2006 Lexus GS450H Reviews

Lexus GS300 is an upmarket Japanese sedan with a fair bit of sportiness in its makeup.

Remember Betamax video recorders, those lumbering, top-loading titans of terminal technology? They went from old hat to dead format in the blink of an eye. Now picture the Lexus GS450h, a car that may just be the equivalent of a $121,900 Betamax recorder.Well, that's not entirely fair, because the Lexus will still provide transport and be able to burn reasonably common fuel (albeit of the premium kind), even if Toyota's hybrid drive petrol-electric engine system doesn't turn out to be the dominant technology of the fuel-frugality years we're entering.And while the GS450h is certainly big and heavy, it's not quite as ugly as a Betamax. In fact, the car passed the servo test with honours.One smitten BP worker even described it as beautiful, despite what I argued with him were portly, American proportions and a hunched back.Looks aside, the appeal of this Lexus is billboard-simple to define: “V8 performance with four-cylinder economy”.Sure enough, during a week of varied driving, the GS averaged between an impressive 8.5 and a reasonable 10.1 litres per 100km.But its range, off a 65-litre tank of pricey PULP, was just over 500km.Compare this to the diesel option. Our recent, long-term BMW 530d (packing an in-line, six-cylinder turbo diesel) returned a best figure of 5.7 litres per100km, with a range of 935km off a single tank of farmer's fuel. It was also far more lively to drive, handled in a whole different class — and had a boot.The Lexus looks like it has one, but open the lid and you realise it's an optical illusion. Those big ol' batteries under the rear seat take up all the space.And you can have the Bavarian brute for just $114,500. As far as performance goes, the Lexus may be quick — with a claimed zero-to-100km/h time under six seconds — but doesn't feel like it.The hybrid uses a dual-VVT-i direct-injection, 3.5-litre V6 that produces 216kW, mated to a 147kW permanent-magnet electric motor.Its theoretical combined power output is 253kW. In terms of torque, the petrol motor hits its 368Nm peak at 4800rpm, while the electric one offers 275Nm from the get-go.This means you not only have good off-the-line grunt, but handy overtaking thrust. Indeed, driven enthusiastically, and with all its sport settings switched on, the GS450h will get up and boogie.But the main impression you get is that this is a heavy car rather than a dashing one.That isn't surprising, as the Lexus weighs in on the wrong side of 1800kg. I may not be a rocket scientist, or evena white-coat wearer from the Pond's Institute, but if you're trying to build an economical car of the future, making it lighter than a tank seems wise.The sensation of weight counts against the GS450h on tight, rough roads, where it crashes and shakes, while understeering with its big nose and fighting a tail-shaking battle with the traction control at the rear end. Still, it's a classy-feeling piece of kit and it boasts an excellent interior.The GS is far more at home on good surfaces, tackling smooth sweepers and freeway driving with consummate ease. And it's freakishly quiet.Compared with the pudgy Prius, this hybrid is in a different league. I could actually live with it if I had to, whereas I'd choose public transport (or two feet and a heartbeat) over a Prius.But with a massive Lexus price tag, and not such a large range, you have to wonder who's going to want to buy it off you in a few years — particularly if hybrid technology goes Betamax on you.And while I didn't set out to compare this car to the 5 Series diesel, I couldn't get it out of my mind that the latter is a more realistic, and more enjoyable, way to save on fuel while still looking rich and executorial.The only argument left in the Lexus's favour is that it produces fewer emissions than any diesel or unleaded-fuel car.Much like the Prius, or plastic surgery, people are being asked to spend a hell of a lot of money just to feel good about themselves.

