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The world’s first rear-wheel drive full hybrid power saloon

The world’s first rear-wheel drive full hybrid power saloon

- Lexus Hybrid System combines 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine and high-output electric motor
- Performance matches conventional V8 petrol competitors, but with significantly lower fuel consumption (35.8mpg combined cycle) and CO2 emissions (186g/km)
- Low emissions secure class-leading benefit-in-kind rating for company car tax
- Hybrid system maximum output 341bhp (345 DIN hp)
- Nought to 62mph acceleration in 5.9 seconds, maximum speed 155mph
- E-CVT automatic transmission with sequential brake mode
Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) co-ordinates braking, stability and traction control systems with Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) and Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) to maintain vehicle stability up to the performance limit
- On sale in the UK now, on-the-road prices from £38,015 (GS 450h)

The new Lexus GS 450h introduces hybrid power to the premium executive saloon market, a car that delivers exceptional performance to rival its conventional V8 competition, together with fuel economy and low emissions levels that yield equally powerful cost of ownership benefits.

Using the latest development of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system, the GS 450h follows the RX 400h luxury SUV in giving drivers a technically advanced but thoroughly practical and rational alternative to the high power petrol and diesel models that dominate the premium segment.

LEXUS HYBRID DRIVE

The GS 450h has a completely new, front engine, rear-wheel drive, series/parallel hybrid powertrain. It uses a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with a new D-4S (Direct-injection 4-stroke Superior-version) twin injector system with Dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing – intelligent), developing 292bhp (296 DIN hp) and 368Nm of torque, mated to a compact, high-output, permanent magnet electric motor that generates 197bhp (200 DIN hp) and 275Nm of torque right from standstill.

With a combined power output of 341bhp (345 DIN hp), the GS 450h is not only the world’s most powerful production hybrid car, but also the first to achieve the 100 DIN hp per litre benchmark.

Another world-first is the GS 450h’s Electronically-controlled Continuously Variable Transmission – E-CVT – with sequential shift mode. Each of the six sequential ‘steps’ gives sharper engine braking force, in the manner of a conventional automatic gearbox in sequential mode.

The GS 450h can accelerate from nought to 62mph in 5.9 seconds and from 50 to 75mph in 4.9 seconds, maintaining linear acceleration all the way on to a top speed of 155mph, with none of the typical ‘jumps’ between gears experienced in a conventional drivetrain.

At the same time, the GS 450h returns 35.8mpg in combined cycle driving, fuel consumption that is on a par with C-segment petrol cars. Carbon dioxide emissions are 186g/km, which matches the performance of four-cylinder economy diesels in the premium segment, and combined emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC) are lower than for any other vehicle powered by a combustion engine at 0.01g/km.

DRIVING DYNAMICS

The new GS 450h has ideal 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution and also a better moment of inertia compared to the GS 430 model, as the 3.5-litre V6 is 17 per cent lighter than the 4.3-litre V8. These aspects contribute to the car’s more dynamic, agile handling.

The Electric Power Steering (EPS) incorporates Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), which alters the steering gear ratio according to vehicle speed. This gives minimal steering effort at low speeds, with improved feel and feedback as speed increases. The VGRS system is linked to the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) and Lexus’s Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system, helping maintain stability and increasing driver enjoyment up the limit of the car’s performance capabilities.

The front double wish