Silent partner

This isn't a wind up. I just have no mechanical knowledge. I recently bought a used Lexus RX400h and I cannot hear the engine when pulling away. I was wondering if this is normal as I want to reject the car as I think it is faulty. Can you advise me how to go about rejecting this as my diesel Peugeot sounds good compared to this. My mates are accusing me of driving a milk float.

Asked on 17 July 2010 by PB, via email

Answered by Honest John
You can't hear the engine running because the car sets off on its electric motors. The petrol engine does not start running until the car reaches about 10mph or the batteries need regenerating. The whole point is to reduce emissions at low speeds. You do hear the engine start up later in the journey, though it's still fairly quite. The RX400h is actually more effective than any diesel SUV the same size. Gives you near V8 performance. Yet about 33mpg, and you won't get that from a diesel X5. You don’t have a good reason to reject it.
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