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 dont want to give up the luxuries but need to wear their environmental badge conspicuously. Salving the conscience has never been so cosseting.
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With a 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet, this doesnt seem the obvious candidate for the moneyed tree hugger but if youve ever driven either the RX400h or the GS450h, youll know that these petrol/electric hybrids can genuinely live up to what seem like implausible claims. Although this may be a hybrid, its 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 doesnt disappoint in this regard.
Theres 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, its a luxury car first and foremost"
Unlike the LS460 petrol model, the hybrid gets a clever variable transmission thats mated to a Torsen differential that divides the engines power between the front and rear wheels. Yes, you read that right. This car is a four-wheel drive. As youd expect from Lexus, the LS600h majors on refinement and the silent wafting around town on just the electric motor will require vigilance as pedestrians wont hear it coming.
Dont 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, its no less effective. Although the fascia could never be described as pretty, being illuminated like Shinjuku at night, its 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 youre 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 hasnt 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, youre 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 LS460s 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? Thats 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 thats impossible to ignore, none of which addresses the question of whether you should buy one.
As an ownership proposition, its quite hard to make a case for. Most typical buyers will use this as a high mileage motorway cruiser and wont ever recoup the savings in fuel bills over the LS460, a car thats quicker and starts at around £25,000 cheaper. Thats 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 dont 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 and 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
