5, XC90 etc etc.

I agree about the power through the front wheels, we read one guy sold his because this frightened him to much!

Cheers

Jon

[derekyau]

Interesting comments and a good post.

But I have also driven the RX400h that isn't brand new (a good 10k on the clock iirc), and yes - the engine definately kicks in quite soon... Leaving the car on "biting point" is not feasible in practical situations in order to just make it run off the Battery...

D.

[jda180rx]

I am yet to trial it in a Town only driving environment but I reckon it wont be too far of what my RX300 returns either because the engine (on the RX400h) seems to kick in too soon.

... peversely the RX400h comes into it's own in town - the Battery keeps kicking in and your MPG increases by 10-20% - only problem is that on batteries pedestrians can't hear you coming and don't get out the way!

[maneesh]

The engine will still be tight at 700miles, and I'd expect that fuel consumption would be higher than once the engine loosens up.

[Chris Skelton]

The engine will still be tight at 700miles, and I'd expect that fuel consumption would be higher than once the engine loosens up.

Think you mean 'lower' not higher!!

[maneesh]

well spotted..a side effect of too much partying!

[Chris Skelton]

well spotted..a side effect of too much partying!

From the days of your youth, you mean? But.....should the effects LAST this long, old guy?

[ihpj]

I'm quite relieved that people can understand my points. I am sure under certain driving conditions the RX400h is the right vehicle for them - I love the concept and was sold on the idea. But having used it in my daily life's routine, I have (thus far) found it disappointing.

I thought that my main concern would be Battery life, but as it turns out, it has become handling. Being only front wheel drive I find a complete let-down. I think this is a costly oversight by Lexus as a vehicle of this size and weight should be AWD all of the time. I cannot accept it as a FWD vehicle only as the handling is patchy, at best. I still try to be impressed with it, but the Battery technology in use (the metal-oxide-hydride thingy) is also a let down as it cannot hold the necessary charge for any period of useful time. I appreciate the technological barriers present today (Li-ion have heat issues) - but if Lexus do manage to crack the Battery issue, then perhaps this vehicle has the potential to be better, which would then make vehicles like the current generation RX400h obsolete.

I am amazed that in all the reviews I have read, no-one has commented on the fact that this is a FWD only vehicle with poor Battery life.

I still want to like the vehicle, but fear I am very quickly finding myself not only disappointed with it, but very little positive to mention...

[ihpj]

As I look [forward] to hand back the key on my loaner RX400h, and after having completed a total of 1675 miles and averaged 30MPG, I do so with some relief. I cannot but help feel under whelmed by this car for which I had had held such high hopes. I say goodbye in th same way you do when a irksome relative invited themselves to to stay with you for a short period of time and you are pleased to see them go. Which is a shame really as I really, no I man genuinely really, wanted to not only like this car but wanted to buy one.

As I look back over my three weeks, I really cannot say that I will miss it. It has not left me with any impression and nothing to remember it by. My previous comments about my issues wit the car stand and some other observations I make are as follows:

1. On cold mornings (when the temp. has been say 7 – 12 degrees C) the engine will all too frequently kick in at start up. The car simply will not run on Battery power alone. I had deliberately not switched on any Battery drain devices either. This behaviour was typical of the car. Surely in town driving and short journeys is here this car is supposed to excel? Well on a very short journey to school (0.5M) I found that the car was running on petrol engine alone, despite the readout showing the car had ample (nearly full) charge. Only when it was warmed up, would I run on Battery. But the point is, at start up and cold starts, that is where most fuel is used – I would have expected it to run on batter power alone, but, unfortunately not.

2. Then there is the issue of the Hybrid system itself. You physically have to lift off the gas to get the batteries to kick in. At slow speeds I found that the car simply did not disengage the petrol engine and automatically switch to Battery. Yet it would all too happily switch from Battery to petrol.

3. The batteries do not seem able to cope with hauling the car up a gradient, unless you have some momentum. Meaning if you are parked on even a gentle incline and move off (up the gradient) from stationary, the petrol engine has to kick in.

4. Then there are issues over the usability features of the car:

· SatNav does not allow postcode searches. How can Lexus have overlooked such a basic feature? It oddly allows for search by co-ordinates but WTF? If I knew where I was going then I wouldn’t need it.

· The radio has no LW – How am I supposed to listen to Test Match Special?

· The Hybrid display does not give basic readouts like instant consumption, journey consumption, miles left in tank etc. which is very basic functionality.

· There is no ability to set user options like selective locking/unlocking, automatic door locking – again very basic functionality is missing?

So I look forward to having the keys to my RX300SE (facelift) back in my pocket. My car might not do 30MPG – but it will get close to about 25MPG on he same drive and I know that it is sure-footed and competent. It might not have the fancy MM, but at least it will tell me the basic trip details and usefully miles left in tank.

I like my RX300 and when I look to upgrade I will be looking at an RX350 SE, with MM + ICE as for the money, I feel, that beats the RX400h any day. I would seriously urge people to look beyond the Lexus hype and see that this vehicle, although technologically advanced and well put together backed up with excellent Lexus support etc. isn’t quite the full package. It still needs more work and I really cannot see a private individual benefiting from buying this vehicle.

In closing, I would like to add that I am in no way anti-Lexus or have an axe to grind. Rather to the contrary - I love my RX and would, without hesitation, recommend it to friends and family. But I cannot help feel that the standard engines from other manufacturers (like BMW in their new X5) also falling into the lower tax bracket make a better case than the Hybrid. For me at least, this was not the best of both worlds. An expensive gadget that I will not miss.