RX400h MPG during 50mph cruise? Please advise.

[LexV84me]

Hello

Does anyone know an RX400h's approx MPG when cruising at 50mph using cruise control? (I'm trying to calculate fuel costs for my daily commute.) 

Ta 🙂

[royoftherovers]

2 hours ago, LexV84me said:

Hello

Does anyone know an RX400h's approx MPG when cruising at 50mph using cruise control? (I'm trying to calculate fuel costs for my daily commute.) 

Ta 🙂

It might be useful Nick for owners to know your;

Route

Length of Route and its Geography and amounts of usual traffic and times of day when route is usually traveled.

 

[Spacewagon52]

I drove from Bristol to Kent on motorways at the legal limit. I averaged 36 mpg - that was calculated from mileage on Google and full tank. I thought this was very good for a 3.3 litre V6. Locally, doing mainly very short runs, I get 27 mpg. It has dropped to 25 mpg as the cold weather came.

There are threads on this forum explaining how to drive a hybrid to get the best fuel economy. Overall I would expect around 30 mpg, you may get more depending on the length of route / traffic / hills etc. as John mentioned above. Can you give us some indication of your usual route?

[LexV84me]

Thank you for replies.

My journey is 15 miles, which comprises a 12-mile trundle around the 3-lane-wide North Circular (A406) in free-flowing traffic at c. 50mph, no drastic elevation changes; then turn off into 3 miles of typical central London stop / start traffic, side street 'rat runs', speed bumps, etc, which means never getting above 20mph. 

For example, in a VW Scirocco (2.0 turbo, 4 cyl, 227bhp) the 12-mile cruise at 50-ish would yield 38-42mpg, but the 3-mile final leg in stop-start sub-20mph London streets would drop the average consumption for the total journey down to c.32mpg.

So, I'm assuming (hoping) the final 3 miles in a RX400h would use less fuel - ie, the ICE would not be running while stopped at traffic lights, and it would use mostly electric propulsion while crawling along side streets at sub 20mph?

Hence, I'm interested to know what MPG to expect when cruising at c. 50mph in a RX400h 🙂

[Spacewagon52]

You may get better but I would count on 30 mpg as a guide overall. Others, who have had more experience with the 400h, may suggest better figures. Crawling in heavy traffic with a very light throttle can be done on electric but any form of acceleration will kick-in the ICE.

[Herbie]

I appreciate that in these strange times 'every little helps' as Tesco are fond of saying but it's just not practical to micro-manage fuel consumption like that.

It's a vehicle that weighs in at 2 tons and has a 3.3l V6 engine. Just enjoy the drive

[Spacewagon52]

Does the consumption depend on whether or not you buy a RX 400 h?

[LexV84me]

2 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Does the consumption depend on whether or not you buy a RX 400 h?

Yes. TBH I'm not a fan of SUVs, nor wrong-wheel-drive, nor 'one-note' autoboxes, but 'Er Indoors likes the idea of a RX 400h 😐 

I want a IS 250. And I've done my commute in a borrowed autobox IS 250, which averaged 34mpg without any need for eco-driving techniques 🏁

[Spacewagon52]

If your budget could stretch to an IS 300h that would be a cracking car for your journey. I like the high driving position of the 400h and consider the economy very acceptable for a 3.3 litre V6. 

With a hybrid you can adjust your driving technique to get good economy - it can actually be quite fun to get good mpg as the driving style is very relaxed. If you want to give it some stick it will really move. Just my opinion.

[Spottedlaurel]

2 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

With a hybrid you can adjust your driving technique to get good economy - it can actually be quite fun to get good mpg as the driving style is very relaxed. If you want to give it some stick it will really move. Just my opinion.

Good point, gives something to think about even on a mundane journey.

5 hours ago, LexV84me said:

My journey is 15 miles, which comprises a 12-mile trundle around the 3-lane-wide North Circular (A406) in free-flowing traffic at c. 50mph, no drastic elevation changes; then turn off into 3 miles of typical central London stop / start traffic, side street 'rat runs', speed bumps, etc, which means never getting above 20mph.

I think it would be pretty decent on a journey like that, my 450 is good at around 50.

Have you got somewhere safe to park either end of your journey? An RX400h in London is going to be quite a target for the cat thieves.....

[LexV84me]

12 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

...Have you got somewhere safe to park either end of your journey? An RX400h in London is going to be quite a target for the cat thieves.....

Huh?? Please explain 😲

[LexV84me]

12 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

If your budget could stretch to an IS 300h that would be a cracking car for your journey.

Indeed. But alas a IS 300h is currently beyond my budget.

[Superduner]

Catalytic converter thieves love the RX400H.  They can have it off the car in less than 2 minutes - even in a supermarket car park.

My car, now permanently in France, was targeted in Kennington when the previous owner left it in a gated, private car park.  It now has a cage over the cat, which my local Lexus dealer thinks is very odd.

[Barry14UK]

There are a number of threads on this form about stolen cat converters and measures taken to protect them which are not always successful.  Thieves also steal these from other cars including but not exclusive to Prius model and Honda CRV.  Vehicles with a lot of ground clearance are particularly attractive targets.  The thieves get less than £100 each for them but the cost of replacement is very high.  Lexus were having to replace so many that they were on back order.  There are cheaper ones on the market which contain less expensive precious metals and some people replace this vulnerable cat with a straight through pipe.  Whether you can get away with doing this is debatable.  Suggest you read up on the subject.

[LexV84me]

During the day it would be in a secure car park. At night, I could park 5 mins walk from my home in streets that have private security / dog patrols.

[Spacewagon52]

25 minutes ago, LexV84me said:

During the day it would be in a secure car park. At night, I could park 5 mins walk from my home in streets that have private security / dog patrols.

The cat should be safe then!

[Superduner]

My dog hates cats......

[Herbie]

Yorkshire man goes to the vet:

"There's summat wrong wi' cat"

"Is it a Tom?"

"Nay, it's theer in't basket!"

[Ken Crawley]

Nick - A few months ago, I changed my 15 year old RX400h to a late RX450h. I bought the 400h new (which was from the first batch of retail cars imported)  in June 2005 and did 186,000 miles in it. In my experience, driving style is critical in a big hybrid - it is very easy to drop to high teens/low 20's especially when annoying boy racers in Golf GTI's when traffic lights change green, but with inteligent and predictive driving and keeping within speed limits, mid to high 30's are easily achievable.

If I was driving your typical journey, with my RX400 experience, I would easily achieve 35MPG+ in summer and just under 35 in winter, but any hint of a heavy right foot or harsh braking, then knock 10 MPG off. Where you gain when travelling in free flowing heavy traffic is every time you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal, the petrol engine in a hybrid stops (no fuel being used) and starts again when neeeded.

You should equal or better your current MPG in your VW - in my experience.

My milage was made up of a lot of motorway miles plus mostly congested stop start miles in the Midlands and the North, a lot of the time averaging less than 10-15 miles in an hour. Hope this helps you to make up your mind besides being totaly cosseted in sheer comfort and luxury.

 

[LexV84me]

Very useful insight. Thank you 🙂