Not seeing the benefits on the Hybrid? What am I missing??

[munkeeboi]

To @JG550's point...nothing official has been released with regard to the Hybrid for the US market by Lexus. Everything you linked to I'd consider speculation.

 

[Bluegill]

Coming from an EV before my GX, the batteries don’t go bad in 5 years. Also even if it did most of the manufactures have 8-10 yr battery warranties. The battery will degrade over time and will usually level off around 85-90% capacity. There are people with hundreds of thousands and even a few million miles on their original batteries across a wide range of brands.

That is encouraging for sure. I just see all these Teslas and other seemingly barely-used EVs for sale for pennies on the dollar and I wonder who would buy them with a 5-figure battery bill looming in the maybe far, maybe not-so-far future.

 

[jclaffee]

The Rivian SUV is beautiful! I test drove one and absolutely loved it. The $100k entry fee is a bit steep and it just wouldn't be practical for me with all the driving I have to do, but man was it beautiful! Unfortunately, the big question is what do you do with it after about 5 years, or whenever the battery starts going bad? The current answer seems to be to not worry about it, just get another one.

I've never been in one. What's the sound like when you're driving? Would you miss ICE noises?

 

[Bluegill]

I've never been in one. What's the sound like when you're driving? Would you miss ICE noises?

I remember it being surprisingly quiet....I don't recall any of the annoying fake electric hums or whistles like other brands have, I think it was just like a white noise.

 

[Overlander]

I've got my deposit down on a OT+. I'm told it will be a couple months more til I receive it. Just heard about the H. But I'm not seeing a convincing argument for it... Marginal mileage increase, the battery takes additional room from the storage I'd think, more to worry about on long term maintenance, and I assume a higher price... Am I missing something?

Unless you trade all the time why would anyone buy something they know they'll have to sink money into when the battery goes bad. Not to mention low trade in because thousands will have to be invested when battery pukes. This is the main reason I have ordered an Overtrail with a real engine. The green people are starting to wisen up after they own anything battery powered.

 

[MStillman]

Unless you trade all the time why would anyone buy something they know they'll have to sink money into when the battery goes bad. Not to mention low trade in because thousands will have to be invested when battery pukes. This is the main reason I have ordered an Overtrail with a real engine. The green people are starting to wisen up after they own anything battery powered.

There are definitely reasons. The technology & performance were main contributing factors. The Rivian handles like a race car. 0-60 in 3 seconds. Well thought out design. Many modes to choose from for off road as well as sport modes. So much fun to drive. As far as battery range loss. I’ve had mine for 3 1/2 years. No loss in range. Rivian estimates 2% per year. I was fine with that. I wasn’t planning on keeping it for 10 years. My only disappointment is the time I have to wait for service since there are limited service centers and the fact that Biden never built what he promised on charging stations.

 

[drtdvl]

If the hybrid is anything like the one they put in the 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro, there will be no fuel economy benefits. The hybrid engine in the Tacoma was to provide additional power.

 

[Bluegill]

There are definitely reasons. The technology & performance were main contributing factors. The Rivian handles like a race car. 0-60 in 3 seconds. Well thought out design. Many modes to choose from for off road as well as sport modes. So much fun to drive. As far as battery range loss. I’ve had mine for 3 1/2 years. No loss in range. Rivian estimates 2% per year. I was fine with that. I wasn’t planning on keeping it for 10 years. My only disappointment is the time I have to wait for service since there are limited service centers and the fact that Biden never built what he promised on charging stations.

Yes, the Rivian hits all the technology buttons for the techno-obsessed. It really is a paradigm shift as far as the SUV is concerned. I would love to have one, but all I could afford was the GX550! Seriously, the Rivian would be great for my wife because she doesn't drive all that much, just around town. Charging would be easy and not inconvenient at all with a garage charger. I don't even think her 2021 Mercedes SUV has 30,000 miles on it yet. I'm over 14k on my GX and I've had it for 10 months. Maybe I should sell her MB and get her into a Rivian SUV.....

It's true that the future of the Rivian, or any electric car, is a bit bleak as far as value is concerned with the expensive battery-replacement looming in the far-off distance, but the value future is bleak for nearly every car that isn't destined to be a collector's item. I plan on keeping my GX for at least a dozen or so years and I don't expect to get a good return on investment when it's at 200k miles in 2037!

 

[Tonycanz13]

If you look for a 2026 Gx 550 they talk about the hybrid for 2026 Maybe! With a six cylinder Maybe!

 

[sids911]

LC's Hybrid battery and powertrain are a straight fit into GX. Trust on Toyota to make extremely safe choices.

The only change I would expect would be an Engine cover to hide the hideous plumbing over hybrid engine.

 

[UTHORNS76]

Heavier = lower payload also, and more sh*t to break.

The main thing is more stuff to break. I have a hybrid right now and I'm not planning on having another one.

 

[ColoradoOutdoors]

Fun thread. Definitely one that I knew would go political along the way. Me? I enjoy ICE as well as battery powered vehicles. The BMW BEV, 6.6 turbodiesel, 2.5T four cylinder and the pending V6 turbo (OT+ arrives next week) powered vehicles in our garage all make sense for their respective duties.

Nothing against a good hybrid in my book, but I don't like the lost cargo space that the hybrid takes up in LC and 4runner (and Sequoia for that matter). I want that big cargo box in the GX and this was one of the deciding factors for it compared to the other Toyota offerings.

 

[serbiansizzle]

Unless I missed a confirmation somewhere, I find it hard to believe that the GX would receive the engine from the tundra/LX700. It would cannibalize sales of their flagship LX.

The LCs 4 banger makes more sense from a production standpoint as it can just be dropped in.

This also begs the question as to why’d they introduce that 4cyl engine in the GX. Seems to be counterintuitive as it removes any differentiation between the LC and GX. The Toyota/ Lexus line up is already so bunched up with the 4Runner, LC , and speculative GX hybrid (if 4cyl hybrid is introduced).

Anyway I think about it, it doesn’t appear to make a lot of business sense.

 

[jclaffee]

Unless I missed a confirmation somewhere, I find it hard to believe that the GX would receive the engine from the tundra/LX700. It would cannibalize sales of their flagship LX.

The LCs 4 banger makes more sense from a production standpoint as it can just be dropped in.

This also begs the question as to why’d they introduce that 4cyl engine in the GX. Seems to be counterintuitive as it removes any differentiation between the LC and GX. The Toyota/ Lexus line up is already so bunched up with the 4Runner, LC , and speculative GX hybrid (if 4cyl hybrid is introduced).

Anyway I think about it, it doesn’t appear to make a lot of business sense.

I don't see it that way. Seems it would have to be TTv6. There's still a bunch of room between pricing on the GX and LX, and the GX with that powertrain option would be in between the two without cannibalizing sales from those who want a full-bloat luxury SUV.