Great Dane

Hi John, Congratulations on your excellent choice of car. We got ours on 15 June as well (09:00 AM) and were the first on the road in London I believe. Have been busy reading manuals, visiting (far away) family and have already clocked up 745 miles (average 32.9 MPG so far - ('running in' driving)). We are very pleased with the car. It is like gliding soundless along the road at almost any speed. The ride is comfortable and we cannot fault the vehicle in any way. The Range Rover doesn’t even come close as far as driving comfort is concerned. When parking up last night though, I noticed water dripping from underneath the central engine area, and wondered whether this could be the condensation from the air-conditioning unit, which we had had running for some three hours. Have you noticed something similar? Happy smiles all round

:D Had my test drive this morning, and man was I impressed. This is an absolute stunning vehicle. So quiet and yet so powerful - it is truly amazing. :D :D As luck will have it, I will pick-up my chosen car on Wednesday 15 June 2005 at 09:00 AM. No doubt the first day will be taken up reading the 600-page manual, but hopefully some driving as well. Hope you all get yours on Wednesday as well.

Thanks Scorcher, Tried confused.com, but surprise surprise they did not have the model listed either. Any other suggestions?

Hopefully taking delivery of a new RX400h on the launch date (15/06/05) and have telephone a lot of insurance companies to get a quote. Unfortunately none of them had the model listed yet, and was unable to give me a quote. As insurance cover is needed in order to collect the car I am in a bit of a dilemma situation. What to do? Any suggestions?

Official launch date now confirmed by Lexus GB as 15 June 2005. Dealerships may take delivery earlier, and demonstrators are expected to be with the dealers week commencing 6 June. Christmas is coming early this year!!! :)

To quote the Lexus UK Web Site: The RX400h is due to be launched June 2005 ← Yes June has always been the month. However, I would have hoped Lexus by now could give us a date (as they did in the US). Has someone got 'inside' information on this subject? Need to plan our holiday, and would hate to be away when the cars arrive.

Now that the pricing has been made official for UK models, have any of you heard of an official launch date in the UK? The Americans were given the 15 April 2005 as the offcial date in the US, but I have not seen any launch date published for the UK anywhere. Have you?

Assuming all interested members are already following posts on the US boards, it should not be necessary to copy post here, good or bad, but just to balance things again, here is another copy post: "I did some more testing with the RX400h this afternoon and here is some additional information about gas mileage. If the car is parked for more than a say a half hour, there seems to be a warm-up period after it's started for about 3-5 minutes. During this period, I discovered that the engine is running even when coasting at low speed (25 mph or less) and the current mpg on the screen shows it as less than 20 mpg. However, if it has only been a few minutes since the car was driven, the warm up period seems to be less than one minute. The current MPG then suddenly shoots way up even under some acceleration. On a little trial run to the local grocery store a few minutes ago, I was going about 25-28 mph and the current mpg was at 60 mph the entire 1.5 miles each way. I could not detect the engine running at all. Needless to say, I was very impressed. Now I understand why (from my post #1045) why I was getting the rather poor mpg the first 5 minute intervals the 3 times I tested it & the great mpg thereafter. It all has to do with the engine running no matter how slow you are going the first 1-5 minutes of driving the car after being parked for a while. Incidentally, yes the engine is totally silent for a few seconds as I start backing out of the garage but after a few seconds it kicks on and stays on for that 1-5 minutes depending on how long the car has been parked. I also did some testing on the Interstate this afternoon. With a rather strong cross wind (20-25 mph), I averaged right at about 27 mpg going at between 60 and 70mph. I hope this sheds some light for those that are interested in the gas savings aspect of this fantastic vehicle. I am now quite convinced that one can do even better than the EPA city estimate with the 400h. I would certainly be interested to learn of others experiences in terms of MPG. " PS. How is you new car - any regrets selling the RX??????

Just to balance things up a bit, here is another quote from the US forum: "Drove home tonight from work, and got 36.3 MPG!! Wahoo! I'm in love with this car." That is 36.3 miles per US gallon, or 43.7 miles per UK gallon. Not bad at all....

The posts you refer to are from US cars' computer readings, which you in a previous post for you RX300 claimed were inaccurate. Secondly the US gallon = 3.785412 litres and the UK gallon = 4.556092 litre. When you read on a US forum that the return is 27mpg that would equate to approx 33mpg in the UK. Think about it. It could be even better for the GS450h.........

There is a thread on the US forum, which may be helpful, or useful information to take to your dealer: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=19781 I am sure the problem is the same for the RX300 as for the RX330 Good luck

My mate just got back from spain two weeks ago, he test grove the RX400h and his opinion was it was not sub-6 seconds, more in the low 7's and economy was not that great either! ← I was referring to the GS450h, since you had chosen the GS model.

I would have waited for the GS450h due out in the Spring of 2006. Combined power output will be well in excess of 300 horsepower, with zero-to-60 acceleration in less than six seconds. Fuel economy similar to the average 2-litre 4 cylinder compact sedan. Well that's just me.

