Lexus RX400h - is it worth it?

Justin_k

I'm thinking about buying a hybrid with a decent sized boot and the Lexus RX400h is what I've been pondering.

I believe the road tax is gonna be steep (engine is a 3.3 petrol/hybrid)

I also heard some confusing talk about a VRT rebate for hybrids depending on the age of the vehicle?

Am I mad to think about the RX400h.. would it be smarter to go for something like a VW Touareg 2.5L Diesel?

Anyone got any thoughts about this?
Cheers.

colm_mcm

VRT rebate only applies to when you register the car and is included in the VRT figure you'll get on the revenue site. they're good value, very highly specced, and actually less risky from a reliability point of view than something like a diesel X5, Touareg or ML270.

Justin_k

thanks. The reliability thing is an interesting angle and I feel I'd be more confident in the Lexus alright.

What about road tax for a hybrid engine.. can I take it that the road tax will be higher for a model registered after July 2008.. so for the RX400h the tax is likely to be the top end (c. €1500) per year?

Lex Luthor

if its a 08 model then its emmissions based tax at €1050

prior to that it would be taxed as a 3.3 litre at €1566

The CO2 emmissions for the new RX450h is as low as 148 making it an annual road tax of €302 which is phenonemal for the engine it has.

My missus has always wanted one so I'll be on the lookout in the next few years for one myself as soon as I rob that bank...

Colm how does the VRT rebate work then? List price is showing €62k for a new 450h. Whats the out of packet price for a new one after cash discount and vrt rebate? Any idea?

Eric Cartman

my ma has one, used to drive it a fair bit when i lived at home, nice car, decent kick out of it (Kw/h counter instead of a rev counter) the takeoff acceleration is excellent, makes a nice sound when the v6 kicks in and its quite good on fuel, only thing to watch, make sure it has a full lexus service history, otherwise your battery warranty might be gone, the batteries have a lifespan of 5 years so expect a big cost to replace them ,

the steering wheel feels a bit thin if your used to driving any other 4x4 , and the satnav is absoloute crap (it has POI's without roads near them, where there should be roads), if your buying from a lexus dealer insist on the navigation having the latest maps applied and find out about the battery warranty

mickdw

Before the current system came in there was a 50% vrt rebate which was useful. I think now its a 2000 euro rebate.

colm_mcm

Lex Luthor wrote: »

Colm how does the VRT rebate work then? List price is showing €62k for a new 450h. Whats the out of packet price for a new one after cash discount and vrt rebate? Any idea?

VRT rebate is contained in the price, it's just a special bonus for hybrids that's taken off the emissions based VRT.

Given that this 4X4 is unique in its sector to give that sort of performance, (add in V6 petrol refinement, Lexus build, and the icing on the cake - 300 euro road tax) Demand is obviously outstripping supply at a huge rate.

Eric Cartman wrote: »

make sure it has a full lexus service history, otherwise your battery warranty might be gone, the batteries have a lifespan of 5 years so expect a big cost to replace them ,

Lexus guaruntee the battery for 8 years, in addition to this, it's unlikely that an entire battery would need replacing as individual cells can be replaced. I've never seen an issue with batteries in Priuss or RX hybrids

To put this into perspective, to replace a high pressure fuel pump, and a set of injectors for some of the competition in this sector runs at over 7k.

Lex Luthor

I know a guy in UK with a Prius with over 200k miles and never missed a beat. I was in it a few months ago and it was impossible to tell the engine was on. We were driving up a small road and there were people walking up the middle of the road and they didn't hear the car come right up behind them.
Needless to say its a box of sh1t in the corners