My guilty conscience has caught up with me and after 8 years of driving an SUV, I have decided it is time to drive a car that is not so bad for the environment (i.e. mother earth). My ongoing struggle has been between a desire for a powerful car and an ecological car. My hope had been that the car manufacturers would one day offer both of these so I could, in a sense, have my cake and eat it too. But mother earth seems to be running out of patience and I cannot be another chump who waits for the car manufacturers (many of whom have an incestuous relationship with the oil industry) to come around. My time to act is now and if enough of us do then hopefully the car makers will come around but most importantly, our planet will start to heal-- or at least not deteriorate at such a precipitous pace.

With my confession as my preamble, I ask this, does the Lexus RX400h lower emissions considerably? It seems that Lexus has built a car for power hungry addicts like me but since the gas mileage is not that great (considering what the car makers COULD do) then I want to know if at least the emissions from this car are considerably better than its mileage? Thank you all.

Gerard

Dont forget to check out the Lexus GS450h if you're hungry for power, 339hp enough for you? and in car form i'm sure it performs better than any SUV.

good luck
gj

GJ,

Thank you for your reply but power is not the central point, the point is power vs. emissions. If I would buy a powerful hybrid like the RX400h or the GS450h then I want to assure that these cars have very low emissions because they certainly DO NOT have extraordinary gas mileage.

I was just reading the lexus site and Interestingly it says the GS450h is an
SULEV ( super ultra low emissions vehicle ). someone has pointed it out to me before that advancedments in the engine and catalytic converter makes this engine produce super ultra low emissions regardless of its mileage.

http://www.lexus.ca/lexus/experience...96ST&year=2007

The Lexus is heavier than the Highlander Hybrid with all the fancy interior stuff, so its mileage is slightly lower. You're better off buying a HiHy and using the savings to plant trees.

Hi

I know i must sound biased, but here is the truth. We picked out the Hihy over the Lexus because all the extra interior goodies was not worth the extra price. We think the highlander has enough luxurys, but its really about taste.

Gerard,

The Lexus RX400h does lower emissions considerably. It's rated as a SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle)

Check out: http://hybridcars.about.com/od/buyin...shyrbidsuv.htm

You can compare all vehicles across various criteria, including fuel economy and emissions, by using the FuelEconomy.gov website and selecting the "compare" option.

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

You're in luck. The RX and by defalt HH are designed as powerful cars. In regards to emmissions, it mostly has to do with the exhaust system and fuel economy. If you drive a hybrid aggressively, the emmissions and fuel economy are going to be very similar to their non-hybrid counterparts.
Where these hybrids differ however is in power. 2006 Hybrid 0-60mph 7.3, 268hp vs. 2006 RX330 0-60mph 7.7, 223hp. Frankly I think its more fair of a comparison to compare the hybrid to the GX470 0-60mph 8.1, 263hp. Now compare those emmissions!
Off the light, My HiHy accelerates faster than my 2003 ML500 and 2006 R350. And yes, I get better fuel economy with less emmissions. With the new line-up from Lexus, the power user is bound to see the light. These are very powerful cars and the enviroment will benefit.

Does it have to be one of the SUVs? And what kind of driving do you do? If the new vehicle will be mostly for highway use and you are willing to drive a sedan, you might look into getting one of the last Accord Hybrids. They don't do as well in the city but really eat up the highway. Mid 30s (mpg) on the highway should be easy, with 40mpg not far off if you set the cruise, (at least one member reports that kind of mileage). 255hp, is it? And comparable emissions to any of the other vehicles you are considering.

And if you are willing to follow that route, you might as well test drive a TCH. (Better city efficiency, I would imagine.) Can't hurt even if you don't like it, right?