"I am just back from driving the car.........all I can say is..wonderful, just wonderful". Hi Ian, You lucky person. Since you have driven the car can you reveal whether it has a keyless entry system (as the Pirus) or a conventional ignition key?

With the producers going to that length (Colin's posting above), the result was very disapointing (from a Lexus supporter's point of view). Suppose this is how they spend our licence fee money? Glad I watched it anyway.

Hi King of the Hill (Muswell Hill?) Details as listed by Damian, apart from Mark Levison Audio is not available as an optional extra on the RX400h SE. Also according to my information Persian Quarttz in a UK available colour Are you ready for this (quoting from hard copy information in hand): RX400h: Cruise Control Electronically controlled CVT (ECVT) Radio AM/FM and cassette (8 speakers) CD changer (6 in Dashboard) Leather Steering Wheel and Audio Control Aluminium inserts Rear & Rear Side Windows Tainted glass Rear Spoiler Small Double Door Lock 8 Airbags (Front/Knee/Curtain/Side) VSC / ABS / Brake Assist HID Lamps & Head Lamp cleaners 18" inch 5 spoke Alloy Wheels Roof Rail Active Front Light system (HID) Fabric seats (Grey) - no other options Power seats D8-P4 directions Option: ICE RX400h SE: As above, but: Leather seats (perforated) - Oakham, Sussex or Pembroke, Power seats D8-P8 directions In addition: Sunroof Heated seats (front) 40/20/40 foldable seats Power tilt/telescopic Steering Wheel Memory package (seats, Steering Wheel Mirrors) Wiper with rain sensor Illuminated entry system Door trim with leather stitching Power back door system Option: ICE, Navi System (DVD)+rear view camera+bluetooth+ETA+Power diagramatic RX400h SEL: As above but included: ICE, Navi System (DVD)+rear view camera+bluetooth+ETA+Power diagramatic Key changes to the RX300: Air suspension not available on the RX400h SEL CTV (vs 5 speed auto) transmission 3.3 litre engine + electric motors (270 bhp equivalent) Opening in front bumper to aid cooling of hybrid system and give a muscular stance New 18" 5 spoke alloys New grille New vehicle dynamics integrated management (VDIM) system Aluminium finish in place of wood - real aluminium for gear lever surround Power meter replacing rev. counter in instrument binnacle. Now all this typing may very well cost you a pint if I ever catch up with you.. All the best

No personal experience with this company, but friend of mine found them useful. http://www.1stchoice.co.uk/index2.aspx towbar PS. Does Lexus not provide towbars for your model?

The RX400h is definitely worth the wait (and the premium). The RX300 is lacking in power compared to the v8 versions of the X5, Toureg and Merc. - not to mention even the Range Rover. The RX400h should compare favourable with the new £72,000 Range Rover Vouge(4.2) due out this Summer, so surely it will be worth the wait and every penny... PS. I thought you had paid your deposit for the RX400h (prev. post)

Hi Jazz lives, Thank you for letting us know. Will set the video recorder - just in case. Cheers

Hi King of the Hill, Funny that, I paid my deposit at Lexus Edgware Road last year, and am promised to be in the first delivery batch as well. However they have (three weeks ago) provided me with UK full model details, exterior colour options, interior trim finish etc., so maybe you should go and see them again? There will indeed be three specification levels in the UK. RX400h, RX400h SE and RX400h SEL. Details are too comprehensive to list here. The only thing they cannot confirm yet is the price, and they state (as quoted by Colin above) a premium of approx. £5,000 on the equivalent RX300 model. We will meet when collecting our respective cars? All the best

Well, living in Hong Kong that would be the perfect vehicle for you.

There are three models: 1. DAA-MHU38W-AWXGK - Harrier Hybrid 2. DAA-MHU38W-AWXGK(L) - with L package 3. DAA-MHU38W-AWXGK(S) - with Premium package Recommended retail prices: 1. 4,095,000 Yen (consumer tax 3,900,000 Yen) 2. 4,410,000 Yen (consumer tax 4,200,000 Yen) 3. 4,620,000 Yen (consumer tax 4,400,000 Yen) Recycling duty also apply in Japan Wheter consumer tax applies to exports I do not know.

The japaneese version of the RX400h (Toyota Harrier Hybrid) was launched in Japan yesterday. As there has been may speculataions as to wheter the RX400h would have a conventional ignition key or a start button, it is intereting to see the Harrier has a start button similar to that of the Prius. Have a look at: http://toyota.jp/harrierhybrid/interior/index.html Even though the site is in Japaneese, much interesting information can be derived from it - Main entry site with fantastic entry graphics: http://toyota.jp

I was lucky enough to have a RX300SE L for a five days test drive. Drove just over 800 miles. Mainly motorway returned betwen 26-28 miles gallon. Combined (25% town) gave me 23-24 miles/gallon. Motoway driving was at 70-75 miles/hour, and only a few "quick overtakings". I was impressed. With a 30% improvement for the RX400h things are looking up.

Even though the American specification is very slightly different to the UK specification, and the launch date in the US is 15 April - you may be interested in reading the following press release from Toyota across the pond: http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/...ml?id=20050310b