rx400 by cambece
 

these are so sweet. Anyone got one?

ja cambece

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

I've had one since August 2005. I really like the car. I have 2800 miles on it, but only get 21.9 MPG. How are you doing? They say you do better after 5,000 miles. Unfortunately to go from my house to town (just a few miles) it is all uphill.

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

:shade: I found that as I put more miles on my RX400h the better fuel economy I am seeing. I have about 5700 miles on my car now and am getting about 25.6 MPG. Happy driving.

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

Wow! I am now getting 22.2 mpg with 3200 miles. It is increasing slowly, but I can't see how it will get 26 mpg. Did you get lower mileage like this before 5000 miles? I can't see how I can get 3 more miles per gallon. I coast when I see a red light ahead. I accelerate as slowly as I can with a multitude of cars behind me. I am constantly watching dials. Do you have any hints which helped you?

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

I just traded my Prius in for an RX400h. Although I've only driven it a couple of days, I'm getting about 28 mpg but haven't driven it on the highway yet. Here's what I do: Say the speed limit is 45. Gradually get the speed up to 45, then coast a minute, then lightly accelerate keeping the speed about 42/43 mph. You will notice that your hybrid motor is running and you are getting good mileage. Prius-owners call it "stealthing."

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

I am now up to 22.5 mph. It's interesting that I do "stealth" even though I didn't know what it was called. I keep pushing for the extra .1 of a mile. I now have about 3700 miles on the car. 28 mph is awsome!

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

We have over 9000 miles on our 400h and get 25 - 27 mpg per tank. I drive 32 miles RT to work, half of it on the LA freeways. I've been able to get over 32 mpg right after filling up and getting directly on the freeway, usually driving about 62 - 63 mph, but the surface streets really lower it. We're satisfied with the mpg - EPA estimates are always unrealistic!

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

Wow, that's great mileage! I am at 4800 miles, and am only getting 22.7 mpg. I can only assume it is because it is hilly (as hilly as you can get in FL) getting to town from my house.

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

I'm not an owner yet but I've been surfing to figure out if I want to take the plunge.

One of the things I keep hearing is that mileage gets better with time. Some have said that the friction in the engine gets less and it is more efficient. I decided to do a simple test.

I took the Prius and the Lexus 400h data for all inputs that had one or more tanks of fuel used. I plotted the mpg versus the mileage, ran linear and power trend lines to see if the the mpg was correlated with the mileage.

R2 measures were no better than 0.15, which is very poor.

My theory is that is is driver dependent. Some pick up the tricks easier than others. Some can't realize that hybrids (at least now) are not just more efficient gas engine cars. I you drive them efficiently, you can get good mileage. If you had bad habits that drove you old car down, you'll find it will do the same in a hybrid.

Since you guys (ladies) are the experts actually having an RX400H, what do you think? How hard was it to change your habits? I drive 30 miles RT in stop and go LA FWY traffic; what do you think I should expect from a Lexus RX400H?

:confused:

Re: rx400 by cambece
 

I drive about the same distance as you, half of the RT is on an LA freeway. I have been averaging 26 - 28 mpg on a tank, but I do know that my driving habits help. My husband doesn't get the same milage since he doesn't drive the car often and hasn't developed the 'habits' associated with better milage. I actually wanted a Prius but my husband wanted a luxury car - so this was our compromise! Since we rarely buy cars - our last ones were a 1981 BMW and a 1987 Mercedes - we were ready to spend the money for something really nice - and we got it.