If this is our hybrid motoring future – sign us up today! Even enthusiast drivers will like this one
Lexus followed their German rivals and developed a model lineup more complex than flatpack furniture
Yoshiako Ito, the vehicle dynamics guru at Lexus had a simple job list in developing the all-new GS 450h. He just wanted to improve: driving dynamics, space (particularly in the boot), transmission performance, engine efficiency, power and driveability and occupant comfort.
After putting the new hybrid GS range-topper through its paces, Car Showroom reckons Ito-San and his team has been burning the midnight oil and deserve some time off for golf.
By any measure the all-new Lexus GS 450h again raises the Lexus bar.
Lexus GS 450h Overview
Arrival of the 450h completes the all-new GS lineup for Lexus (the petrol GS 250 and GS 350 were launched a couple of months ago). The lineup for the Lexus GS 450h mirrors the petrol versions:
Luxury $99,900
F Sport $111,900
Sports Luxury $121,900
F Sport and Luxury models can be bolstered by ‘Enhancement Packs’ (extra $3,500 for Luxury and $5,000 for F Sport) which bring model-specific extras like All-Speed Active Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Safety System and a 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.
Lexus GS 450h Engine
Massive changes under the bonnet for the all-new Lexus GS 450h deliver improved fuel consumption, lower weight and reduced exhaust emissions. And one of the outcomes from all this effort is the capability to run on a wider range of fuel types, including ethanol.
Where the previous generation model ran an ‘Otto’ cycle V6, the new 3.5-litre (code-named 2GR-FXE) is an ‘Atkinson’ cycle with direct fuel injection and electric (no drive belt) water pump. Atkinson cycle engines have a higher compression ratio (13.0:1 in the Lexus GS 450h) and delay closing the intake valves for reduced compression volume/higher expansion.
Maximum power for the petrol engine is 215kW at 6,000rpm and peak torque of 352Nm arrives at 4500rpm. The parallel hybrid electric motor is good for 147kW/275Nm (combined power 254kW).
Drive is to the rear wheels via a six-step CVT with steering wheel paddle shifters.
Lexus GS 450h The Interior
The majority of the Lexus GS 450h interior mirrors equivalent petrol-engine models grades. Naturally the dashboard displays swap to the usual hybrid format (for example the tachometer appears in ‘Sport’ mode only).
But there are some unique changes…
Next time you’re cursing that noxious bamboo weed you’re digging out of your garden, spare a though for the Lexus employees on Japan’s Shikoku Island – they’re harvesting it. In a world first you can opt for a bamboo steering wheel in your Lexus GS 450h.
Bamboo is harder than wood, looks great when finished and is infinitely renewable with full-size tress re-growing in less than three years.
And all Lexus GS 450h models score the Head-Up Display (HUD) which displays varying information selected from a menu.
In the back, thanks to clever re-packaging of the Nickel-Metal hydride batteries, Lexus has delivered much better rear seat legroom and luggage capacity than the previous model. In fact chalk-up 45 per cent more boot capacity – up to 465-litres, enough for four full-size golf bags.
To do this, Lexus stacked the 40 battery modules between the rear seat and rear suspension towers. This required a total re-design of the battery cooling system.
Lexus GS 450h Exterior & Styling
As we know, the previous generation Lexus GS’ soft dough-boy look has been replaced by a buff and sporty newcomer which brings significant on-road presence to the equation.
Highlights are the new Lexus ‘corporate’ spindle grille (to be rolled-out to other Lexus models), prominent wheel arch sculpturing and a handsomely styled rear end (enhanced on F Sport models by a bootlid spoiler).
And in a Lexus first, GS 450h Sports Luxury models gain high and low beam LED headlights (optional on F Sport variants). Apart from better light quality, less power consumption and a longer life, LED lights offer no real, advantages over conventional bulbs!
The best way to pick one of the hybrid models (Do ’oh - apart from the boot badge!!) is the blue tinting for the ‘L’ grille badge.
