Lexus GS450H 2015 News

Everyone has heard the story about the tourist whose motorhome crashed after he set the cruise control and then strolled into the back to make a cuppa. It may be an urban myth, but technology marches on and you get the feeling the driverless car may be just around the corner, or certainly a lot closer than anyone thinks.This week Lexus demonstrated a further development of the active cruise control system fitted to its cars that steers and brakes the car without any need for intervention from the driver. It is still under development but Lexus hopes to bring the system to market within two years.THE SYSTEMDescribed as the next-generation advanced driving support system, Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA) links two automated driving technologies. At this stage its use is confined purely to the open road because city streets present too many variables such as pedestrians, motorcycles and in some cases an absence of line markings.DOES IT WORK?We received a first-hand demonstration of the system in Tokyo. Although we were not permitted to actually drive the Lexus GS fitted with the technology, neither in effect was the driver whose hands remained off the steering wheel, although they hovered close by.It works, and Lexus has data to show it does a better job of keeping the car on a straight course than your average driver. Spin-off effects include a reduction in traffic congestion as well as lower fuel bills.Curiously, the further back you are in a line of cars using the system, the greater the reduction in fuel consumption because of the 'drafting' effect (the reason cyclists ride in a peloton).In a column of four vehicles, consumption was down 5.3 per cent in the first vehicle, 17.7 per cent in the second and 26.8 per cent in the third - with an overall reduction of 11.1 per cent.Mind you the figures were derived over a period of four minutes and a distance of just a couple of kilometres.HOW IT WORKSThe system brings together Cooperative-adaptive Cruise Control, which wirelessly communicates with the vehicles in front to maintain a safe distance plus Lane Trace Control, which aids steering to keep the vehicle on course within the lane.Key to its success are a camera which monitors lane markings, together with GPS mapping of the route ahead and sensors in participating cars that enable them to talk to each other.In contrast to standard radar, Cooperative-adaptive Cruise Control uses 700-MHz band vehicle-to-vehicle ITS communications to transmit acceleration and deceleration data which allows vehicles following behind to adjust their speeds accordingly to better maintain their distance. Lane Trace Control draws on high-performance cameras, millimetre-wave radar and control software to enable an optimal and smooth driving line at all speeds. The system adjusts the vehicle’s steering angle, driving torque and braking force where necessary to maintain the optimal line within the lane. By reducing unnecessary acceleration and deceleration, the advanced driving system improves fuel efficiency and helps reduce traffic congestion.It's only a hop, skip and a jump from here to driverless cars, but the engineer who demonstrated the system to us said Lexus has no plans to introduce full automation.

...even hot-lapping the mid-sized luxury contender at the Nurburgring.Carsguide knows the Lexus GS is a lot sharper after a drive in the US and is waiting for the disguise to be stripped away so we can see how close the car is to the Lexus LF-Gh.

Picture this. You're driving along the motorway. The Lexus you are travelling in purrs, whisper quiet. It looks good, too, good enough to draw admiring glances. Up ahead the storm clouds gather and it is not long before the first drops of rain spot the windscreen. The wipers come on automatically. The kilometres rush by and as darkness begins to fall, the car's xenon lights flick on automatically, dipping briefly before coming to rest. There's still a long way to go, but not wanting to get a speeding ticket, you wisely decide to engage cruise control. A digital readout tells you the car's speed is locked to 110km/h and that's where it will stay, unless you are forced to brake for a slow moving vehicle. You have programmed your destination into the car's on-board satellite navigation system, so there's no need to worry about when to turn off or, for that matter, finding the street the 'satnav' will tell you. Ahead a car decides it has had enough of life in the slow lane and suddenly moves out into the lane ahead. Before you have time to react the car does it for you, slowing to match the speed of the vehicle ahead. A couple of minutes later the vehicle returns to the left hand lane and your car's speed climbs automatically back to 110km/h. It's called active cruise control and it is made possible by the in-built radar that scans the road ahead and reacts if any objects move into its path. To while away the hours you turn on the 5.1 Mark Levinson sound system. It's got 14" speakers and sounds better than the hi-fi set up in the lounge room at home. Although the “rels” live almost 800km away, you will probably make it on one tank of fuel. That's because this car is an energy-efficient hybrid and runs on a combination of petrol and electricity, storing the energy normally lost during braking. But it's not like any hybrid that you have driven before, because this car really gets up and goes, with a combined output of 254kW. The drive train consists of a 3.5-litre V6 and a 650-volt electric motor. The latter produces 147kW alone. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a state-of-the-art continuously variable automatic transmission that doubles as a six-speed manual. The dash from 0-100km/h takes 5.9 seconds and it uses just 7.9 litres/100km. If your route takes you over dirt roads, you can switch from sport to comfort setting using the electronically modulated suspension system. In the unlikely event of an accident, the car is fitted with pre-collision lock down system along with 10 airbags. Parking is a snack too, with front and rear distance sensors and a rear view camera. It doesn't get much better than the Lexus GS450h. It's a wonder the car isn't able to park itself. But then Lexus's flagship LS 600hL can lay claim to that feat. The GS450h is priced from $124,900 and Lexus has just released an updated model.