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2008 Lexus LS 600h L Road and Track Test

When the first hybrid electric vehicle rolled onto American shores I was there, and that right-hand drive Prius was a very different automobile than the car I first drove during a launch program earlier this year.

Toyota's top-secret test track and Lexus' flagship hybrid make a good combination. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

I was impressed, as I am now that I've had more time to spend with it, but for very different reasons. Still, despite the new 600h L's awe inspiring performance, resplendent luxury and stylish good looks it still exists under the same pretense: maximizing driver and passenger enjoyment while optimizing fuel economy and emissions.

Rather than going after the lower end of the market, mind you, the new 600h L's target buyers purchase some of the most expensive four-door sedans anywhere, including Audi's 12-cylinder A8 L W12, BMW's flagship 760Li and Mercedes-Benz's S600. The least expensive amongst these super-sedans starts at $120,100, so I suppose a base price of $104,000 for the LS 600h L appears pretty reasonable.

Well, it is when you factor in that this isn't merely a 12-cylinder variant of yesterday's technology, but more so an extremely sophisticated hybrid electric V8-powered luxury liner, the first of its kind ever developed. Lexus has stuffed a Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain into the big LS that puts out the equivalent of 438 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels, which, in the case of horsepower at least, is exactly on par with the BMW's 760Li. “On par” are Lexus' words, when it states in a release that the LS 600h L's “all-new 5.0-liter V8 engine coupled with large, high-output electric motors and a newly designed high capacity battery pack” delivers performance “on par with a V12”. Hmmm ... let's investigate this claim.

First, to set the scene, Lexus had arranged a rare opportunity to put its flagship model through its paces at its top-secret Las Vegas testing facility ... no cameras allowed. OK, I can live without photos in order to let this big sedan

And entirely different take on ultimate performance, Lexus offers a modern world a much greener alternative. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

loose on a big oval track ... more on that in a minute. Strewn out around the area allotted to us were various stations for testing the car's performance and safety features, with one section turned into a drag strip for acceleration purposes. Needless to say, the LS 600h L is extremely fast for a large luxury sedan ... heck, it's fast for a sports car at 5.4 seconds to 60 mph. It even felt a little quicker, and being that Lexus is almost always conservative in its performance claims, I'd say that it was. So, how does it measure up with its V12 competitors? Well, if we just use their conservative numbers, the hybrid LS matches BMW's flagship V12-powered 7 series in a sprint to 60 mph, but falls slightly shy of Audi's A8 W12 by 0.4 seconds and, hold onto your backsides, is almost a full second off the big M-B S600's pace. And while this will be ammunition in the hands of its rivals, anyone with any conscience for the environment will have no problem giving up a little straight-line

This tailpipe is by far the cleanest in its segment. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

performance for the cleanest vehicle in this pack, by a long shot. After all, 5.4 seconds to 60 mph is still amazingly quick, and even putting environmental concerns aside for a minute, the Lexus delivers in many other ways that can't simply be measured with a stopwatch.

Detail for detail, there is no more sophisticated car on the planet than the new 600h. If you like gadgets, state-of-the-art technology and perfection in the minutest of details, this is your ride. Two hues of leather cover almost every surface, part of the Executive-Class Seating Package II, stitched together with amazing accuracy and butting up against exquisitely finished pieces of lacquered burl walnut and shiny metal with flawless precision. Even the roofliner

The LS 600h L's level of luxury can make you forget its environmental benefits. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

of Exec-Class Seating Package II cars features a suede-like Escaine material that feels more Bentley than anything else. Only the center stack interface and power window panels with their associated buttons, knobs and dials are plastic, and an extremely high quality substance in a matte gray finish at that. All those controls fit together as tightly as possible with nice damping and the appropriate weight to each in order to allow for a quality feel. And there are a lot of buttons.

Truly, I've never seen more buttons in a car, especially in back with the optional reclining executive seat and ottoman (yes, an ottoman just like with Maybach's $386,500 62). I took the back seat of my Executive-Class Seating Package II equipped tester (a $12,570 option raising the MSRP to $116,570)

No shortage of buttons for rear-seat passengers. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

as Kevin, my driver, junior editor, and everything else assistant willingly took the wheel, and have to admit that this car is much better from the rear. Don't get me wrong, it's a capable performance sedan and plenty of fun on a winding back road or a high-speed oval when the suspension setting is turned to “Sport” and the performance button is switched to “Power”, as I'll get to in a minute, but after having your driver reset those buttons to “Comfort” and “Hybrid” respectively while blocking the sunlight and prying eyes via the powered side- and rear-window shades, and then kicking back in the premium leather seat with the feet up on the power retractable ottoman with a movie playing via the integrated DVD player on the nine-inch LCD overhead monitor controlled by my own rather large but feature-packed remote control, or, let me switch that to Radiohead's In Rainbows

Remote controls for audio/visual system or massage. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

freshly downloaded and playing through the 450-watt Mark Levinson audio system, my individual climate control zone (there are four) set to the exact temperature for optimal comfort, the system kept honest via an infrared body temperature sensor for each zone, the rear seat heater heating or air conditioner pumping through the perforated leather, the massage set to intense “Shiatsu” after ten minutes of enjoying its “Stretch” mode, and “Vibrate” set to medium to melt away stress, burl walnut table pulled out from its hideaway with a drink perched beside my laptop plugged into the 12-volt power supply in the armrest, and, well, you get the picture. There's no better way to travel through town, period. Well, I suppose the Maybach had more legroom, but the Lexus let's me indulge in hedonistic fashion while keeping my conscience clean.

