Pally

Hi Kevin/Ken I read the same that Auto will prioritise EV and only add engine if you ask for more acceleration so it will quickly deplete the EV battery on a long trip and not save for later. I’ve opted for the same as you both and to manually switch between HV and EV Ken are you saying that while in HV mode the EV kicks in? Is that just the standard hybrid functionality so essentially just the car operating as if the EV was depleted? Or are you seeing the EV range drop while in HV mode? I’m about to set off for a 150 mile trek so will have another chance to test!

I’m very impressed, it’s great efficiency for a big car. EV efficiency was showing as 2.1kw/h when I got the car and it has steadily increased. I don’t know about the sat nav coordination, that would be excellent if it could. For any longer trip I plan to use HV when at a steady speed on dual carriageways or motorways and EV when in built up areas and on slower roads. If remaining EV range matches sat nav miles to destination I switch to EV. That worked well on my last trip and I still ended up with a few 2-3 miles of EV left. For example my last trip was just a few miles in EV to get to the faster roads, a long stretch of HV, then I used the rest of the EV range through Taunton and on to my destination on country roads. On the way back I did it in reverse, twisty roads and Taunton in EV, faster roads in HV and then switched back when remaining distance matched EV. It works really well. Probably just saying what you all know! Does anyone switch between modes more often as a driving technique or do most people keep it simple?

About to do another long trip so put fuel in for the first time. Exactly 30 litres after a very slight fill after initial cut out to round it off. 641 miles to date. App says 414.5 miles on EV but unfortunately I don’t know how much of that is pure EV and how much is from normal hybrid mode once EV battery dropped to 30% So I make it 97mpg in petrol terms ignoring cost of electricitY with pure ICE economy just over 34 mpg If I convert cost of electric at 19.5p kw/h (still on an old fixed tariff so can’t change yet) at the current indicated rate of 3m kw/h I make it 65mpg equivalent overall That doesn’t account for some of the miles being electric from normal hybrid generated EV power rather than plug in. So the actual converted mpg should be a little better. I don’t have the Podpoint installed yet due to a loop supply issue so I can’t keep an accurate record of how many kw I’ve charged from the mains.

That’s impressive. Does it gradually change the estimate based your previous trips or is it just from warmer weather? Mine has gradually crept up to a high of 41.5 but nowhere near that level.

That is really helpful. Many thanks. I’ve tuned some of the volumes down and will take a look at the driver monitor. I’d keep it on if wasn’t for all the false alarms. I found the same with the adaptive cruise. Not sure what the difference is and am sure I haven’t touched the brakes. It’s going to be interesting to see how people get on with the new speed limit technology that comes in for new cars from July this year. That takes it to another level. A good thing overall and will probably be viewed in a similar way to seatbelts in retrospect but I can’t imagine the experience of overtaking a car that has been driving slowly but then speeds up suddenly while I’m passing them and then finding I lose power part way through the manoeuvre.

I have moved from a 2009 Volvo XC90 to a 2024 RX450+ and having just completed my first longer trip I feel like I’ve been propelled forward from the stone age into the modern era. Overall I love the car; it’s so quiet and smooth and I love the adaptive cruise. I did however find the steering inputs and frequent beeps and alerts more distracting than helpful at times. Some examples are driver attention alerts when I’m looking at the road but it thinks I’m not. E.g rubbed my face with my hand. Others included not seeing a way to dismiss the take a break suggestion which kept flashing up on the hud (prompted I think by me approaching the centre line on twisty roads?) or pushing me back towards a fallen branch I was trying to steer round on a country lane. Do you just get used to the inputs after a while or have others adjusted settings to find the right level of support? If so, how have you amended the settings? I’m aware some settings reset every start up, so it would be great to know what you’ve changed permanently and what you do each time you start up to get the right balance. If the answer is “you’ll get used to it” then so be it! I’m also aware the systems are designed to improve safety so am keeping that in mind. I couldn’t see another thread on this but if there is an older thread that covers it please could someone direct me to it. Thanks in advance David

That really helpful. Many thanks Alan and makes perfect sense to me. I’m finding it harder to track how much charge the car has taken as I’m having to charge from a 3-pin socket still (curse of a looped supply and lack of response / urgency from SSEN) but guess I can estimate that closely enough with the miles per kw/h and total EV distance and calculating that from my total EV site de driven? I’ve been disappointed with the app and lack of details it provides. Similarly the bar graphs in the infotainment aren’t particularly informative; so checking the maths with you all is helpful.

Hi Xez Haha. No need for marking, that’s spot on and is exactly how I calculated it as well for ICE only. I was trying to work out what the combined traditional hybrid figure is when the ev only range is exhausted (i.e. under 30% battery) So I got: 33.3 pure ICE as you say 39 estimate for combined ICE / battery when operating like a normal hybrid in HV mode - what I’d get if I didn’t plug in. 51.8 overall for this trip including the additional PHEV EV range. Happy to see any suggested variations as just finding my way with this. Also trying to understand if, aside from the environmental considerations, it is commercially viable to top up at the local charger at 55p per kWh (85p 1st KWh) but suspect that may be outside the spirit of Ken’s thread/post.

So first longer drive done. Lexus Link + screenshot attached. I used EV mode for the first few miles then HV once on main roads / dual carriageways, then switched to EV again when remaining distance matched EV range . Arrived with just over 2m EV range left. Overall just under 151 miles of which EV shows as 53.9m. I presume some of that is the pure EV and the remainder is the standard hybrid, which would give me just under 39 mpg from the ICE / normal hybrid if I allow 38 miles of EV only? Is that the right way to calc / think about it? Shame the app doesn’t break it down between pure EV running and the electric mileage that is part of normal hybrid.

Thanks Tom. I’ve checked on the app to see but it only showed the solid ev lines but have heard it will over ride when it needs to for a few reasons. I’ll see how I get on tonight and back in a few days which will be 300+ miles mainly with ICE. Sounds from what you say that I’ll have to manually vary it to EV to use the electric range in the right places rather than just use HV mode. Good to know.

A bit early for me to comment on ICE as I’ve only had the car for three weeks /248 miles and 92% of driving has been EV so far so I’m showing a rather unsustainable mpg figure still. m/Kwh has gradually increased from 2.1 when I picked the car up to 2.9. I’ve comfortably managed a 38 round trip to family in EV mode only and the last trip had 9 miles left when I got back. That may have been helped by being stuck behind a HGV on the way there! First longer trip tonight of about 150 miles so will be interesting to see the difference using a blend of HV mode on dual carriageways etc and EV at low speed / built up areas rather than just staying in EV mode. I’ll post again once I’ve done a few longer trips and give an idea of the ICE only mpg. Are you all in Normal mode or have you switched to Eco?

Hi That looks great in the Platinum. I’ve just taken delivery of a deep blue one with the darker leather, pan roof and protection package (needed the liner as we have a dog). I test drove the NX and RX before opting for the RX because it had more room but also felt more planted if you know what I mean. Both felt like great cars. Got it on Friday with a similar Red Bow unveil from Lexus. It’s my first ever Lexus after 15 years with an old shape XC90. I’ve feel like I’ve been propelled into the future with the array of tech. I didn’t even have DAB radio or Sat Nav before!! I’ve worked out how to reduce some of the over zealous warning beeps by lowering the settings but am trying to balance the value they provide with the distraction levels. Like you Xez, I mute the traffic sign alert but keep the visual. Really impressed so far. Incredibly quiet though I’ve only been on electric so far as only local trips. Range saying 38.7 on a full charge initially. Does that improve after a few weeks as I think you’ve suggested 40+ above? Look forward to your updates and any tips. David