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Lexus GS 450h MPG-Real World Numbers
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Comments
I keep the dash display on the instantaneous mileage and the console display on the minute by minute bar chart. My results are the average of extremes. I have a lot of bars above 40mpg but more bars below 10 or 15mpg, with the average coming as I noted.
My best tank average was 29.1mpg, but that was on a mostly highway roundtrip from NYC to Litchfield County in CT. Pretty good results considering the hilly terrain.
I'm generally pleased with the economy of the car, and love the performance. I think it's a pretty good trade off. No doubt the car has much better economy than an 8 cylinder GS (my guess is a GS430 is around 16-18mpg).
I'm just always surprised when I read of other drivers materially outperforming me! I've seen just a couple of other 450h's in my area, but I haven't spoken to the drivers to know how they're making out and they must not be on this forum.
I love the car, enjoy performance when I feel like it, but mostly drive conservatively.
On another note (probably for a different "thread" - is anyone else having trouble with the interface between bluetooth and Palm Treo? I have had two different Treos freeze up while in the car of just after turning the vehicle off and wonder if it is the car/phone interface or coincidence?
The Treo was difficult to get configured in the GS, but once I got the bluetooth connected it works well. The only thing that doesn't work is the signal strength indicator. I've seen that work properly in the car with my wife's Razr.
We live in a small community in Southern California wherein 95% of the intersections are controlled by either 3, or 4-way stops. As best I can recall, we have only 3 traffic lights in the residential area. Mileage to date appears headed for 20-21mpg, since most trips are within our town. For comparison, the 460 got 12-14, a 430 prior to that got about the same, and an '05 330 would record about 15-16 mpg. Considering that the 450 weighs about the same as the 430 I am pleased to see a 40-50% improvement. I have always alternated between 87 and 91 octane fuel in my other cars and have not experienced any pinging although my hearing is not the greatest...my 79th birthday is coming next week.
Perhaps Lexus people were just telling me what I wanted to hear when shopping to trade the 460, but consensus of several personnel was that the 450 is their favorite model among the current designs for my needs. So far I would tend to agree, since I have owned 3 other recent vintage sedans, and actually look forward to driving the 450 every day, even though the trips are not lengthy.
I hope this will encourage others to pickup on this thread and fill in with more of their actual experiences.
At a stop light, press down hard on the brake. If you press lightly, the electric motor will drain battery power trying to push the car forward against the brakes. The computer controlled throttle is smart enough to cut off the forward push of the engine if you apply more pressure on the brake pedal.
I've found that a very light touch on the brake when coasting to a stop light is a great way to generate some extra juice for the batteries. If you coast without the brake then apply pressure harder to stop the car, it doesn't appear that you generate as much energy, because the brake pads kick in.
My MPG's are rising from my winter season lows of 20-21 back into the 22-24 range for the same mixed driving.
Was really enjoying the CD I created with compressed files...seems to have much the same visual display information that was on the 460 ML re album, artist, etc...great quality! Creating the CD was certainly faster than loading the 460 ML hard drive. I used WMA format rather than MP3 and it worked just fine. Just remember to finalize the disc before ejecting it from your optical drive.
Thanks for the braking tip...this should get it close to the 460 hill holder which I did like as a new feature on that car.
My 2007 450h now has about 15,000 miles on it. I live in the NY metro area and drive a mix of 70/30 around town to highway (little driving in NYC itself though). The number that appears most often for me is 23.8 mpg in the spring, summer and fall, and about 2 mpg lower during the winter. I tend to drive fast, but not aggressively on the accelerator, and go out of my way to recapture battery charge.
My best ever 200+ mile recording was 30.3 mpg, on a roundtrip from my home to the Catskill mountains and back. It was mostly highway driving at 65-75 mph.
I haven't been able to replicate the higher averages that others on this board have been posting. Not sure what else I can do regarding efficiency, and I don't think there's anything wrong with my vehicle. I'm reasonably happy with the results.
In short, love the hybrid powertrain and range between OK to liking the car itself.
I think my experience is reliable since my driving route and habits do not change over the years.
The good news is that it’s met the challenge admirably. Although we originally criticised the car for its cramped boot, I have since found that with careful packing it can take the prams, changing bags and spare clothes that quickly become part and parcel of every journey out with a small child.
And just to prove that you can do your bit for the environment with a large vehicle such as this, the Lexus’ fuel economy has improved, too. The car regularly returns 32mpg – a real step up from the original 28mpg we recorded when it was new.
The time I have spent on my long daily trip into central London has also given me the opportunity to really get to know some of the GS’s hi-tech toys – and the long standard kit tally means there are plenty of them. The reversing camera is brilliant, as is the Bluetooth phone system, although I have to admit to rarely using the voice-activated control for devices such as the stereo or satellite navigation.
Looking forward to all your comments!
The manual sez premium will give better mileage (performance?) but I don't believe it. I have used regular since it was new but don't get anything close to your numbers. Most of my trips are stop-and-go which gives 21-22. For the occasional freeway trip 28-29 seems tops.
I was looking at the run flat tires thread and, since run flat tires are standard on the GS450h, let me add this note. I did pick up a nail a couple of months ago. I could drive, albeit carefully, until I could get to the dealer the next day. The dealer said it was in an unrepairable place. So a new tire was purchased. The plus is that one can continue driving; the minus is the difficulty of repair and the cost of replacements.
Based on my experience. I would choose five full tires over four runflats. However, I would choose four runflats over four full tires and one of those temporary spares.
Note in spite of their criticism it is still recommend!!
http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/news/companies/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm
Two factors are important, perhaps; 90% of my driving is stop-and-go, and I do not hotdog the car...i.e. braking is more important than acceleration. Intend going back to regular and continue monitoring mpg to hopefully add more data to an interesting attribute of the 450h.
To date the machine is flawless and much better suited to my needs than the 460L it replaced. I note my local volume dealer has ~ 40 460s' in inventory and only 1 450h. Does anybody have data on current buyers' model preferences?
Haven't heard/seen a peep re the LS 600h, although I saw one on the dealer showroom with a "sold" sign on the windshield. I am still intrigued with the glowing review in the current Consumers Report about the 460L...that is the anthesis of my experience!
I do probably 65% or so on the freeway. I know I get much better than the EPA estimate 25 freeway, but it also seems that I may get less than the 22mpg they quote for city driving. All-in-all, I am happy to be getting the mileage I am.
I did notice that the new models claim that the engine will not start until 30 mph if driven carefully. Our engine normally kicks in at 5-7 mph which I never felt was where it should be - dealer doesn't seem to agree.