RX450H Fuel Consumption

Lexnew · September 17, 2022

I have ordered a new RX450H fitted with a 3.5 litre V6 engine.The official MPG is between 35-36 MPG.I am very curious to find out from the owners of this model,what fuel consumption figures they are experiencing. My driving habits consist of a mixture of short trips and longer motorway journeys.From what I can understand the hybrid system is more suited to stop/start driving conditions.Constant speed motorway cruising tends to use mostly ICE,as very little free electrical energy (braking/coasting) is going back into the Battery.I am assuming that the motorway fuel consumption would not be that good.I do appreciate that in the winter months the fuel consumption figures will be lower.

I do not have a heavy right foot!

I look forward to your comments.

RXtoNX · September 17, 2022

Here’s mine over 33k miles of very mixed driving. Expect less in the colder weather and better in the summer

ColinBarber · September 17, 2022

Hi Ian. I'd say 35 is achievable once you get use to driving a hybrid.

Your summary is correct, however the hybrid system doesn't like very short journeys as the petrol engine will run whilst it gets up to temperature when once warm it would switch off and run on batteries.

Spock66 · September 17, 2022

My average over several thousand miles is around 36 mpg.

I have averaged 40mpg when driving 500 miles in one day, never had less than around 32 from a tank-full.

First_Lexus · September 17, 2022

Having had mine for almost a year, I reckon 32-36 mpg is about right, certainly based on the computer in mine.

Motorway journeys are where economy suffers most, but the comfort and silence are a price worth paying, for me at least. Luckily the shift to working at home means those longer trips are limited to a maximum of once a week these days.

Bluemarlin · September 17, 2022

I would say 35 mpg is a doable average. I have the older model, which I imagine is a little less economical, and have averaged just over 30 mpg over last 12 months.

Motorway consumption for me was worse initially. However, I've recently found that driving at around 60-65 mph on motorways was the sweet spot. At that speed I get around 40 mpg. I also, somewhat surprisingly, found that it didn't affect journey times. This is all probably down to the fact that you can maintain that kind of speed with very little braking, compared to the constant slowing down and accelerating when driving at faster speeds. It's the accelerating back up to speed, as much as the higher speed, that tends to burn fuel.

08ISF · September 17, 2022

My 2016 4RX450h has averaged about 33mpg in the 3 years I've had it. In winter it goes down to about 28mpg on short journeys and in hot summer weather , with the air con working hard it drops to about 31-32mpg on mixed urban journeys. I have seen 40mpg on a medium journey with light traffic and an Autumn trip from London to Edinburgh averaged 38mpg. As others have said, hybrids don't really like cold weather and short journeys, as the petrol motor runs more to keep itself and the cabin warm. You do need to adjust your driving style to get the best out of them.

Illogan · September 18, 2022

23 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

I would say 35 mpg is a doable average. I have the older model, which I imagine is a little less economical, and have averaged just over 30 mpg over last 12 months.

Motorway consumption for me was worse initially. However, I've recently found that driving at around 60-65 mph on motorways was the sweet spot. At that speed I get around 40 mpg. I also, somewhat surprisingly, found that it didn't affect journey times. This is all probably down to the fact that you can maintain that kind of speed with very little braking, compared to the constant slowing down and accelerating when driving at faster speeds. It's the accelerating back up to speed, as much as the higher speed, that tends to burn fuel.

Agree with you Bill. As the pilot of an older car, I too enjoy a lower mpg than the Series 4 models, (and oodles of short, uphill journeys with a cold engine) - consumption winter is 32, and this summer has averaged 36 mpg. Motorway sweet spot is about 60mph.

northpolar · September 18, 2022

I have a 2016 model which I have owned since it was 1 year old and across that period I have averaged 34-35mpg. I don't do much mileage, much of which is short journeys in 20mph zones in London. With a bit of adaptation, due to the imposed low speeds, I find the hybrid system balances Battery and ICE power quite well.

Interesting that the new RX will no longer have the six cylinder engine and slightly less radical looks. Not sure if buying a new model will incur more depreciation than normal when the new model takes over.

Peter

Lexnew · September 20, 2022

On 9/18/2022 at 11:19 PM, northpolar said:

I have a 2016 model which I have owned since it was 1 year old and across that period I have averaged 34-35mpg. I don't do much mileage, much of which is short journeys in 20mph zones in London. With a bit of adaptation, due to the imposed low speeds, I find the hybrid system balances battery and ICE power quite well.

Interesting that the new RX will no longer have the six cylinder engine and slightly less radical looks. Not sure if buying a new model will incur more depreciation than normal when the new model takes over.

Peter

Thanks for the information Peter.From the information that has been provided,I would say that my average fuel consumption should be between 34-35 mpg.I think that the later models of RX 450h 2020-2022,are a little more economical than the earlier models.

One of the reasons I am buying the car is because of its silky smooth 6 cylinder engine,and the seamless way it delivers it's power from Battery to ICE.

Not sure about the new model of RX.From what I can see it is loaded with new technology,and has a 4 cylinder engine. I think that the vehicle is supplied with run flat tyres as standard ( not good for road noise).

