Lexus RX 400h outsells luxury SUV rivals in UK
Author: Chris Barker
Published: 13 August 2008
The Lexus RX 400h luxury SUV went against the grain of segment sales figures last month, as more and more UK drivers overlooked any positives ownership brought, and dwelt on the negatives instead. With sales in Britain 28% up on this time in 2007, Lexus crow whilst rivals suffer 30% decline overall.Driving headlong into the SUV storm that’s seen big names picked up and cast aside like Dorothy’s grandparents farm house in the Wizard of Oz, the Lexus RX 400h is kicking more than dust into the eyes of its supposed competition at the mo, by comprehensively outstripping its closest rivals in terms of sales.Chastised and increasingly outcast for vulgarity in these new caring, sharing post-Chelsea Tractor days, luxury SUV’s such as the Land Rover Discovery and Mercedes-Benz M-Class are essentially sliding down a greasy slope, as customers look to reduce overheads and keep the green bits of the globe, green.Accumulated sales of gargantuan SUV’s as a genre are suffering as the world wises-up to their environmental responsibilities. And low and behold, the credit crunch is helping to reinforce this message.So, because the fact that its lower case ‘h’ denotes that it’s a hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h continued its winning streak in July, as competitors were left in its smog-free wake.Sales of the Lexus RX 400h were up by 28% in July, compared to same month last year, whilst SUV manufacturers’ all around recorded on average, a decline of approximately 30% of UK sales, struggling to make diesel ends meet for the greater good of sales and planet continuity.
Technologically ahead of its time and mega-efficient, the RX400h SUV is clearly eager to please in the arena of eco-wellbeing and fuel saving, relative to its segment naturally. With fuel consumption around 34.7mpg and tailpipe emissions settling at 192g/km a lower road tax rating than its rivals can muster between them is there for the taking. Which, based on running costs alone, effectively takes it to the smaller family car market.Two electric motors and a conventional V6 petrol engine are called into action - which they never have been before or since in the luxuriating SUV market - and are politely asked to drive the front wheels, and partly to charge the brace of batteries that are located in a cooled chamber beneath the back seats.The engine automatically shuts down at lower, kerb-crawling speeds and runs on the battery power alone, until given permission to resume combustion engine service.
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