It chews some grass, then heads for some old machinery at the side of the road, which it leans on to rub its rump.The luxurious Lexus is more interesting than the wombat gives it credit for.It is a great technical achievement. The Lexus team has managed to combine a powerful V6 engine and an electric motor for masses of power and to limit fuel consumption.Whether or not it will revolutionise the automotive landscape, as Lexus claims, is another question.It's impressive, but also flawed.The GS450h is tested on a 1870km trip to Sydney, on to the Blue Mountains and back.I even venture 47km from Lithgow to a bush cabin at the ghost town of Newnes, once an oil shale production site.After driving the new Lexus, you wonder whether petrol-electric hybrids really are the answer or whether it will it be a forgotten technology in a few years.It is expensive for Lexus (Toyota) to develop and produce — it certainly isn't making money from hybrids.At $121,990, the GS450h slips into the Lexus GS range between the $112,300 V6 GS300 Sports Luxury and the $137,200 V8 GS430.It gets a range of top-shelf gizmos including adaptive headlights, radar cruise control, keyless start, rear parking camera and the latest-generation satellite navigation.But the big difference is the hybrid drivetrain.The special GS combines a Toyota-based 3.5-litre V6 with an electric motor, using a battery that is topped-up through friction from the brakes and engine.At low speeds the GS450h can run purely off the electric motor, which is eerily silent.When you give it a push, the GS fires up its V6 petrol engine as well.Sometimes the car runs purely on the petrol engine.The combination of both powerplants adds up to an impressive 254kW.There is 275Nm available on demand thanks to the electric motor and a total 368Nm from the V6 at 4800 revs.The car uses a continuously variable transmission that constantly changes the gear ratio and feels like it has just one gear.Lexus says all this provides guilt-free performance.The GS450h is fast. Lexus says it can do 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, faster than its V8 big brother.Lexus also claims it produces combined fuel consumption figures of 7.9 litres/100km — that, and the 0-100km time, seems optimistic.Highways, where petrol and diesel engines shine, aren't friendly to hybrids.The test car achieved an average fuel consumption figure of 8.3 litres on the trip — about what you would expect from a regular Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore using petrol combustion engines and regular unleaded (the GS demands premium).A sporty and refined diesel, such as the one found in the BMW 530d or Peugeot 407 Coupe, should do significantly better.Other testers have returned figures of eight to nine 9 litres/100km driving the GS in the city, which is good but is not going to save the planet.One of the biggest problems is the size of the battery, which takes up a huge chunk of the boot, which now has room for only one large suitcase. The overflow has to travel on the back seat — making it close to useless for family travel.The boot space would be even more cramped if Lexus hadn't replaced the full-size spare wheel with a space saver, which is not good on a long trip in the bush.The extra hybrid components also add weight — about 250kg, turning it into a 1865kg car.The extra grunt of the powerplants overcomes this in a straight line, but the extra weight takes its toll when cornering.The steering in the Lexus has a dead feel and the nanny electronic stability control is overly protective — discouraging sporty handling.Its CVT gearbox is the same. It feels strange to not have any gear changes and decidedly non-sporty. The "manual" shift mode is even less convincing.Still, you can't overlook the car's stunning torque.Plant the right foot while passing a truck and it will storm forwards with the go of a supercharged V8. It's a pity it sounds like an over-muffled V6.The only other niggle is the suspension tuning, which is harsher than it should be.This Lexus is at home in stop-start city traffic, where it runs quietly and efficiently in comfort, but is not perfect.The 450h is an interesting technological showpiece that owners will enjoy showing to their friends, but it certainly doesn't revolutionise the automotive landscape.

