Lexus RX400h

Ok, time to buy a new car and what did I pick, the Lexus RX400h.

On a trip through the mountains.

I previously owned a Lexus RX300 and was totally satisfied with my ownership experience. Owning a car involves two major experiences, the car driving and ownership experience and the maintenance experience.

By driving and ownership I mean, well duh, driving but ownership, I equate that to how it behaves in the economic world. Is it reasonable on gas mileage, is it always in good operating condition.  This car was a real dream come true for me. I expected the vehicle would be a nice ride but I was pretty amazed that on the last day I owned the car it was practically as quiet as the day I bought it.

Anyway, I was so pleased with my first Lexus I thought I'd buy another. But, unlike my first buying experience, I decided to really go out there and test drive a number of other vehicles.

I drove numerous other SUVs and only the BMW X5 really excited me. But, frankly, I still liked the Lexus ride better.

Another factor I strongly considered was that maintenance experience I briefly mentioned above. First, my RX300 was never "broken down" but only had to get its paws changed occasionally and the other routine maintenance. Then there were the major service experiences at whatever mileages Lexus recommends where they go a bit deeper and replace lots of belts and filters and what not. Point?? My Lexus dealer (for both vehicles, Kuni Lexus) has a nicer waiting room than any other waiting room I've ever been in. They have a coffee machine that turns out various coffee drinks, lattes, mocha, cappuccino not to mention hot chocolate and regular coffee. Strange thing, the coffee is actually excellent. Price ... FREE! Not in the mood for coffee, they have a fridge stocked with various sodas, fruit drinks and water bottles. Price? FREE! The chairs are comfortable easy chairs. I'm talking very easy. Big cushions very soft. you can really curl up if you want. Same with the couches. Bored, they have a plasma (maybe LCD) screen. I'm imagining it's around 42" or so. What can you watch? Everything on the basic tier of Dish Network. And, they have a wireless access point for your notebook or if you forgot it, they have a computer where you can get online and do whatever you need to do online.

EVERY OTHER DEALER I visited I specifically asked to see the service area and waiting area. ALL OF THEM had hard plastic molded chairs for you to sit on for the 2 to 3 hours a major service call takes. Hmmm, I like Lexus better.

Any time I ever had to do a service event that was going to take more than a couple of hours I was offered a loner car. On one major service event that was going to take 3 or 4 hours I took them up on it. They had me drop my car off the evening prior, gave me the loner and I was on my way. Service at Lexus is about as good as I've ever experienced and I've experienced AMC (Jeep in the 70s), Pontiac (TransAm in the early 80s), Nissan (300ZX Turbo in the late 80s), Honda (Accord EX in the early 90s) and Chrysler (Jeep in the late 90s). All were purchased new, all were decent cars but none stacked up to the Lexus RX300 in terms of ownership and service. In the service area Lexus slam dunks these other dealers so hard it isn't even amusing. Ok, the other cars weren't luxury class vehicles but I have to say, maintenance is something everyone has to endure and I think dealers could go a long way towards cementing a really strong customer/dealer bond if they would pay a little more attention to this aspect of car ownership. Lexus has certainly had a very strong affect on me through their service policies.

So, long story short, I decided to replace my RX with a new RX.

Why the RX400h instead of the RX350? Well, my main reason was just that I wanted to pay less for gas. I know, I know the little savings I get from having a Hybrid isn't going to offset the actual price increase that purchasing it entailed but it wasn't about overall money savings as it was about nickel and dime-ing me throughout the years of car ownership. I just thought it would be nice to pay a little less for gas each time I pulled into the pump. Prior to purchase I was thinking I might get around 25 or maybe 26 miles per gallon on the new car. I live a long way from anywhere and so I'm moving pretty fast on lonely country roads. The hybrids are really built for city driving where you do lots of slow and go and stop and go driving. So imagine my surprise when I discovered I'm averaging around 27.5 MPG. Again, I know this extra 6 mpg over my old RX300 isn't going to cover the cost of the price differential between hybrid and gas but, it's fun. Another fun aspect to a hybrid? When you get stuck in a traffic jam your gas mileage goes UP not down. Cool! It's also fun to drive around parking lots totally silently except for the occasional pebble crackling under the tires. But you do have to take the extreme defensive position regarding pedestrians in parking lots and at corners. This car can be REALLY quiet and folks who normally depend on their ears for a heads up regarding nearby traffic will get a rude awakening if I don't take it in my hands to be really careful around them. But, that's ok. I'm a firm believer that lesser enabled mobile folks should be given a break. I have a car protecting me, they have their clothes, so I'm going to win ever collision engagement. And I don't really want to be in that position.

A new car cool, so what are my first impressions. Well, overall it's killer.

They call it the RX400h because it behaves as Lexus imagines a straight gas powered 4 liter RX would. What does that mean? Well, when you stomp on the accelerator it is much stronger on acceleration than my old RX300. This thing has power to spare in that regard.

They dropped a few readouts on the Trip Computer. I liked having running totals for MPG and average speed. Now I have to zero out the trip MPG to get a new reading on a new tank of gas. And the average speed thing is gone. Oh well, no biggie.

This vehicle comes with a voice activated capability for many things. I use it very sporadically. I prefer to just push buttons. But it's nice.

Something new that I really like (new to me) is the bluetooth phone connection. I slip into the car, fire it up and my phone pairs with the car. From that point on I can make and receive calls hands free. There are even buttons (on hook, off hook) on the steering wheel to handle answering and hanging up. I really like that. As an amateur radio operator I always felt I was pretty well trained in the use of a handset while driving, but it is a pleasure to be able to do it through a hands free speaker phone system.

This vehicle has those headlights that "steer" in the direction you turn. I think they're a gimmick but who knows. maybe I am now seeing stuff that would have previously been in the dark until I aligned facing it with the car. So I give this feature a neutral recommendation. I will say, it can be turned on and off and I've left