AutoblogGreen

Is there any difference in the performance of the standard Lexus versus the hybrid?

Are people buying the hybrid because it has better acceleration, etc than the standard car?

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IIRC-

Hybrids are exempt from London's congestion charges. They may also be allowed in carpool lanes in Britain and elsewhere.

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Yep, it's faster too.
The RX 400h does 0-60 mph in 7.3 seconds — a half-second faster than the RX 330.

In the US the regular RX version outsells the hybrid by a lot. For example, see http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/07/us-sales-of-hyb.html So why the difference?

Perhaps because SUV guilt is higher in Europe? So if you're going to buy an SUV in Europe, you can buy this one and still claim to be sort of green (even though the chances of actually using the 4WD SUV capabilities in Europe are even lower than in the US).
Also, the city MPG is way higher for the hybrid, and that's more important in congested European cities with high gas prices.

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@ Karkus -

SUV/luxobarge guilt may have something to do with the relatively high proportion of sales closed on hybrids. However, I suspect that Lexus, is simply using its gasoline hybrid technology to lure the small number of customers in these segments that simply don't like the sound and emissions of a diesel. Lexus' market share in Europe is quite small, so it has aggressively marketed itself as the presently only hybrid player in the European executive car market.

It will soon face stiff competition from both BMW and Mercedes, whose collaboration with GM on the two-mode hybrid will translate into full hybrids of their own. Some of those will even be diesel hybrids. Meanwhile, Audi is about to release its Q7 hybrid.

The other factor behind Lexus' hybrid focus is that for historical reasons, many European countries tax gasoline and diesel at substantially different rates. In Germany, the biggest market for luxobarges, a liter of Euro95 gasoline currently retails for EUR 1.27 and a liter of diesel for "just" EUR 1.10. Considering that diesel contains 12% more energy by volume and, that diesel engines deliver greater thermodynamic efficiency, that makes gasoline singularly unattractive for large vehicles.

The full hybrid option on the Lexus reduces operations costs for those companies/government agencies that choose to make these cars available as part of execuive compensation packages or, as part of the corporate fleet. Hybrids also maintain their value better, so leasing one is just good economic sense if you cannot stomach the less expensive diesel alternatives.

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Interesting. If performance is one of the differences on otherwise identical cars then the economics may be moving in the direction of the hybrids.

Congested city driving is more common in Europe also, petrol prices are higher, so good city mpg is a big advantage.

Acceleration is also important on Europes twisty, windy roads, even at low speeds. That is why shift-sticks are almost universal here unlike the US. With a shift stick you have a lot more control and can drop a gear for sharp acceleration when you want.

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The US market RX350 has a superior engine than the hybrid, and it has four wheel drive.
and has more rear seat headroom.
and the price differential takes more time than most people want to own the vehicle.

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Sure, the 350 has a bigger engine (3.5 vs 3.3) but is still slower than the 400h (0-60 7.4 vs 6.9)
Both are available in four wheel drive, so there's no difference there.

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