fulmar

For me, there were a number of reasons for choosing RX450h. It had to have that great feeling of power when you hit the accelerator. But that alone was not enough for me -- after all there are many cars that give you that. I wanted a comfortable and quality car with a total design that looks good every time I see it and am in it. I wanted a high seating position to make it easy to get in and out, and to have a good view ahead. I wanted a parking assist that really helped me put the car easily into a parking slot. And I wanted to try the Hybrid technology because it was a speciality of Lexus. Having said all that, if the fuel consumption had been disappointing I would have felt I had been sold a pup. In the event I have got a very satisfactory improvement over my previous 6-cylinder, non-hybrid Lexus and so am well satisfied.

My Lexus RX450h is now 15 months old. The average petrol consumption has been 37.9 mpg, calculated from the total amount of petrol I have put in and the total mileage. In Summer months I get about 10% more mpg and in Winter some 10% less. My last Lexus was a GS 300 and I only got 27 mpg from that, so I am very happy with the improvement given by the Hybrid.

"open the boot Lexus", or words to that effect, is my hoped-for solution to this problem -- whether I am inside or outside my Lexus. I would also like to be able to customise the command to prevent other jokers from pulling a fast one. The SIRI function In my iPad shows how competent voice recognition can be.

On trying out the options on my RX450h, the options are very few! and all to do with Navigation. I can tell it a destination (Town and street) or a 'Nearby' location (examples: Grocery Store, Cinema, Chinese Restaurant) and that is it. There's no possibility of controlling the Audio nor the Temperature/air con/ventilation. Disappointing. Pull your socks up Lexus!

I have used just commands for the navigation system. "Go Home" works well for example. I must try Temperature and Audio.

I have had a RX450h from new for nearly a year now. I like every aspect except the ride is too firm. I have reduced tyre pressures to 33 psi which gives a slightly smoother ride. But it's not nearly as good as my old GS300. I can only conclude that the 4x4 needs a 'stiffer' chassis to prevent corner roll and provide good handling. When I first got the car I had read about battery problems after leaving the car for a week or more and I wondered whether they would appear during winter months. They haven't. Initially I kept an eye on the voltage of the 12v battery in the boot. This was consistently good so I gave up being concerned. The only winter effect I noticed was that mpg dropped by about 5.

I have a 2013 RX 450h. It is fitted with audible sensors front, back and at front side. I find it brilliant in conjunction with the rear camera and the guiding lines for reversing. Lexus must have been listening to earlier owners and reacted.

I get 40 mpg in suburban use, and 37 mpg on the motorway. My tyres have 33 psi. Everything about the car is great except the ride which is too firm for my liking.

Many thanks DanD, Lydiamight and Boxbrownie. All very interesting and extremely useful.

I am wondering whether to fit winter tyres in October-March. Does anyone have experience of these?

I bought my RX450 hybrid because I liked the concept of the car -- the Lexus quality, the performance, the comfort and the novelty of the hybrid engine. I don't know what the on-cost of the hybrid is, but at a rough guess it will be half the difference in price between the RX450h and the GS250 -- half for the hybrid and half for the greater engine power. The saving in petrol costs is going to take me 7 to 10 years to recover the extra cost of buying the hybrid, so I have to agree that is not a business case. But if I was a regular visitor to London, and avoided the congestion charge, the economics would be transformed. In any case, as long as the car doesn't reveal some nasty feature in the future, I am well satisfied. My quibbles are few. I would like back the button on the panel that turns the air-con on and off rather than messing about with the 'mouse'. And I wish Lexus would redesign the alarm system so that it doesn't go off if I leave a metallic object in the centre console! I shall be interested to find how well the car copes in snowy conditions. I may fit winter tyres which I note my Lexus centre are pushing. Any views on this?

I used to have an odd clicking noise in my old GS3000. It was not very frequent and seemed to come and go. I never tracked down the cause and would be very interested to hear how you sort out your event.

Yes I can support for my new RX450h what Colin has described . Waiting for my wife to renew her Library books, I used to listen to the radio in the Accessory position until after about 10 minutes I got a message "High battery Drain" (or some such words) so I turned everything off pretty quick! I talked to my Lexus centre and they told me to switch on to the "Ready" position while in "Park" when listening to the radio and then the HV battery would actually charge up the 12v battery! It works. Like you Chris I am delighted with the car.

I have just done a 500 mile trip in my RX450h, mainly on Motorways and dual carriage A34. Average fuel consumption = 37.9 mpg. I noticed that at 70 mph the engine is running all the time and from time to time it charges the HV battery, and also from time to time the battery joins the engine in driving the front wheels. Acceleration feels similar to my 2001 GS300, but steering 'feel' is much better in the RX and of course the fuel consumption is some 20% lower. But I prefer the ride in the GS.

The alarm in my RX450h went off yesterday morning without external cause. I talked to my local Lexus Service department who told me that a metal object in the console between the driver and passenger seats can cause the alarm to sound. Alternatively metal framed glasses in the high cubby hole can do it. I had a tyre pressure gauge with metal parts and dial in the console and that is the suspect. It now resides elsewhere! I wonder whether others have experienced such an event?