Lexus RX 400h Hybrid Review: Alternative choices

Priced at $178,800 and $161,000 (both inclusive of COE) respectively, the Touareg V6 TDI and the RX400h represent two alternative choices to a conventional SUV, bringing with them their own innovative solutions to make a SUV more friendly to the environment – precisely what SUV-loving tree huggers are looking for.

However, do bear in mind that the local authority imposes a special tax on diesel-fuelled vehicles and this has to be paid in addition to the annual road tax. For the Touareg, this amounts to an additional $3726.55 a year, on top of the annual road tax of $2346.39. For hybrid vehicles, the annual road tax is the higher amount of either the engine displacement-based calculation or the electric motor output-based calculation. For the RX400h, this works out to be the former at $2871.50.

So who ever said that being green is cheap here?

Credits: Story by CK Lim, pictures by Azfar Hashim