Review Stig Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Hello, I’m Review Stig, and welcome to my review of the Lexus RX400h. Inspired by what surely must have been a clever reverse-psychology viral marketing campaign “48 hour test drive, but not for c0cks in Audis” by the clever people at Lexus, I thought I’d see what all the fuss is about and picked up an RX400h. The ‘h’ stands for hybrid, as it is powered by both a traditional petrol V6 and electric motors. Lexus make a big thing about Hybrid technology, getting the best of both petrol and ‘green’ electric power which probably excites people who do adding up for a living, and those who wash their organic yoghurt pots before recycling them. My first impression of the Styling is of a lardy, lumpy SUV desperately trying to look less like a lardy, lumpy SUV. Styling is always a subjective thing and in that respect I’m sure the RX400h appeals to a certain market segment (read: Americans, Caravanners and other socially unpopular types), but not me. The styling made me think of a Hippo, but slightly sharpened at one end (with a giant pencil sharpener, like you might buy from giant WHSmiths), wearing Edgar David’s glasses, garnished with those nasty Swarovski ornaments your Aunt collects. The first thing that strikes you when turning the key is that nothing happens apart from a ‘bong’. This means the electric motor is ‘on’, and pulling off is as silent and unnerving as leaving the handbrake off and going for an uncontrolled roll. In fact, that sums up the driving experience rather neatly. The V6 wakes up at c.10 mph with a slight hint of a jolt, and suddenly you have some noise to accompany the motion. The engine is coupled to what feels like a nasty, CVH Auto ‘box, resulting in an unpredictable and noisy package under any real acceleration. In fact, I’ve not heard such moo-ing since James Herriot stuck his arm up a cow’s arse in that vet program that used to be on telly years ago. There is no manual over-ride, no manual gearbox option and no driver involvement from the whole driving experience at all. I hoped that the ‘B’ on the gearbox meant ‘Ballistic’. It doesn’t. Taking the pleasantly elevated driving position into account, it has an appalling rear ¾ view and a rear view so bad you get a colour reversing monitor mounted in the dash with lines indicating where you could and couldn’t go. More lines, in fact, than on Daniella Westbrook’s bog lid. It didn’t prevent me from kissing a low bollard on the way out of a car-park though. I’m sure the next version of the RX400h will have even more cameras to prevent this kind of thing, when what they should do is simply add some visibility. I think the technical term for this automotive feature is a ‘window’. I like car windows. They taste of dill. On the road, the whole car pitches and sways under direction changes, the bulk of the thing coupled with poor visibility makes for uncomfortable city driving. Despite the Hybrid technology, it still struggled to better 20 mpg in the city. I reset the trip computer and had a very gentle (and near-silent) waft down the motorway. This, combined with the use of the cruise control, gave 31 mpg for a short while, but this is still way short of a decent diesel, and apart from a smidgen of mid-range grunt, it just didn’t feel as quick as the performance stats suggest. In the interest of a fair road-test, I tried the RX400h on City roads, Motorways and twisty B Roads. And Donington Park. Oh, and for a spot of green lane-ing too (or whatever it’s called, you know, annoying horseriders in the Peak District). Off-road, well, it got as far as a moist grassy field, slithered to a halt, and gave up. I have been advised by a legal friend not to share the resultant pictures with the world wide interweb for obvious reasons. I will say that I ruined my pants at Donington Park and ruined my shoes pushing the thing out of a 2” puddle in the Peaks. Thanks to the tractor driver on the A6 if you’re reading this by the way. The general driving experience was disconnected, vague, like trying to eat overcooked steak after a visit to the dentist and realising you’re slobbering down your shirt. But on wheels. You get the general idea. And so to the interior. I’ve heard much about high quality, attention to detail, and all that ‘Kaizen’ nonsense mentioned by pillocks who also use the words ‘lifestyle’, ‘urban’ and ‘eco’ too often. The reality is, just like a Corolla, nothing squeaks or rattles and nothing fell off during my time with the RX400h. However, simply adding gadgets and gizmos to this basic formula gives a fundamentally poor result. Just look at the pictures. Illuminated scuff plates (appearing on a Shitroen Saxo near you soon), why exactly ? Knobs, switches and superfluous information everywhere, in a thousand different fonts, all telling you to ‘open/close/pull/stop/reset’ ad infinitum. Menu ? I want to drive, not eat ! You need more eyes than a spider to read all the banal information spewed out and to simultaneously drive the thing. I was particularly mesmerised by the displays and gauges relating to the ‘hybrid’ fuel consumption (Lexus, a tip : A simple MPG figure is all that matters), showing what was powering/recharging what, and how much, and for how long. Gimmicky and distracting. The cruise control is on a stalk underneath/behind the steering wheel, the Nav system combines a ‘touch’ screen (‘punch with frustration’ screen in my case), buttons and knobs. