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I've been speaking to a couple of the Lexus guys who have been out to Barcelona to the staff induction for the new models. On the RX400h the comment was that it accelerated very smoothly and handled just like the RX300SE (coil springs). They said that the you would be able to notice the difference in power but its less than they expected.

King of the Hill Ask your dealer to show you page 4 of the 28th Feb 2005 'Lexus RH400h Grade Overview'. It has all the spec details above, the colours and pricing. Under pricing it says 'Indicative premium of £5000 over equivalent RX300' Cheers!

Great Dane, We have the same hardcopy! You deserve a pint for typing all that in!

The UK specs I have from Lexus UK are:- Rx400h SE-L will come with as standard: Navi System +Rear View Camera+ Bluetooth+ETA + Power diagramatic +MARK LEVINSON AUDIO + ICE! Makes up for the loss of air suspension? Rx400h SE All the usual SE stuff. BUT Navi System +Rear View Camera+ Bluetooth+ETA + Power diagramatic +MARK LEVINSON AUDIO + ICE are all optional extras. UK colours will be St lucia, Platinum ice, Aleutian grey, Astral Black, Cherwell Green AND Stafford Blue.

Looks like the £5000 premium is causing some fall-out in the waiting lists. My local dealer is now telling me I can get my car much quicker than expected. I'm not sure I'm going to take up the option, £3000 was a reasonable premium, £5000 just seems too much...

What do users think about the UK mpg figures for the new Lexus RX400h? The original Lexus GB brochure claimed it would deliver "better fuel efficiency than many compact cars". To be fair to Lexus GB though the same page did carry a disclaimer indicating their right to change any of their claims without prior notice. What do you think, is Urban 31.4, Extra Urban 37.7 and Combined 34.9 above or below your expectation for this hybrid car? PS It would be good if Dealers refrained from voting in this poll so that we get a true Buyers view.

Continuation I don't like the BMW X5 and wont be buying one, but the car (like all cars) has some good points, and I don't think the RX400h will beat it in all areas. Taking your X5 comparison to the Rx400h I'm not sure all your numbers stack up, but I'm not going to do an advert BMW to disprove your point here. The extra fuel ecconomy of the RX400h is marginal. Just £200 pa for a car doing 10k miles per year. Even in the unlikely event of you doing all 10,000 miles in the city you would still only save £500 pa. Big deal - not. Regarding faster, we all know that it's not the 0-62 time that matters but how it's delivered in normal driving situations. Most people would'nt notice the difference between the two in everyday driving. If LexusJohn's comments on power deliver are confirmed, it's points to the X5. Regarding less expensive, most peoiple see beyond the sticker price. Based on your prices and What Car residuals of 65% for the RX300 and 70% for the X5 you would lose 18 grand on the Lexus vs 14 grand on the BMW. Re your question do you have a problem? Answer quite possibly. This isn't leapfrog, but it might be catch-up?

"This was my attempt at sarcasm......." Ouch! I didn't think Lexus Dealers did sarcasm. It will take more that a free weekend car wash to get me to buy my RX400h from you now! A whole raft of issues here, which may mean two posts. There might be very good reasons why some Lexus dealers have low or no waitlists. If you live in a rural area, city mpg isn't much of an issue. Hence few orders. The point I was making is that if you are desparate to get your hands on one sooner rather than later, there are Lexus Dealers out there who have June/July availability. There is even a London area dealer giving August delivery dates for new orders. Regarding MPG expectations, Lexus GB's brochure on the RX400h set the expectations high. Quote "RX400h...with the hybrid drivetrain giving stunning performance while delivering BETTER fuel efficiency than MANY COMPACT cars". Its not surprising that 34.9 is now seen as very average against the expectation Lexus set. A lowly 34.9mpg would be poor for most decent Compact cars in this day and age.

Ian. Just goes to show that its worth ringing around to find dealers with few or zero orders if you want to place an order for an RX400h delivery this June. However I the think the £5000 indicative price premium over the equivalent RX300 and the very average fuel consumpion figures will result in considerable drop out from dealers with wait lists. The UK fuel consumption figures are Urban 31.4, Extra urban 37.7 and Combined 34.9. Air suspension is definitely out.

Colin Read my post again. Jun- July 2005 delivery is just after the launch. No need to try another Dealer. This one is just fine!!! PS. until my order is in I'm not revealing his location!

Very intersting. I just enquired today and got a written quote with June-July '05 delivery. Shame the £5000 premium over the equivalent RX300 is off putting though.

Lexus UK Fuel Consumpion figures for RX 400h are Extra Urban 37.7mpg, Combined 34.9 mpg and Urban 31.4 mpg. Indicative price premium of £5000 over equivalent RX300.