Combine a five-litre V8 and hybrid power and the result is stunning. The Lexus LS600h delivers 12-cylinder like power yet proves as economical as an engine half that size.
The entry level LS (LS460) is a fine car but the LS600h (h = hybrid) is phenomenal!
The power-train delivers 445bhp with diesel-like fuel economy to a brand new advanced rear biased all-wheel drive set up.
Permanent four-wheel drive takes the cars handling to a new level while the passive and active safety devices are a technological tour de force. Lexus claim it's the safest car in the world and it may well be.
LS600h comes in two forms, a standard five-seat version and my test car a stretched ‘L’ long wheel based four-seater that I drove but managed to managed to get chauffeured in too. Just some of the toys include a tiny camera mounted behind the steering wheel that monitors the drivers head position to make sure they’re awake at the wheel. In the back I’m snowed under with gadgetry and totally cosseted. Lexus calls it the ‘rear seat relaxation system’ and pride of place goes to the ‘Ottoman’ style seat (on the nearside only), which with the press of a button moves the front seat forward and out of the way allowing me to adjust the seat in a similar way to a classic lazy-boy reclining armchair. The seats are air-conditioned and even feature a massage function.
The €168,850 LS600h ‘L’ drives incredibly smoothly thanks to the combination of silent electric power on start up and all the benefits of instant torque it brings plus a meaty petrol engine that can start up already spinning at up top 2000rpm, so you don’t get any lurch when the unit kicks in as there is no conventional starter motor.
All of the cleverness including the new starter and the tiny but highly efficient Torsion ‘Limited Slip Differential’ (that manages the allocation of power to the wheels) is housed in the same casing as the standard eight speed gearbox in the LS460! Sorry for getting technical but the engineering nerd in me hasn’t stopped salivating at the ingenious innovations in what is this best ever Japanese luxury car. I could go on about the forward and rear radar and stereo cameras that can help you avoid collisions or the LED adaptive headlights but I don’t have the space, needless to say the drivers manual makes ‘War and Peace’ look like a pocket guide!
At the moment the Government gives a 50% reduction in VRT to ‘Hybrid’ powered cars to encourage the new technology and while this mean the likes of Prius and Civic IMA get a modest reduction in their retail asking price the saving is positively massive for luxury hybrids like this latest offering from Lexus.
Lexus will sell 50 LSs this year. In a full year Lexus expects to sell 100 with 80% being hybrids. A further breakdown suggests that 70% of 600s will be standard five-seat versions.
There are only two options available with the LS600h namely a sunroof (€1,625) and a ‘Premium Pack’ that costs a cool €18,249!
Without the VRT tax break (and let’s face it no one expects it to be continued on big luxury cars in 2008) my LS600h‘L’ would cost a cool €195,881. Believe it or not I can make that sound cheap by saying it is less than a third of the cost of a new Rolls Royce!
