Added: 11/06/2005 |
What is Lexus SuvIn November, Lexus announced that the RX 400h hybrid SUV will go on sale April 15. Now it is confirmed that Hybrid Lexus SUV presentation was delayed. Lexus says it has put off the U.S. launch of its RX 400h gas-electric hybrid sport-utility vehicle. The 2006 Lexus RX 400h, which is going to appear in shopwindows next month isn't just America's first luxury gas-electric hybrid vehicle. It is absolute miracle.
The RX 400h becomes the latest and of course the most expensive low-emission? Fuel-saving hybrid on the market. Starting manufacturers suggested retail price as of $49,185. It can be compared only with the 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid, which starts at $30,505 and has been the most-expensive hybrid until Lexus SUV RX 400h was introduced. Other hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Explorer Hybrid, are priced in the $20,000 to $29,000 range.
Which features differ RX 400h from, for example, RX 330. First, it has more horsepower. Though, the RX 400h looks much like the RX 330 - the mid-sized, five-passenger Lexus SUV. Actually, RX 400h is based on it. Interesting to know, that the RX 330 outsells every other Lexus vehicle. But where the RX 330 is powered solely by a 230-horsepower, 3.3-liter, double overhead cam, gasoline V6, the RX 400h has a slightly less-powerful version of this V6 - with 208 horsepower - mated to two motive electric motors that, all together, provide 268 horses.
The Lexus RX 400h engine compartment includes the silver Hybrid Synergy Drive system. This system helps to control how the gasoline engine and electric motors interact.
One motor up front drives the front wheels; the rear motor powers the rear wheels when needed. Toyota's patented Hybrid Synergy Drive system now is in its fourth generation. Computer is able to control the whole process.
There was a test drive of Lexus SUV. The feedback is that in this test drive of the Lexus SUV RX 400h, for example, one of the drivers got up over the speed limit smoothly, quickly and without realizing it while passing a vehicle on a country road. Indeed, the 0-to-60-mph time of 7.3 seconds reported by Lexus for this hybrid is equal to that of a Mercedes-Benz ML500 SUV with V8.
The Lexus RX 400h interior includes a center console display that shows data like when the SUV is using just battery power, just gasoline, or both. But you should realize the fact that the fuel economy is much better than a V8-powered SUV or even the regular gas-only RX 330. The federal government rating for the 400h hybrid is 31 miles a gallon in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway for a combined rating of 29 mpg. This is higher than the 27.8-mpg average rating for compact sedans and is 38 percent higher than the 21 mpg combined rating for an RX 330 with all-wheel drive.
Another feature is that the engine can easily go off on its own at stoplights. When a driver touches the accelerator again, the V6 may start up again to help supplement the electric power. It is in fact just the vehicle's way of being most efficient with its fuel, and it helps explain why the city fuel rating is higher than that for highway travel in this hybrid. This may happen with any Lexus used cars, really.
We have already pointed out that producing of new Lexus SUV put off. The delay, widely assumed and now officially confirmed by the automaker, gives Lexus time to make performance more fruitful.
First, engineers will have extra time to perform additional checks to make sure the vehicles escape some of the teething problems that have been discovered in other gas-electric hybrids.
Next, this little breath allows to build inventories. It is well-known that one of the biggest disappointments about hybrids is how long it takes to get them. The backlog is so great that Toyota dealers have quit taking orders for the Prius hybrid. Lexus says dealers have more than 8,000 deposits for the RX 400h. About 24,000 a year are planned for the U.S. market, or about 10% of all RX sales.
Last but not least, it also would allow Lexus to call the RX 400h a 2006 model. A December launch would have required an '05 designation.
High performance, not just high fuel economy, is the RX 400h's big lure. Lexus says the combined city-highway fuel economy of the hybrid RX will be at least 28 miles per gallon. Honda plans to add a hybrid Accord V-6 to its lineup this autumn. In addition to the Lexus RX 400h, Toyota plans hybrid versions of its Highlander SUV and Sienna minivan next year.
Gasoline prices close to $2 a gallon are pushing buyers toward more fuel-efficient models. Hybrids "could be much more successful than skeptics - and even some proponents - expect," said a report earlier this year from consultants J.D. Power and Associates.
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