Performance Hybrid

Nestled deep inside my consciousness is a thorny fear that the trendy new global awareness of looming environmental disaster will relegate the internal combustion engine to museums. Toyota-s stand'alone luxury brand Lexus must-ve cottoned on to the panic amongst petrol heads like myself, and coined a new phrase: Performance Hybrid.

The pearl black metallic GS450h I borrowed from Lexus Helderberg is just such a machine, and was parked neatly next to its SUV sister, the RX400h SUV. Visions of a future littered with smart-sized electric runabouts quickly faded as I coaxed the R640 000 Lexus from its imposing dealership. Having previously tested both the petrol-powered Lexus GS300 and a Toyota Prius Hybrid, the GS450h quickly revealed that it was an ingenious result of the two aforementioned cars consummating their love for one another in the broom cupboard at the Toyota / Lexus Christmas party.

Under a GS450h's bonnet you will find... a plateau of plastics. But underneath that sits a petrol V6 worth 218kW coupled to a 145kW electric motor. Although I never mastered higher grade mathematics, Lexus' promised maximum output of 250kW seems rather modest to me. The two power plants are joined at the hip by a CVT (continually variable transmission) and controlled by all the trick computer brains which call themselves Hybrid Synergy.

In essence this means that the GS450h is still a petrol-powered vehicle, but uses an electric motor to help the gas guzzler along, or take over from it at slower speeds and slight acceleration. The Hybrid GS loses quite a bit of boot space to a huge rechargeable battery which is fed by the electric motor and wheels (during deceleration and braking) to provide free and clean power next time you speed up again.

The whole orchestra of power swapping is neatly explained in the GS' dash-mounted touch-screen and even gives you stats about your current and past consumption. When decelerating, coasting, or stationary (in most cases) the petrol motor is switched off, not only to conserve your fuel tank contents, but to significantly lower the vehicle's emissions.

A GS450h interior is not far removed from its donor GS300, although some practical joker at Lexus swapped the indicator and wiper stalks around. Other than that, the biggest GS is a cocoon of perfectly-stitched leather, finely finished wood and the odd shiny metal highlight. The front seats are utterly comfortable and come with heating and venting on this model, while the dashboard elegantly swoops down to a broad center tunnel.

The aforementioned multifunction touch-screen dominates the cockpit and showers you with options like DVD changer, navigation, Bluetooth phone connections, Climate control, as well as trip and vehicle information. The in-dash 6-disc DVD changer plays through countless Mark Levinson speakers and gives you ample control over the reproduction of your favourite movie or music. Surely I don't need to tell you that this exclusive brand does the most incredible job of it?

Instrumentation is clean and precise, with another multi-function display in the bottom of the speedometer. This is controlled by a button on the steering wheel, which also houses track and volume buttons, phone controls, and a voice activation knoppie. Pressing this always wakes up the same friendly but stern lady: "Please say the command after the tone!" "Yes, hello. How do I adjust the mirrors?" "Temperature set to 21 degrees!" "No, no, wait. What about the mirrors?" "Command not possible in this mode!"

OK, so I messed around with the stern lady a bit, but if you say the right commands she diligently obeys them. No backchat, no dodgy in-laws, no emotional blackmail with photos of my ex-girlfriends. The navigation system is just as efficient, obviously featuring stern lady as the optional audible guide to your destination. Oh, and in what I assume to be an effort to keep the dashboard mostly uncluttered, the mirror switches are grouped with a dozen other semi-unimportant buttons on a retractable flap above your right knee.

So what's it like to drive? For starters, leave the key in your pocket and simply touch the door handle to unlock the car and get in. Adjust seating and steering wheel electrically to your liking, step on the brake, and press the power button. Unless battery power is low, the GS450h awakes with infotainment and ventilation noises but no discernable engine noise. As you slowly set off there's only a faint whine from under the bonnet and a rumble from the big 18 inch wheels complete with chrome inserts.