The $121,990 car includes radar active cruise control, adaptive variable suspension (the driver can set normal or sport), a vehicle dynamic management system, 10 airbags, electronic chromatic instrument panels, rear view camera, parking sonars, DVD satellite navigation, customised interior lighting, dual-zone climate control and 14-speaker – yes, 14 – Mark Levinson premium sound system.It also has the smart entry and start: the car automatically unlocks when the driver grabs the door handle and allows a press-button start by detecting the "key" being carried by the driver.The GS450h has all the features of the luxury version of the GS300 and GS430 petrol-only models with which it shares the bodywork. The vehicle dynamic management system until now was available only on the GS430. Lexus does not want potential buyers to have any excuse not to select the 450h hybrid.The GS450h is the first Lexus hybrid to be released in Australia, although Lexus is part of the Toyota family which has the world's biggest-selling hybrid car, the Prius. Lexus says hybrid versions of its all-wheel-drive SUV wagon, the RX400h, and its flagship sedan, LS600h, also are on the way.The GS450h has a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine and a 650V electric motor. The electric motor has 147kW power – more than many petrol engines in medium-size cars. Power is not the sum of the electric and the petrol engines' respective maxima, but works out at a total of 254kW.This power is more than the petrol engine siblings in the range yet it has 31 per cent better fuel economy than the GS430 and 19 per cent better than the GS300. Standard tests show just 7.9 litres/100km for the hybrid.The GS450h runs a constantly variable automatic transmission.Hybrid activityFOR gentle start-offs, only the electric motor is used. When more power is needed, the petrol engine joins in. The battery provides more power to the electric motor if extra acceleration is needed. When decelerating, a regenerative braking system gathers energy usually lost in braking and converts it to electricity to be stored in the battery. The engine switches off when the car is stationary.Dot pointsALL Lexus GS450h models will have vehicle identification numbers printed on 5000 Data Dot micro identification dots sprayed on to strategic spots on the vehicle. Each the size of a grain of sand, they can be read by special lighting. Data Dots are a theft deterrent and help lower insurance premiums.

But we've got to say the GS450h is a revelation in terms of performance and economy, a promise of what technology can and does deliver.The really exciting part however is that this technology is likely to find its way into the good old family Camry within the next couple of years.Now that is exciting!We missed the launch of the GS450h at Bathurst a few weeks back and we regret doing so after a week behind the wood in-laid wheel.You see Lexus has opted for an entirely different approach to the hybrid question, with the emphasis firmly on power rather than economy.That's not to say this hybrid is not a light sipper, it still consumes fuel at the claimed rate of 7.9L/100km - but that's really not the point.The point is, Lexus has shown, that it is now possible to have your proverbial cake and eat it too.Here's a car that goes hard but still manages to deliver four cylinder-like economy.In fact, if this is what hybrid technology has to offer, it could well become the new millennium's answer to turbocharging - because let's face it, the V8 has had its day.Having said that, the GS450h is not cheap, not at more than $120,000, but you do get a lot of motor car for your money.The heart of the matter is not some piddling four cylinder engine but rather a family-sized 3.5-litre V6 which itself puts out 218kW but has beefed up with the addition of a powerful 147kW electric motor.The electric motor alone kicks out as much power as some family cars.The combined result is a sports sedan that delivers a modulated 254kW of total power, with much of the torque available instantly as there is no spin up time necessary.Like its cousin Toyota Prius, the Lexus has a large visual display showing the ebb and flow of energy through the hybrid petrol-electric system.The normal tacho has been replaced by a power meter the left of the speedo that is calibrated in kilowatts.The ignition key is a wireless one with a button to power up the system.Standard features include 10 airbags, stab- ility control, pre-collision system, radar controlled cruise, rear view camera, DVD player and a 14-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.We like the GS styling, low and sleek with a swept back look that takes for the form of a four-door coupe.It looks classy and the multi-layered five- spoke design of the 18in alloy wheels is particularly effective.Inside the hybrid is as quiet if not quieter than other models in the Lexus range.The CVT auto is designed to optimise power and economy, with just the one continuously variable forward gear.But for more enthusiastic drivers a set of six cogs is provided for manual changes and the suspension can be switched to a firmer sport setting.There's even a power setting for the hybrid system that unfortunately we did not discover until too late in the piece.How embarrassing?There we were thinking it went all right anyway.Even pushed hard the Lexus still managed to post 9.6L/100km which is just outstanding.If you are looking for a reason to buy Japanese instead of the German premium brands, the GS450h is drives a pretty good argument. 

Which is why Toyota is turning to a menu of full-flavour Lexus hybrids, starting with the GS450h.

