Lexus GS450h hybrid 2006 review

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

The new hybrid hero has all the lean-and-green goodness of a petrol-electric drivetrain, but is sauced with sport.

Boiling it right down, Lexus Australia says the GSh performs like a V8 with the fuel economy of a 2.5-litre four. But wait, there's more.

It is also cheaper than the regular GS V8, coming in at $121,990 as against the $137,200 of the 430, which remains the range-topper in the mid-size Lexus line-up.

And it will also be followed by the four-wheel-drive Lexus RX400h late this year and the flagship Lexus LS600h early next year.

It is a big move by Lexus, which believes that hybrid success will give its owners a significant extra reason to choose the new-age Japanese brand over a traditional German or British sports sedan.

It has always tried to plough new ground, starting with a commitment to quality and benchmark customer service, and believes hybrid cars are the new way forward for Lexus.

"We wanted to send a message," Lexus head representative in Australia Scott Grant says.

He is also confident the broccoli blaster will do well with a new group of ultra-consumers, the cashed-up Super-NEOs (for New Economic Order) who are looking for something new, different and special.

"These are the people who will become our disciples," Grant says.

They will have plenty to preach, because the more-for-less Lexus comes with everything from 10 airbags and radar cruise control, customised Mark Levinson sound, a DVD player and 18-inch alloy wheels to vehicle swerve control and anti-skid brakes.

But it is the power pack that promises most, including a potential 250km/h top speed and an accessible 0-100km/h sprint in under six seconds from the world's first rear-drive hybrid. It is built around a 3.5-litre V6 engine with 218kW coupled to an electric motor with 147kW and a thumping 275Nm of torque.

Among the car's tricks are the ability to run silently on its nickel-metal-hydride battery power at low speeds before the V6 kicks in for real go, and a powermeter in place of the tachometer fitted to most cars.

Yet the weight increase with the batteries and wiring and all the rest has been held to only 75kg over a non-hybrid GS, and the weight distribution is still close to the ideal 50:50 balance.

On The Road

Lexus went all out to prove the GSh, even hosting the Australian press preview at Bathurst. It wanted to show that the car was a true performance hybrid, setting up a straight-line sprint where the GS could hit 180km/h and a twisting hill-climb course to that it could also handle uphill curves.

But two things were more impressive than the official stuff: the silent getaway and the car's tremendous open-road overtaking ability.

The electric start is eerie. There is no indication the "engine" is running until the V6 kicks in, and the punch from a car with 22 per cent more power than the V8 GS makes overtaking a breeze.

We wonder if Lexus is under-selling the hybrid drive, because the GS has only a couple of tiny badges. Surely super-NEOs will want everyone to know about their supercar.

And we still hate the intrusive stability control systems in the GS — which Lexus promises will become driver-switchable before the end of the year — and find the car lacks personality and is a bit wobbly in the front suspension. Still, those are GS things and not down to the hybrid drive.

True, the GS hybrid delivers guilt-free performance, but the car won't be an easy sell. It does not have the instant impact of the Toyota Prius. Then again, Lexus Australia is aiming for only 120 sales a year — and winning people over to the GSh will be a lot easier than trying to get kids to eat broccoli.