Lexus GS 450h On The Road
Despite Melbourne turning on its best winter conditions (mist, cold and wet, slippery roads) this was one of the drives of the year so far. And that’s a bold statement for a fuel sipping hybrid vehicle…albeit this one takes just 5.9 seconds to cover zero to 100km/h – and that’s almost a full second faster than the Mercedes-Benz E350 CDI.
Sure the route from Melbourne Airport over the Black Spur to Taggerty and back is used by so many car companies it’s beyond familiar to us and our colleagues (in fact the Car Showroom team uses much of the route for our regular testing). Nevertheless, the way the Lexus GS 450h attacked those corners with sports car-like precision and balance was every bit as impressive as the performance of the GS 350 on the roads to Falls Creek.
We mentioned in reviewing the Lexus GS 350 about “taking a set” – the rapid settling of a car during turn-in – and the same comment applies to the GS 450h. Hard to believe Lexus engineers almost didn’t include steering wheel paddle shifters for manual changes in the GS 450h – luckily for us they persevered and the result is certainly rewarding when going hard.
Not much to separate the three variants, but if pressured we’d opt for the F Sport to satisfy the ‘Boy Racer’ within. Put it this way, if you’re a BMW M, ‘Benz AMG person you’ll find genuine satisfaction driving the Lexus GS 450h – it’s really that good.
And of course the clever part about the Lexus GS 450h is that when you return to the city after a hard run through the mountains, the silence you notice is because your high-performance sports sedan has slipped into zero emissions ‘EV’ mode. Talk about Superman and Clark Kent!
Lexus GS 450h Challenges
We would have to go ‘Sports Luxury’ or ‘F Sport’ in the alloy wheels department – they score 19-inchers and the 18s on the ‘Luxury’ look just a tad plain against the otherwise sharp looks of the latest Lexus GS.
And – like the petrol models – we’re not fans of the ‘Enhancement Pack’ options system. The ‘KISS’ (Keep It Simple Stupid) is our mantra.
Lexus GS 450h Verdict
Lexus can do no wrong with the all-new GS. We loved the petrol models a few weeks back and the GS 450h is beyond any doubt the luxury mid-size hybrid by which others will be judged - the Germans need to bring their ‘A-Game’ when their mid-size hybrids launch later this year.
Rocketing through the Victorian countryside with the 2.5-litre V6 on-song and then pitching the Lexus GS 450h into yet another series of fast corners brought a smile to your Car Showroom correspondent’s just for the driving dynamics…let alone the fact this thing delivers fuel consumption as low as 5.8l/100kms.
And where the previous GS was a ‘geek-on-wheels’, the all-new lineup looks razor-sharp on the outside and sumptuous inside.
Lexus GS 450h The Competition
Other luxury mid-size hybrids? – ah that would be a negative there. Not for long though – Mercedes-Benz and BMW both have vehicles on the way targeting the Lexus hybrid models and there’s a hybrid future for Nissan’s re-launching Infiniti brand…but for the moment it’s zip, zero, zilch for luxo hybrids to rival the Lexus GS 450h.
Lexus expects GS 450h customers will shop BMW 530d and Mercedes-Benz E350 CDI.
You’ll need $136,485 for the Merc – which buys a ripper 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel with 170kW (254kW for the Lexus GS 450h) and everything that comes with the ‘three-pointed star’ brand. Apart from the power difference, what you don’t get, but do in the Lexus GS 450h, are 10 airbags, a moonroof and 12-speaker audio with digital radio.
It’s $120,900 for BMW’s latest 535d with its stonking twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel delivering 220kW (although still 24kW shy of the Lexus GS 450h). Compared to the Lexus, the BMW 535d pulls-up short on standard features such as a reversing camera, blind-spot monitor, 10 airbags and Bluetooth audio streaming.
We’d also add the Audi A6 ($116,500 for the 3.0TDI). If you can overcome its 180kW maximum power, you do get the Audi driving dynamics, latest-gen A6 exterior style and the usual Audi to-die-for interior.