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. I have a talking picture in my room. It tells me to touch my ladygarden in the dairy aisle of Lidl. Dr Patel tells me to ignore it. The RX400h had a Mark Levinson stereo for my Mark Morrison CD, “retuuuurn of the mack” (You ! At the back ! Sing along !) “retuuuurn of the mack, oh yeahhh”. The sound quality is excellent across the range, and there is even a cassette deck (when did you last see one of those ?). I was rather surprised to find a gadget that they hadn’t included : No record player ! Must try harder Lexus, my collection of 7” singles was unplayable, pah ! The leather seats are soft enough, but lacking in lateral support, and no amount of electrical adjustment prevented me from getting back ache on a long drive. Rear legroom is pretty good, but the centre seat was rather narrow, and the boot was pretty pokey for such a large vehicle. I recall that wood trim is an extra £1000, personally I would rather have less ‘computers’ and more tangible quality like wood, simple trim and ergonomically pleasing design thrown in instead. The RX400h’s interior is a disappointment, I close my eyes and see a little Japanese girl, weeping over the death of Keith, her favourite Terrapin. I don’t know what this means, but it’s not good, is it ? To summarise with some facts : Real-world economy and performance is worse than a German diesel, the driving experience is very poor and the interior is tacky. The result is something that doesn’t cut it as a practical 4X4, nor an executive motor, bereft of any driving enjoyment, short on both practicality and with questionable badge-snob appeal. A definition of the word Hybrid is ‘something of mixed composition’. A more appropriate description of the Lexus’s mixed composition would be Mongrel. Coming soon : My review of a French thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 It would appear that they loaned you the porno edition judging by some of the buttons on the dash :roflmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlot Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Very classy rubber mats with lots of little L's for Loser on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 LOL, should i cancel my order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 What a load of unfunny nonsense. If we're going to have a Review Stig, could it possibly try to be interesting and factual about the car rather than effectively repeating the same joke that created Chelfing over and over again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 What a load of unfunny nonsense.If we're going to have a Review Stig, could it possibly try to be interesting and factual about the car rather than effectively repeating the same joke that created Chelfing over and over again? Chelfing is a joke ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 That's a worse interior than a Corolla! I could have scuplted those buttons better. Ray Charles could have done better than that too - and he's dead! Many look like after thought add-ons. Many of the Japanese cars have way too many functins on the stalks, and looks like the Rx400h is the same. You must have had the wrong tyres for 'green laning' and 'puddle jumping'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Chelfing is a joke ? I only say what I did because I think you could do much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I've never sat in or driven a Lexus SUV (which, as far as I can tell stands for Superbly Uninteresting Vehicle) but that interior is a joke. Their IS saloon is OK inside, but that's just a joke. Oh, and by the way, I no longer drive an Audi... Like the 7" record thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I only say what I did because I think you could do much better. Think who could do much better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Think who could do much better? Oh come on, he might as well have fecking signed it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Who? Review Stig? He did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Very funny, I thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 First day this week in the office - the LOL isn't helping my pretence of doing important work at my desk!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stooH Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Very funny, I think someone's chasing a job as a writer for top gear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 More like a job with Sniff Petrol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I know a couple of the pictures may have been slightly doctored, but is that spelling mistake on the reverse camera genuine or not? I cant believe Lexus supply it with a tape player, thats laughable. And as for the sticker on the stereo to tell you how to load a cd, I thought Lexus were meant to be a quality brand? even my Galaxy doesn't need little stickers added to the dash to overcome design flaws. I also just dont understand why none of the various displays, i.e. stereo/clock etc etc dont match each other???:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I also just dont understand why none of the various displays, i.e. stereo/clock etc etc dont match each other???:confused: I think the clue is in the fact that it's just sh*t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I don't want a 4x4, but I do quite like the RX. Certainly prefer it to the X5 and Q7, bit of a more difficult choice over the new model ML. Quite like all the gizmos too. Maybe I'm a geek. (And I did used to have an Aiwa stereo... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'd rather have a Subaru Tribeca than an RX, Q5, X3 or new mini-Merc GL thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Ah now we're talking. I think the interior of the Tribeca is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Naah - I like the front of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 A work of art that is. Better than the blandness of the Mk 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Naah - I like the front of it... Looks like a Seat thats been punched in the face!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 A work of art that is. Better than the blandness of the Mk 2. It was certainly a brave move. Bland is an understatement for the Mk2 - looks like a Hyundai Rabbitfoot or whatever they're called... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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