Was on the Lexus site the other day and was surprised at the low mileage listed for the RX400H (26 City/ 24 Highway) and the Toyota HH (27 city / 25 highway) Guess they really had to back off the 30 MPG city claims they originally had made...

Still hoping we see some break throughs in batteries and mileage ratings moving forward.

 

well for that kind of power, I suppose it's ok, not great but ok. Would you rather have the X5 4.4i or the ML500? Not to mention the emissions of those two.. ugh.

 

Anyone know if there are any "successful" lawsuits being presented against those vendors for the false claims? If so, I'd jump at the chance (I am VERY familiar with MFG buyback plans). Anyone heard of any buy backs for these vehicles?

 

What false claims? I get in the mid 30s for my HiHy. I'll agree that not everyone can do that, but most people can get considerably better mileage than they do if they are will to trade some speed/time for it.

And lets not forget...the government changed the ratings, not Toyota. The new system takes into account the more "typical" driver.

 

Drive the car the same way the EPA use to test them and you would get the EPA estimates. Drive the car outside of those conditions, then all bets are off.

Only in the US would anyone think this would warrant a law suit.

 

This is all the gov't's doing ... it has NOTHING to do with the manufacturers ... the gov't tests the cars and that is how the fuel economies are determined. For 2008 the gov't has implemented new testing techniques that are more adequate for real world driving.

 

Actually, this is NOT true. Drive the way the EPA did and you STILL don't make those numbers in MANY cases. The EPA is a "best case" scenario, not a "real life" scenario. This is outlined in other sites so there is no point in repeating it here. I am actually one VERY against frivolous lawsuits so your barking up the wrong tree (in my case).

As an example, there ARE lawsuits against mfg's in VERY similar instances (Specifically, Acura transmissions were failing @ 80K miles). As such, Acura acknowledged "culpability" and now cover/absorb charges associated with about 75% of the replacement cost of those units.

Honda also "acknowledged" the fact that they had the wrong calculations on some odometers and therefore warranties are now 50,186 (or something similar) instead of 50K miles...

IMHO, Toyota's use of the erroneous EPA figures is a similar issue. They mis-represented expectations and that mis-representation drove sales. In my case I sold a GX470 which used to average 19MPG. When calculated against a 31MPG figure, the savings were substantial enough to warrant the purchase. Recalcuated with the CORRECT figures does not work out. And don't EVEN get me going on how Toyota (originally) mis-represented the Tax benefits (I got about $1,200 of the "promised" $2,600 tax credit. Many others got ZIPPO, NADA, blank).

 

Not everyone has a down-hill drive (both ways)! LOL!

 

I drove my HiHy 8800 miles in 14 days this summer. From Petaluma, CA to Providence, RI and back. At a little more than 600 miles a day, we were driving the thing like it was stolen. I had 78 to 80 mph average days on my way down from Washington state across the desert to Colorado. The truck will happily go 90 t0 95 all day long, with no heating problems and dead quiet while doing so. Going over Loveland Pass, I easily ran away from most of the other traffic, as my rig doesn't need air to get the extra horses, just the occasional downhill to get the battery topped off.

My trip average was 25.4 mpg. I ran premium. I ran 36 lb all the way around in the Michelens that the thing came with.

My normal tank average with a mix of city and freeway driving is a steady 28.2 to 28.6. I'm no hypermiler; I coast when I can and work to avoid stopping at lights as much as possible. In town, if I am going far enough to get back the mileage wasted during warm-up, it's easy to get 31 mpg.

I would love to drive one of the Highlander's or Lexus that wont' get this kind of mileage. I am really curious to figure out why they won't....?

 

Argh! Another post by someone driving in the Mountains. Well, as it turns out I am headed to the Blueridge Mountains this weekend so should get a chance to see how all this "downhill coasting" will improve our FE. I think at least one of the factors in FE is the 4x4 designation. Nearly ALL the people touting EXCELLENT FE are 2 wheel drive variants? How about yours? Is is 2x or 4x? Although I don't know why the 4x would be 2 MPG less (even on the EPA estimates it was 31 for 4x4 vs. 33 for 4x2) when the ONLY thing that makes is 4x4 is a second electric motor in the rear (and thus a bit more weight but not much). I mean, it's not like most 4x4's where the ICE has to drive a second transaxle to the rear or anything.

I notice his signature has a Ford listed yet he posted about a HiHy. Did he trade out or does he have both? Is the Ford a Hybrid as well?