But their bewilderment is as nothing compared to yours.Not only has this very neat accelerative feat been achieved in a Lexus — a marque certain of us equate with wobble-bottomed, luxo lameness — it has been done with scarcely an aural indication to match what your eyes are seeing but choosing not to believe.Welcome to the GS450h — the world's first mass-production, rear-wheel-drive, luxury hybrid car.Welcome, also, Lexus informed those of us gathered in Bathurst on Wednesday, to the future of motoring. Just for once, the PR blah is more than hubris.As we have seen, the GS450h's unique powertrain can certainly move you. But it's the way in which it achieves forward motion that leads you to concur that this car launch may well come to be seen as one of the decade's most significant.The hybrid variant of the GS range packs an all-new, dual-VVT-i direct injection 3.5 V6 that's good for 216kW, aided and abetted by a 147kW-capablepermanent-magnet electric motor. The total power output is "limited" to 253kW.The dual-injected petrol engine, a lovely piece of work in itself, delivers 368Nm at 4800 rpm, but the electric unit's 275Nm is available from absolute zero.Turbo diesel-like lag? Not here.Driven through an unfeasibly smooth Electric Continuously Variable Transmission, this dual-engine combo offers 4.5-litre performance with a posited 2.5-litre equivalent combined fuel consumption of 7.9 litres per 100km.This means the "h" variant has 30 per cent greater range than the eight-cylinder GS430, and about 14 per cent more than the six-pot GS300. It's a potent cocktail of performance and economy.Before hemp-lovers start petitioning the Greens cabal in the Legislative Assembly, the GS450h does all this while emitting an ultra-low level of environmental nasties, making for what Lexus calls "guilt-free performance".Having never experienced the least guilt over performance, I wasn't sure what that meant. But thrusting through the drought-depleted landscape of the NSW central west, even the least penetrable mind must acknowledge there's something in this ozone-layer-depletion stuff.It helps hugely that the GS450h means climbing into a hybrid no longer calls for surrendering your testes. Besides, anything as complex as this that works so seamlessly is surely worth a bit of attitude adjustment.The V6 is the primary source of power and torque, supplemented by two electric motors. One of the latter acts as the starting motor and supplies power to run ancillary functions — steering power assist, stereo, climate control et al.The second electric motor is there to layer additional power and torque over the petrol engine. And this it did superbly during our admittedly brief open-road experience.The GS450h weighs more than 1800kg, so the best will in the world won't imagine it as a sports saloon. But it's a grand tourer of the highest order.CVTs are apt to denude the driver (well, this driver) of feel for speed. Combined with an almost deathly quietness and acceleration that redefines seamless, it's all too easy to achieve licence-voiding quickness without much sensation of having done so.The six set ratios available in the CVT's sequential shift mode provide an engine-braking function that is of the essence, especially when turning this bulky sedan into tighter bends.The stop pedal has plenty of power but is far too short-travel and firm to feel anything other than abrupt in a package that is otherwise silky.There's more fun to be had than simple go-fast acceleration, though, with steering that has a decent amount of feel, and the car's overall weight distributed at 50/50 to extract the most from the rear-wheel-drive dynamics.Beyond its driveline innovation, the GS450h is bountifully equipped, as befitting the GS series. Gagdets include the Lexus Pre-Collision System, active cruise control, adaptive variable suspension and 10 airbags.The surfeit of tech is laid out for ease of use and legibility, points of difference being a power meter instead of a tachometer (there is, after all, more than one engine torquing away here), a read-out that indicates the power source being tapped, a rear-view camera and automatic reverse assist, and hands-free Bluetooth for the phone.The need to shove the battery aft, however, seriously infringes on boot space. A tight 250 litres has to suffice for the golf clubs.All this can be yours for $121,990, so don't expect to see many of them about, much less hear them. (Use of the horn is advised in car parks or at low speeds.)The point of the GS450h's advent, though, is that performance has been added to the hybrid equation.When that filters down to affordable cars, as it surely will, Lexus's claims of revolutionising the "automotive landscape" will come to pass. It will be a deceptively silent revolution.