Slightly more right-pedal-action will eventually awaken the V6 petrol engine with a brief shudder, culminating in a petrol-electric wave of torque underpinned by soft and subdued V6 growls. The transition between this power sharing does dish up slight hesitation and the occasional momentum gap, but what's actually happening under the metalwork of the GS450h is quite amazing.

The CVT gearbox creates the impression that there's only one gear on the business end of the driveshaft, while the traditional rev-counter has been replaced by a kilowatt dial. This tops out at around 250kW (amidst fierce forward thrust and a restrained V6 scream), and has blue markings below zero to let you know that you are generating power for the battery when you decelerate or brake.

With "Power Hybrid", "250kW" and "5.9 seconds to 100km/h" delicately arranged on its glossy brochure, the GS450h had high expectations to meet. Which it didn't. You see, I was expecting a brutal and exciting rush of adrenaline, but the Lexus GS450h has no such words in its vocabulary. Plant your right foot in the carpet and it calmly pushes you into the seat as it leaves most hot hatches for dead; while you're struggling to hear any engine noise over the incredibly crisp music perfectly filling a well-insulated haven of luxury. Does it really do five-point-nine to one-hundred? I have no idea, and couldn't have been bothered while cruising in utter comfort and fuel economy.

For days I struggled to get my petrol-head brain around this car, and the solution had been staring me in the face since the first paragraph of this report. It's a Performance Hybrid. The hybrid-y part of it will rival a TDi when it comes to economy, and the Performance part will gladly embarrass a GTi all day long. So it's like a Lexus TDi GTi, but it comes wrapped in a retreat of luxury and refinement with all the toys you could ever wish for.

Speaking, uh, typing of refinement, the GS450h's suspension is just as worthy of such praise. The mid-size Lexus looks and feels like a heavy car but drives like a small executive sedan, its light and precise controls belying the car's stately proportions. These can be irritating while trying to park, but even there the Lexus will make amends for its generous curves by offering its driver parking sensors and a reversing camera with magically moving park lines.

The handling seems set up towards comfort with its forgiving ride, but a little "Sport" switch will quickly remedy any lack of sportiness by firming everything up to harder (but still acceptable) levels. Frantic cornering sees the GS sail around the bends with negligible body roll and TONS of grip from the big tyres which, even in the suspension's standard mode, did not squeal or want to let go. And besides; who ever heard of a Lexus squealing its tyres, and a Hybrid on top of it? Honestly.

A rather uneventful trip worth mentioning was my departure from upper Somerset West down the R44, past the Lord Charles, on to the N2, and a few kilometers to Lexus Helderberg in the proximity of Strand's Main road. Having coasted down the entire hill, the battery was sufficiently charged to waft the Hybrid Lexus along with electric power at 60km/h. The petrol motor was briefly engaged to gently accelerate on to the N2, and then the electric mill took over again until I parked close to the shiny glass entrance of Lexus Helderberg. I had only used the petrol motor for a few seconds, but otherwise covered the 7 or 8 km entirely without fuel, and no emissions!

Toyota and Lexus deserve immense praise for their innovative and successful hybrid systems which were developed (and perfected) long before other manufacturers woke up to a nasty surprise. I'd hate to see the noisy and smelly internal combustion engine disappear, and a simply brilliant product like the Lexus GS450h proves that a (quietly) snarling V6 can be combined with environmentally-friendly technology.

As this new equipment is advancing at an exponential rate, I would be happy to review hybrid cars in 10 years that have super-efficient electric motors for city commuting and cleaner petrol engines for when you're in a hurry. And I'd bet my bottom dollar that the first (and best) ones will have a Lexus or Toyota badge stuck to their radiator grill.

Lexus GS450h daftly provided by Lexus Helderberg [021 841 8500]

For:

• Sublimely sophisticated and comfortable
• Power, and fuel consumption
• Standard equipment
• Customer service
  

Against:

• Price