Lexus is one of the world’s youngest car companies, formed just 24 years ago.
More than a century after the invention of the motor car.
Lexus has the might of one of the world’s most successful car manufacturers behind it, as the luxury arm of Toyota, which has a history stretching back 76 years. The GS450h is not Lexus’s top model. That distinction goes to the LS, costing petty cash change short of £100,000.
By most standards, though, the GS450h is a very luxurious car. This is the fourth generation of Lexus’s luxury sports saloon, and it pioneers the company’s design style and ‘spindle front’ look. The test car, stunning in Arctic White, has a chiselled muscularity that makes it a very impressive beast.
It is nearly five metres long and wears a £51,605 price tag. Equally lavish is what’s under that long bonnet. The engine is a 3.5 litre, 24-valve V6, boasting 288 bhp and 352 Nm of torque. But that is only half the story. Like other Lexus models, this is a hybrid, with a 650 volt electric motor that delivers another 197 bhp and an extra 275 Nm of torque. There is a nickel metal-hydride battery pack as storage.
This car is a technological tour de force. You don’t quite need a PhD to drive it, but you do have plenty going on to engage you intellectually as you sit in cosseted comfort in the heated and ventilated 18-way electrically adjustable driving seat, with its four-way adjustable lumbar support.Yes, really. The front passenger gets all of that too. Meanwhile your passengers in the back have seats with heaters, leg and calf support, and an ocean of legroom.
What’s it like to drive? That depends on your mood. This is a car that can be wafted along in limousine comfort and quietness, including silent running in electric mode for short distances in town. Then when your sap rises and the siren call of petrolhead driving takes over, the car is ready to respond with vivid performance, as its sub-six seconds acceleration time confirms. A derestricted autobahn is the only road where the top speed, of more than twice the British legal limit, can be legally exploited.
The handling is more poised than you expect. For such a big car it is surprisingly nimble and light on its feet, but with a civility that makes it stimulating but un-fatiguing. You can travel very long distances in this car and step out feeling fresher than you would think.
There is a dashboard display to keep you informed about the interaction between engine, electric motor and battery pack, but the car just gets on with the job seamlessly. There is an unusually large, 12-inch multimedia screen set in the top of the dash, via which you can view the satnavand other functions that are operated via a remote touch control device with an accompanyingwrist pad, just to the left of the automatic gear lever. The control feels a bit clunky at first, it is ultra-sensitive and takes some getting used to. But it is worth the effort, when the car’s 17-speaker sound system has been programmed to turn the cabin into a private concert hall. It’s a heck of a car.
Lexus GS450h Specifications
Price £51,605
Engine 3.5 V6 24-valve petrol, power 288 bhp at 6,000 rpm, torque 352 Nm at 4,500 rpm
Electric motor 650v, power 197 bhp, torque 275 Nm
Transmission Electric CVT
Performance
Top speed 155 mph, 0-62 mph in 5.9 secs
CO2 141gm
VED band F
Economy 45.6 mpg combined
InsuranceGroup 42
DimensionsLength 4,850 mm, width 1,850 mm
Boot 465 litres
Read More Lexus articles on Drive.co.uk/Lexus
Sue Baker Motoring Correspondent
