LEXUS

LEXUS STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOWS Lexus have been accused of aping Mercedes for too long when it comes to their flagship saloons. The latest LS460 gives the Japanese company their own clear identity at last. Andy Enright reports

Confidence is a wonderful thing. It makes giants out of mere mortals and confident businesses become greater than the sum of their constituent parts. One company that’s brimming with self assurance is Lexus and nowhere is this better demonstrated than in their revised LS flagship luxury saloon. This is a model that finally allows the Japanese company to stamp its own identity on the luxury car market. The LS460, as seen here, could well put a significant dent in the bottom line of Jaguar, Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz.

Perhaps the company has stood accused for too long of basing its LS around a previous generation Mercedes S Class because now Lexus is going its own way and the results look stunning. Emboldened by the acclaim given to the IS series – a model which contrived to make BMW’s 3 Series look old and frumpy – the latest LS now features that same taut athleticism and purposeful stance. It could be nothing other than a Japanese car and it’s certainly the way forward for Lexus. Rarely has a car more packed with technology been launched to the general public. The difficulty is knowing where to start. That 4.6-litre engine is as good a place as any. At first glance this big V8, good for 375bhp, looks to be fairly conventional but delve a little deeper and there’s an innovation that’s genuinely fascinating. The D4s dual injector system with Electric Motor Drive VVT might sound like the deepest of jargon but it’s really fairly straightforward. Some cars boast ‘direct injection’ a system adopted from diesel cars whereby fuel is fired directly into the combustion chamber rather than into the more traditional intake port. Both systems have their own inherent advantages. This engine has both, with an injector into the combustion chamber and another into the intake port to offer power and torque across a huge rev Range. This is helped by the electrically operated variable valve timing system, a technique which Lexus claims allows better efficiency than a traditional hydraulic valve operation. With a combined fuel economy figure of 25.4mpg it’s clear that the system works very well. Peak torque is rated at 493Nm, enough to punt the LS460 through 60mph in 5.4 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. The carbon dioxide figure of 261g/km is, on the basis of power versus emissions, unmatched by any of its rivals.

"The LS460 is a technological tour de force the like of which is virtually unprecedented"

Quick, clean and efficient is only the start. This Lexus is also one of the safest cars on the road and adopts a whole host of vehicle control systems. Unlike most other manufacturers, Lexus have gone a couple of stages further and integrated them more effectively, the Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system centralising control of the anti lock brakes, brakeforce distribution, traction control and vehicle stability control systems with the electric power steering, adaptive variable suspension and variable gear ratios to ensure that this vast array of control systems works in harmony. VDIM also oversees a very interesting development whereby the electric steering system can work in concert with the stability control system to detect oversteer – that situation where the rear end of the car steps out of line and threatens a spin. Whereas rival cars use the brakes and cut power to combat this problem, Lexus goes one step further. The LS460 automatically countersteers into the impending skid for you, nipping an emergency situation in the bud. It’s so subtle that no steering input is visible from outside the car, but rapid and minute corrections are going on unbeknown to the driver. It’s very impressive when put through its paces. The LS also features a system whereby the car can come to a stop in a straight line even if one side of the car is running on a low friction surface such as snow or ice and the other on a high friction surface such as tarmac. Most cars would try to spin away from the slippery surface when the brakes are applied, but clever electronics in the Lexus keep things on the straight and narrow. Let’s put together a scenario that illustrates how smart this Lexus is. You’ve maybe popped down to see the in-laws for the Bank Holiday weekend. Rather than hit all the traffic on the way home, you elect instead to travel back late. It’s gone midnight, you’re sitting with the cruise control activated on a featureless motorway having eaten well, your partner is fast asleep beside you and you nod off. The Lexus’ Driver Monitoring System, a miniature camera on the steering column, detects that you are no longer looking ahead and interrogates the millimetre-wave radar and stereo cameras as to whether anything is in front. If so, the system will sound an alarm and gently apply the brakes. The most usual cause of crashes with dozy drivers is a sudden awakening when the car hits the rumble strips, followed by a wild, panicking veer. The Lexus’ Lane-Keeping Assist system uses its stereo cameras to keep the LS460 in lane, the cruise control offering steering power support to nudge it back into line. Most drivers only doze off for a few seconds, enough to cause an incident. The Lexus will sound an alarm and activate the pre-crash system if somebody has really conked out and you’re winging in at 80mph on a stationary traffic queue. This is normally enough to wake the dead, with the car beeping loudly, pre-tensioning the seatbelts and applying the brakes. There’s a rear Pre-Crash safety system as well which, if it deems there’s a high probability of collision, will move the head restraints forwards and upwards to reduce the chance of whiplash. Should the worst come to the worst, the chassis features an enormous amount of impact absorption as well as front, side, curtain and knee airbags for both front passengers. Bigger in every dimension than its predecessor, rear passenger space in this LS is also improved enormously. Prices? Well, the new LS 460 is available in three grades: LS 460, LS 460 SE and LS 460 SE-L. On-the-road prices are, respectively, £57,000, £65,000 and £71,000. Aluminium brake callipers and an eight speed automatic gearbox are just some of a whole host of standard features that I’d love to talk about but space precludes it. Suffice to say if you want the cleverest car on the road, you might well be looking at it here. No wonder Lexus is confident.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Lexus LS460 PRICES: £57,000-£71,000 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 18E CO2 EMISSIONS: 261g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 5.4s / Max Speed 155mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 24.5mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front & side, curtain, knee airbags, ABS, VSC, VDIM, PreCrash, Advanced Obstacle Detection, Lane-Keeping Assist WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE? (length/width/height) 5030/1875/1465mm

