gbch

I had a RX400h for 3 years up until last September when I replaced it with a RX450h. Using the on board trip computer the RX400 returned 28.9 mpg over many thousands of miles and after 8500 miles the RX450 is returning 32.8. I have used standard unleaded for both vehicles, but I keep the Rx450 in eco mode. A number of my friends and colleagues have also driven both vehicles and the difference in the mpg with different driving styles is very marked, both up and down. On a recent 200 mile mostly motorway trip a colleague got 38 mpg, but there were a lot of 50 mph sections!

Rather than try and remove the radio I approached this problem from a different direction. I bought a Brodit ProClip (item no. 604323 http://www.dsldevelopments.com/brodit/holder/HTC+Touch%20Pro2-Brodit-Holder.asp) which mounts on the driver's door pillar and rather than the 'standard' Brodit Active (charging) holder I used the version with the 'molex' adapter. The major difference being that the molex version comes with a straight (not curly) cable. The straight cable means that you can run the cable from the holder down the inside of the door seal giving a very neat installation. I brought the cable back into the cabin using a convenient joint in the trim at the bottom of the main dashboard. From there the cable goes over the top of the fairing above the pedals and then through the under tray of the centre console and up into the console pocket that contains the power sockets. The molex power adaptor is mounted at the front of the under tray. I used some self adhesive Velcro cable clips to hold the cable in place. Two other points to note. The molex adaptor version of the ProClip does not come with a cigarette lighter plug, so you need to add one of these. I also needed to add about 30cm to the length of the cable to reach the power outlet socket.