As far as buying a new RX 450h is concerned, I managed to negotiate a really good price,it worked out cheaper than buying a 5 month old model.

Spock66 · September 20, 2022

21 hours ago, Lexnew said:

I think that the later models of RX 450h 2020-2022,are a little more economical than the earlier models.

I don't believe there have been any changes in the mechanics of the Gen 4 that would affect fuel economy, only updates to the infotainment, options, trim etc.

I would expect the Gen 5 to have better fuel economy, but loss of a 6-cylinder engine is a significant backward step imho.

Sybaris · September 20, 2022

Was lucky to get a fairly new low mileage gen 4 RX in the spec I wanted. I am getting around 32-34 MPG but on short trips.

tayaste · September 24, 2022

My average in my last 2019 RX was 30.4mpg over 11000 miles. Average in my 2022 RX is currently 31.9mpg that’s done 2000 miles

Sybaris · September 24, 2022

On 9/20/2022 at 12:13 PM, Spock66 said:

I would expect the Gen 5 to have better fuel economy, but loss of a 6-cylinder engine is a significant backward step imho.

Yep, I like the V6 that was an influencing factor in buying the car. The only time I will probably ever have a V6 and wanted to tick that off my car bucket list.

royoftherovers · September 24, 2022

On 9/18/2022 at 12:58 PM, Illogan said:

Agree with you Bill. As the pilot of an older car, I too enjoy a lower mpg than the Series 4 models, (and oodles of short, uphill journeys with a cold engine) - consumption winter is 32, and this summer has averaged 36 mpg. Motorway sweet spot is about 60mph.

"Motorway sweet spot is about 60mph."

As it is for most vehicles.

Fatts · September 26, 2022

From Nottingham to Hemel Hempstead last Saturday the car averaged 31.4mpg. That is with average speed of 72 mph with some sections of the M1 down to 50mph

Phil xxkr · September 27, 2022

8 hours ago, Fatts said:

From Nottingham to Hemel Hempstead last Saturday the car averaged 31.4mpg. That is with average speed of 72 mph with some sections of the M1 down to 50mph

I assume 72 was a typo and should have said 62! 🤣

royoftherovers · September 27, 2022

3 hours ago, Phil xxkr said:

I assume 72 was a typo and should have said 62! 🤣

Perception is indeed significant as I had assumed that 72 was correct which had resulted in the low figure of 31.

Fatts can provide an informed statement should he read these comments, and should he wish to do so as 72 with a scattering of 50`s might suggest occasional speeds up to Warp Factor 1 in a vehicle having a drag coefficienr approaching that of a Housebrick !🤣🤣

The smart money must be on my pal Philxxkr.😢😢

Fatts · September 27, 2022

50 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Perception is indeed significant as I had assumed that 72 was correct which had resulted in the low figure of 31.

Fatts can provide an informed statement should he read these comments, and should he wish to do so as 72 with a scattering of 50`s might suggest occasional speeds up to Warp Factor 1 in a vehicle having a drag coefficienr approaching that of a Housebrick !🤣🤣

The smart money must be on my pal Philxxkr.😢😢

Well I hope the Old Bill are not snooping on this platform thus ‘it was indeed a typo’ I meant to type 70mph.

Phil xxkr · September 28, 2022

17 hours ago, Fatts said:

Well I hope the Old Bill are not snooping on this platform thus ‘it was indeed a typo’ I meant to type 70mph.

As per John's point if your average was 70 and there were roadworks at 50 🤔

Sybaris · September 28, 2022

20 hours ago, Fatts said:

Well I hope the Old Bill are not snooping on this platform thus ‘it was indeed a typo’ I meant to type 70mph.

Nahh they are sitting in their cars, drinking tea and eating doughnuts while they let the unruly thugs take control of the streets ... I suspect.

Fatts · September 28, 2022

Am innocent 😇 I’ve got the evidence from the Lexus Link analytics. I hope it will be admissible in court

Harrier Man · September 28, 2022

On 9/17/2022 at 12:02 PM, Lexnew said:

I have ordered a new RX450H fitted with a 3.5 litre V6 engine.The official MPG is between 35-36 MPG.I am very curious to find out from the owners of this model,what fuel consumption figures they are experiencing. My driving habits consist of a mixture of short trips and longer motorway journeys.From what I can understand the hybrid system is more suited to stop/start driving conditions.Constant speed motorway cruising tends to use mostly ICE,as very little free electrical energy (braking/coasting) is going back into the battery.I am assuming that the motorway fuel consumption would not be that good.I do appreciate that in the winter months the fuel consumption figures will be lower.

I do not have a heavy right foot!

I look forward to your comments.

You might be interested, for comparison, in my post on the NX forum an hour ago ("Arrived AWD" thread). Because I had several long legs on motorways and 'A' roads and wanted to save the Battery for the twisty 'B' road sections, I selected HV mode as soon as I hit the faster stretches. Travelled from the North of Scotland to the mid coast in Wales so a high percentage of the 1,800 miles covered so far was in this mode yet I still managed 66mpg.