HIGH-BORN HYBRID Most 2.4 tonne, 450bhp cars appear only marginally more environmentally friendly than the Exxon Valdez. Here’s one that’s very different. Andy Enright runs the rule over the Lexus LS600h

Given that perception is often more important than actuality, perhaps few need question the green credentials of the Lexus LS600h. It makes a brilliant statement for company chairmen and politicians who don’t want to give up the luxuries but need to wear their environmental badge conspicuously. Salving the conscience has never been so cosseting.

Lexus has some form here. Don’t forget that the company is the luxury arm of Toyota, manufacturer of the astoundingly successful Prius hybrid vehicle, and that Lexus has, in true Japanese tradition, never really bought into the concept of big diesel engines. Given that big petrol engines are becoming about as socially acceptable in some parts as a mink stole, the company had to act and developing a range of petrol/electric hybrid models was the obvious course of action. The RX400h 4x4 came first, followed by the GS450h executive saloon and now the biggest of the bunch, the LS600h, wafts into view. With a 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet, this doesn’t seem the obvious candidate for the moneyed tree hugger but if you’ve ever driven either the RX400h or the GS450h, you’ll know that these petrol/electric hybrids can genuinely live up to what seem like implausible claims. Although this may be a hybrid, it’s a luxury car first and foremost and one of the key requirements for a car of this ilk is plenty of power to put the proletariat in its place. The LS600h certainly doesn’t disappoint in this regard. There’s a total of 439bhp on tap, courtesy of a 388bhp 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine and a 221bhp electric motor which part combine to devastating effect. Drive the Lexus LS600h as if you stole it and it will accelerate to 60mph in 6.0 seconds and run on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.

