Americans Will Love Lexus's New Luxury SUV Gas Electric Hybrid, the RX 400h March 2005

With snow, sleet and frigid rain buffeting most of the East Coast last week, the Florida beach sounded like a great spot to test-drive Lexus's new luxury SUV gas-electric hybrid, the RX 400h. Who knew how blustery and cold -- not to mention wet -- the Sunshine State's northern Atlantic coast would be?

And yet the challenging conditions, with a posh beach resort as backdrop, created a fitting setting to show off Lexus's elegant solution to America's seemingly unsolvable predicament: Car buyers are in love with high-riding (and high-profit), four-wheel-drive SUVs, but the vehicles' gas-guzzling ways are at odds with the need to deliver better fuel economy and cleaner emissions.
The power (and price) of h

Lexus kicked off the luxury crossover SUV trend in 1999 with its RX 300, which evolved into the RX 330 in 2004 (named for its bigger, 3.3-liter engine). From the outside, you won't see much that's different with the new RX 400h.

But drive it and you'll feel acceleration that's quicker and more effortless than its conventional 330 sibling (zero to 60 in about seven and a half seconds, versus nearly eight seconds for the 330). Fill it up with gas a few times and you'll notice the 29 mpg combined city and highway fuel economy -- a third higher than that of the RX 330 and about the same as the Mini Cooper.

The new technology comes at at price -- in fact, be prepared for sticker shock. Whereas the 330 starts at $36,675 (and Edmunds.com reports the average transaction price at $34,120), the 400h starts at $48,535. Account for standard features that are options on the 330 -- all-wheel drive, leather seats, moonroof -- and the price premium shrinks to $6,000.

Whether you'd recoup that cost in the vehicle's lifetime is iffy, even if gas prices spike some more. If gas went up to $3 a gallon and stayed there, annual savings on fuel would be about $1,000. Without factoring in the time value of money or extra interest you'd pay on an auto loan, it would take six years to work off the price premium of the RX 400h over a comparably equipped RX 330.

On the other hand, greenhouse gas emissions are lower. The RX 400h will be rated as a Super Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) in California, which has some of the most stringent requirements in the U.S.
What's under the hood

Like all hybrids, the RX 400h operates on both gas engine and electric motor -- or rather, three motors. Power from the front electric drive motor is distributed to the drive wheels in a way that increases low-end torque and, thus, acceleration. There's also a rear motor to help with the task. A third motor acts as a generator that, among other things, starts the gas engine. The shift from one power source to another is seamless -- there's no perceptible thump when the gas engine turns on, as there is with the new Honda Accord hybrid.

The 3.3-liter V6 gas engine shuts off and electricity takes over when the vehicle is idling or driving slowly through traffic, boosting fuel economy. You can monitor which power source is propelling the vehicle by watching a diagram on the instrument panel. The battery recharges when you coast and brake.
Advanced safety systems

The RX 400h is fully equipped with airbags -- side, head-protecting side curtain, even a knee airbag for the driver. It has rain-sensing windshield wipers and adaptive headlights that help illuminate a turn or curve as you drive into it.

The vehicle also features a new generation of stability control, which uses the brakes to prevent skids that can lead to rollovers. Called Vehicle Dynamic Integrated Management (VDIM), it somehow anticipates instability -- based on signals from a sensor that measures changes in vehicle angle and deceleration, plus speed and steering sensors -- and makes stabilizing corrections.

The whole package is impressive and, if it fits your budget, probably worth the extra cost. But if you're interested, contact your Lexus dealer soon: A month before delivery to showrooms, some 12,000 customers had already put deposits down on a new RX 400h.

Or wait till June, when the RX 400hs less-pricey sister, the Toyota Highlander hybrid, goes on sale. Its expected to start at about $36,000.

SOURCE: Kiplinger.com

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