Of course, as misfortune would have it I spent most of my week behind the steering wheel and not reclined in back enjoying the magic fingers (or that would be magic toes with shiatsu, right?). Still, as a driver's car the electrified LS doesn't disappoint, although let's be clear that the German's offer up cars with greater high-speed cornering stability. Just the same, Lexus took the opportunity to set up a number of courses within the confines of its high-speed oval to try and change our perceptions, and for the most part I walked away from a slalom course, brake testing area, accident avoidance test, self-parking regimen, acceleration test and, hardly forgettable, the oval itself, impressed. Truth be told, the 600h L is unflappable at high speed, and believe me I reached extremely high speeds on the top lane of the oval before and after coaxing it along nicely on a pristine stretch of highway from Las Vegas to the proving grounds. But there weren't any real-world corners to take it down, and therefore no opportunity other than the somewhat sterile slalom course provided.

Fortunately,

The driver's seat isn't a bad place to pass time either... actually the LSh is quite engaging. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

shortly thereafter when I had the 600h L closer to home I had opportunity to enjoy the car on all my favorite haunts, including my local three-lane mountain romp and then the ultra-tight two- and sometimes one-lane “road course” out to a remote seaside village a few miles from my home. Again, it was impossible to forget this car's sheer mass when trying to get it to react quickly to assertive steering input, but it still performed with an unexpected grace when forced into situations most would never consider attempting, unless an emergency maneuver proved necessary. This has much to do with its adaptive variable pneumatic suspension that keeps the car as horizontal to the road surface as possible. The big Lexus is also stuffed full of so many electronic safety features that it simply takes over when pushed too far, a good thing to most drivers. The Japanese company calls its overseer Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM), and like the name implies it electronically manages all of the various safety regulators, such as traction control, anti-skid stability control, ABS, EBD, BA, etc, to work in concert in order to bring the car under control. It works marvelously, although some driving enthusiasts will complain it overcompensates and therefore takes the fun out of the driving experience ... i.e. VDIM won't allow the car to oversteer. This is true, although I can't see too many wealthy business people coaxing their chauffeurs into power sliding the big LS around cloverleaf highway entrances on their way to the office.

One of only a few individual options available for the LS hybrid is the $2,850 Lexus Pre-Collision System (PCS) and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control package that features a milli-wave radar cruise control system for keeping the car within a safe, preset distance from the car ahead, a pre-collision readiness system that prepares the car upon detecting impending impact, a seat cushion airbag for the ottoman seat, a driver monitoring system to keep James or Jami awake, plus an obstacle detection system

This is a big, heavy car, but performance and fuel economy is excellent. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

that will actually stop the car if it “sees” something or someone on the road ahead. This last one was a bit freaky when tested with cardboard cutouts of pedestrians, and yes it works quite well.

Any negatives? Other than those who guffawed at a supposed green vehicle as hedonistic as the LSh, the two concepts not mixing well with some greener types I showed it to, I can only point to its XXXL poundage as anything to harp about. The already hefty LS 460 L weighs in at a fairly robust 4,332 pounds, not unusual for this class but hardly a lightweight either, where the LS 600h L tips the scales at 5,049 pounds, a substantial 717 pounds more than the conventionally-powered car. And that's not even with the Executive-Class Seating Package II added, which pumps it up by an additional 236 pounds for a

As resplendent as a luxury liner? Couldn't help getting a few shots of the LSh next to a passing cruise ship. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

total of 5,285 pounds. How does this compare with the curb weights of its main rivals? Well, in base trim at least all of the Germans are lighter, but not by much. And none of them offer the LSh's combination of V12 performance and V6 fuel economy. That's right, compared to the regular LS 460, already one of the thriftiest in the premium pack, fuel economy increases from 16 mpg to 20 in the city but decreases from 24 mpg to 22 on the highway. When compared to its direct competition it looks even better, with the stingiest fuel miser of the 12-cylinder bunch being BMW's 760Li with a rather thirsty 15 mpg in the city and a respectable 25 on the highway, followed closely by Audi's A8 L W12 at 15 in the city and 22 on the highway, and stopping at every gas station on the turnpike (the sign of true luxury), the embarrassingly gluttonous Mercedes-Benz S600 gobbling down 12 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway ... ouch! Hold on here ... the M-B

Look for the blue accents on the logo, hybrid badges down the side or lower case "h" at the rear to know you're in the presence of something truly special. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

uses nearly twice the fuel as the Lexus in city traffic, where most of us drive. I don't care if money is no object! Mercedes' S600 is as anti-environmental as any car I've ever heard of. Certainly you can't silently slip past passersby in full EV mode with the Merc, possible if pressing the EV button in the Lexus. It will maintain electrical power to speeds up to 25 mph if the battery packs are near fully charged ... good for about 1.2 miles at a time. Certainly, driving like this would save you even more fuel ... if you had the patience for it.

OK, the hybrid is not without a downside either, the most apparent being trunk space that is mediocre at best. The regular LS trunk's 18.0 cubic feet capacity is spacious in comparison to the scant 11.7 cubic feet in the LSh, thanks to the battery pack. That's life Lexus ... you can't win them all.

So, for that executive who wants a clear conscience towards the environment but also enjoys being pampered while he or she is being hustled to the office, arriving to work fully rested and ready to take on the day while James or Jami, the driver, keeps the car on call in the car park, the LS 600h L is ideal. Awe heck, forget the pretense. After all, it's so much fun to drive and so confidence inspiring at speed that you'll want the hired help to sit in back while you take the long way home at the end of the day, speaking of unwinding. Truly, this is a superb flagship for Lexus, a car that they can be proud of creating and one that deserves high praise and the interest of greener minded CEOs everywhere.

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