Test drive: Lexus hybrid doesn't sacrifice luxury for the green tag

By Matt Nauman
Mercury News
Article Launched: 06/01/2007 02:10:22 AM PDT


Think of the 2008 Lexus LS600h L sedan, due out this summer, as the ultimate niche vehicle.

For those who think of hybrids as small, ultra-fuel-efficient machines like the Toyota Prius and the now departed Honda Insight, this new $100,000-plus sedan might be eye-opening, or perhaps, horrifying.

This hybrid is stocked with a whoppin' big V-8 engine, and I got less than 20 mpg in my week behind the wheel.

On the other hand, for those who insist that only something with 12 cylinders of prestigious power will do atop the luxury sedan class - a Mercedes-Benz S600 or BMW 760Li or an Audi A8 L W12, perhaps - then this car might be a revelation.

It certainly makes a statement. After all, Lexus combined a 5.0-liter V-8 with two electric motors and some batteries, and ended up with the equivalent of 430 horsepower. That pushes this Lexo luxo from 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. And it still comes with hybrid badges and special accents like blue accents on the front LED headlights, and much better mpg than any of those 12-cylinder mobiles.

So it becomes a question of perspective. Is the Lexus LS600h L simply the most expensive Japanese production model ever made or is it the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan? Can it be both a green car and one for those with lots and lots and lots of green?

For your $104,000 - and probably $125,000 after you throw in options, taxes and fees - you could get a four-year college education or a Tesla electric roadster or a really, really useful Starbucks card. ("I'll have 31,000 venti lattes, please.")

After 250 miles behind the wheel of a non-production version of the 600h L, I can tell you that you get a poised, polished high-tech machine. But will it impress your hard-to-impress friends?

Some basics: The LS has been the flagship Lexus model since the brand arrived on these shores in 1989. The open-minded among us saw the engineering excellence and value in that first $35,000 LS. Others sneered that some Lexus models were nothing more than fancy Camrys and that Lexus shouldn't attempt to challenge the German luxury brands.

Well, after racking up sales and quality awards over the years, the LS has progressed to the point where the fourth-generation LS 460 and the longer-wheelbase LS 460L are fully competitive with what BMW and Mercedes offer, if still a bit less driver-oriented than what the Germans trot out. These models, priced at $61,000 and $71,000, are quietly powerful, thanks to a new 4.6-liter V-8, and stuffed with technology from parking assistance to real-time traffic updates via satellite radio.

Now - this summer, actually - Lexus has topped the LS lineup with a hybrid version. It takes a new 5.0-liter V-8 and pairs it with two electric motors and a 240-cell, 288-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The result is 438 equivalent horsepower. The electric bits create additional torque as the car reaches highway speeds and beyond.

There's also an EV button on the left side of the dashboard that extends the car's electric-only range at speeds up to 25 mph. Normally, the hybrid will switch from gasoline to electric power (or use both) as needed.

Some Lexus attributes remain unaltered. This sedan has an exceedingly quiet ride, and it offers a lushly comfortable interior.

As a 2008 model, the Lexus LS 600h L suffers, in a sense, from the new EPA fuel-economy formula. It measures 20 mpg in the city, 22 on the highway and 21 combined. I averaged right at 18.9 mpg in about 300 miles of driving.

(Had the '08 LS 600h L been a 2007 model, those numbers would have increased, although the car's actual fuel economy would be the same. The 2007 BMW 760Li gets a combined 17 mpg; the S600 15 mpg; and the A8 L 17 mpg. Those numbers fall to 15, 13 and 15 with the 2008 formula changes.)

Ultimately, the question is this: If you pulled up to a fancy restaurant in Woodside, will a Lexus hybrid have as much cachet as a big V-12 Benz? I'm guessing that if you're going to meet a VC interested in green tech, you actually might make a better impression.

Lexus had planned to put this car on sale this month, but delayed it a while back. There was no explanation offered, and now the word is the car will meet its first U.S. owners "this summer." It went on sale in Japan in May.

Worldwide, Lexus expects 7,000 sales of the 600h L, with perhaps 4,000 of those in Japan and 2,000 in the United States.

Besides its hybrid powertrain, the LS 600h offers a continuously variable transmission (CVT) as well as full-time all-wheel-drive. Standard safety fare includes eight air bags and a Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system that include stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes and additional braking enhancements.

You'll also find a 30-gigabyte hard-disk-drive navigation system and a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) color monitor that displays maps as well as hybrid and trip computer information. The 450-watt Mark Levinson audio system, complete with 19 speakers and 2,000-song storage capacity, takes advantage of the car's very quiet ride.

Options are few: The Executive Class Seating Package is the most notable with its massaging passenger seat with leg rest and fold-down wood table, rear DVD player, a rear-seat cool box, rear-seat side air bags, special 18-inch wheels and the advanced parking guidance system. It's a $12,000 option package on the gasoline LS models. Our test car, a non-production model, had the system as a stand-alone option. I tried it before, on an LS 460, and still found it more confusing than helpful, more time-consuming than time-saving. It's pretty trick when it works, though.