"Although this may be a hybrid, it’s a luxury car first and foremost…"

Unlike the LS460 petrol model, the hybrid gets a clever variable transmission that’s mated to a Torsen differential that divides the engine’s power between the front and rear wheels. Yes, you read that right. This car is a four-wheel drive. As you’d expect from Lexus, the LS600h majors on refinement and the silent wafting around town on just the electric motor will require vigilance as pedestrians won’t hear it coming. Don’t expect a sports car, as the 2,355kg kerb weight means this is a hefty piece of automotive real estate, but the LS600h can corner with some tenacity when pushed. The latest Lexus LS series as a whole is a refreshing change to that which has gone before. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and as such, perhaps Mercedes has long been blushing coyly as the first two generations of LS models shamelessly aped the Mercedes S-Class in many details and functions. Having matured as a company, Lexus is now in a position to express its own design language and its own philosophy on how a luxury car should operate. The LS could be nothing other than Japanese and although it is now very different in execution to the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes, it’s no less effective. Although the fascia could never be described as pretty, being illuminated like Shinjuku at night, it’s easy to access all the major functions of which there are a lot. Build quality is excellent, space in the front and back of the standard wheelbase car is excellent while the long wheelbase car offers enough room to really stretch out and warrants the employment of a chauffeur. The only minor grumble is the relatively mean 330 litre boot, the capacity of which is impinged upon by the hybrid battery packs. The big issue that most prospective buyers will have to hurdle is the price. Whichever way you slice or dice it, the £85,000 that many owners will budget for the LS600h is a serious amount of money to pay for any sort of vehicle, let alone one with a 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine that attempts to underline green credentials. Running an LS460 for around £25,000 less and contributing to a carbon offset programme may be greener and more cost effective in the eyes of some. Still, the LS600h is an astonishing technical showcase that many will be intrigued by. As you would expect from Lexus, equipment levels are dizzying. The swivelling LED headlights give the car a distinctive front end. The cabin is just dripping in electronic gizmos from adaptive cruise control to lane departure warning systems, cameras that monitor your head position and warn you if the car thinks you’re nodding off at the wheel, a 19-speaker stereo system, full colour satellite navigation, reversing camera, optional massaging Ottoman chairs, you name it, and it seems Lexus can offer it. Most of us associate environmental awareness with a certain element of self sacrifice. Lexus clearly hasn’t bought into that school of thought. So we move onto the big question – what sort of economy do you get from the Lexus LS600h and how clean is it? Lexus claims a 30.4mpg combined fuel consumption figure (around 5mpg better than the LS460) which is incredible for a car of this size and weight. Our experience with Lexus hybrids suggests that if most of your motoring is high speed motorway work, you will see very little fuel economy benefit over a standard petrol-engined car. If, on the other hand, you’re set for a fair amount of stop and start city traffic, then the fuel economy savings really do start to stack up. Emissions of 219g/km (as opposed to the LS460’s 261g/km) are about on a par with a 2.5-litre Ford Mondeo. The issue of depreciation may not be quite so rose-tinted. Many engineers view petrol-electric hybrid vehicles as an inelegant and rather temporary solution to reducing carbon emissions and the whole life costs of these cars from producing the batteries to disposing of them is high. Will used buyers be willing to take on a product of such overwhelming complexity? That’s a question that will certainly affect take up and impact pence per mile running figures. The Lexus LS600h is a fascinating technical showpiece, a piece of engineering of estimable quality and a statement underlining environmental responsibility that’s impossible to ignore, none of which addresses the question of whether you should buy one. As an ownership proposition, it’s quite hard to make a case for. Most typical buyers will use this as a high mileage motorway cruiser and won’t ever recoup the savings in fuel bills over the LS460, a car that’s quicker and starts at around £25,000 cheaper. That’s 156,000 miles of ‘free’ fuel in the bank. The LS600h therefore makes more sense as a statement than it does as an economic proposition. Your chief executive officer may well plump for one to demonstrate his commitment to environmental concerns whilst at the same time expecting you to ditch your 3 Series and get a Prius instead. As laudable as its aims are, there are aspects of the LS600h that just don’t add up.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Lexus LS600h PRICES: £81,400-£83,645 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 20 CO2 EMISSIONS: 219g/km PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 6.0s / Max Speed 155mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 30.4mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front & side, curtain, knee airbags, ABS, VSC, VDIM, PreCrash, Advanced Obstacle Detection, Lane-Keeping Assist WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: (length/width/height) 5030/1875/1465mm