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?

When I got my RX450h I had to go hunting for my rear wiper. I thought at first Lexus had forgotten to fit it. Then I found it nicely tucked up under the rear overhang. Nice design Lexus!

Thank you once again Colin for the information and the perspectives. I guess the unfortunate experiences I've read about are exceptions rather than the rule.

Thanks for your reply Colin. Glad to hear there's no alternator or fanbelt to bother about. Do you know what the 12v battery discharge rate is on the 2013 RX 450h when it's double locked? I think I read somewhere that the current is 177 milliamps. If that's so then the 50 Amp hour battery will discharge in about 12 days if the car is left, which matches the account in one of the posts I have read. I am surprised Lexus isn't more upfront about this in the manual. One of the posts reports a flat 12 v battery after parking and running the stereo for 90 minutes. That I find surprising also. Is that what you would expect? I am delighted with my car. I've had it just over a month and its a worthy successor to my GS300. I keep an eye on the 12v battery voltage and so far it's been in the range 12.6 -12.8 volts. V. satis.

Could someone explain how the 12 volt battery is charged in the RX 450 h? Is it being charged all the time the car is moving? Or does it only get charged while the high voltage battery is being charged? I've read there are three electric motors -- two that drive the front and rear wheels and the third that starts the engine and acts as a 'generator'. But I'm not clear whether the generator is continuously charging the 12 v battery.

Congrats Petr, and she looks really good. My RX 450h is just a month old. I solved the 'sliding shopping bags' problem by installing a Lexus mat in the boot. It has a rubbery surface that is high in friction so the contents of the boot stay put (at least under normal driving!) Here are a few shots.

My RX 450h is a month old. I'm getting about 40 mpg in suburban driving. I've not yet done a long trip on the motorway.

I've had my RX 450h for four weeks now. The ride is firmer than my GS 300 but that's not surprising because the centre of gravity is higher and I'd otherwise be rolling like mad when cornering. I find it's better to avoid the bumps where possible!

I have a new RX 450h, bought 4 weeks ago. So far my average mpg is 39. I have had 50 mpg driving at 30 to 40 mph over 7 miles in a built-up area. I used to have a GS 300 and got an average of about 30 mpg.