just saw and rode in one for the first time and walked way very impressed. a beautiful, full featured suv that helps the environment. why haven't i heard more about this car? would have expected it to be generating lots of buzz by now.

Toyota issued the press release and test drives for this car back in March, so essentially the buzz is over. The car is only now entering the consumer channel, but from a purely economic perspective, it doesn't make much sense. The 30/28 EPA rating is good, but like all hybrids, there are unknown environmental impact from the eventual disposal of the NiMH battery pack, and the fact that the awd model has the most advanced powertrain ever installed in a production vehicle (3 electric motors and one gas one) leads to question marks about the long term reliability and serviceability of this model.

Also, the fuel economy is not that impressive. In February of 2006, Toyota will launch the RAV4, which is a larger SUV with a standard 3.5L gasoline engine. It is faster, roomier, and 1/2 the price of the RX400h with an EPA rating of 20/28. The projected savings of the RX400h is $500/year over the RX330, and thus far it does not qualify for the California HOV exemption. Factoring in the $10K, premium, economically it makes less sense than a normal hybrid.

My personal opinion is that direct injection diesel will be the next big breakthrough for fuel economy in the states. We're already seeing 10 cylinder Volkswagen Touaregs with 300 hp making 30 mpg, and the big obstacle right now, pollution, can be solved with a combination of urea injection and low sulfur diesel fuel.