Lexus LSh: 1st Generation

When the Lexus LS 600hL was released, the automotive press was quick to point out its "flaws", especially when it came to gas mileage. Being a hybrid, the flagship sedan was expected to have exceptional fuel economy, and at first glance, that didn't seem to be the case at all.

It's taken a few months for some journalists to look at the LS 600hL in a different light. We saw it first with the great review by Jonny Lieberman, and now Automobile Magazine has weighed in with a very positive take:

Unlike most hybrids, the LS isn't about outright fuel economy - this car's mission is quite clearly to give the V-8 the relaxed demeanor of a V-12 by eliminating the need to rev it quickly in normal driving. It does that...Twenty-seven mpg on the highway is nothing to be ashamed of - in fact, it's quite impressive - but the almost-as-quick LS460L is also much less expensive.

If you keep reminding yourself that Lexus doesn't want the LS to be a Japanese 7-series, you'll agree that it does a fantastic job at making its driver think he's driving on a cloud - with a million horsepower under his right foot. And there's no better reminder of that than feeling big surges of smooth, quiet torque while the tach needle rises lazily to 1300 rpm. Very V-12-like indeed.

Most mainstream reviews ignored the fact that the LSh was meant to go up against V-12 competition, no matter how well it actually performed. Quick fact: the LS 600hL, with its 5.2 second 0-60mph, is actually faster than the V12 Audi A8 (5.8) & BMW 750iL (5.4). What's more, it's only 0.1 seconds slower than a twin-turbo Mercedes S600. Very V-12-like indeed.

I may have found it a week late, but the time allowed this Lexus LS 600hL review by Jonny Lieberman to fill up with some of the best comments I've read regarding the hybrid limo's appeal. Here's a quote from the article itself:

I disagree with every review of the Lexus LS600hL ever written. Categorically. To a man, my colleagues misinterpret the most expensive Lexus as a misguided planet-saver that doesn't deliver enough mpg to justify its sky-high price tag. I view the ultimate hybrid as better driving through science. In fact, despite the dorky "hybrid" badges uglifying the LS600hL's flanks, Lexus didn't build this beast to sip fuel. They built it to go toe-to-toe with 12-cylinder Germans.

The LS600hL is no design statement, like the 760Li. It doesn't announce, "I have a huge wallet" like a Mercedes S600. The LS design is much more Audi A8 W12, only without the goatee. The restrained yet handsome lines strike the same chord as VW's Phaeton. Only this time they're brand correct.

This marks the second time Lieberman has reviewed the LS 600hL (the first time was for Jalopnik), and this second go-round is just as enjoyable as the first. In fact, it speaks volumes that the writer would think to revisit the car, convinced as he is that the flagship sedan is getting an unfair reputation.

This was a review I agreed with 100%, and it seemed to echo with the TTAC readership, as the article piled up pages of comments with almost no negativity.

Great read.

James Martin, an automobile reviewer for the Daily Mail, has an aversion to car technology, and was pretty sure he was going to despise the Lexus LS 600hL, but then something strange happened:

I'm not even into technology on cars. Four wheels and an engine is complex enough – after all these years, it still fascinates me how cars with all the same components can be so different to drive.

By contrast, when I get into a new car and have to get to grips with its "iDrive" or "Command" or "MMI" menu system, I'm not fascinated. I'm annoyed.

So guess what I've got on my driveway this week? Yep, it's the most hi-tech car in the world. But the only annoying thing about the Lexus LS600hL is that I love it.

The review touches on what I would consider one of Lexus' strongest points, no matter how complex the technology, they're incredibly adept at making it easy to use, especially when compared to the competition. (Though I'm sure the opportunity to lounge in the backseat with a bottle of champagne and the telly didn't hurt the review either.)

[Source: The Daily Mail]

Perhaps as a way to counterbalance his incredibly glowing editorial of the Lexus LS 460 last year, Arthur St. Antoine took some time in this month's Motor Trend to badmouth the LS 600hL:

For many buyers, a hybrid car is nothing more than the four-wheeled equivalent of a yellow LiveStrong wristband-a conspicuous, self-satisfying, effort-free membership card into the "I Care" club.

...how can you justify paying almost 50 percent more-some $33,000-for the hybrid LS when it nets you only a 15-percent gain in output (438 gas/electric horsepower for the 600hL versus 380 horses for the 460L) and almost no improvement in fuel efficiency (20/22 city/highway mpg for the hybrid versus 16/24 mpg for the 460L)?

You can't. In a revealing lux-sedan comparison last December, the LS 600hL finished fourth out of four, the test drivers (I was one) docking points for its compromised trunk (much of the space is eaten up by hybrid bits), a hugely complex powerplant that overheated when we charged up our mountain loop, and real-world fuel economy barely 15-percent better than the average posted by the rivals from Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Maserati-each of which happily romped all day.

The limitations of the LS 600hL are well-documented, but using that fairly uneven super-sedan comparison as the basis of proof is rather suspect. Also, and I find it surprising that it wasn't mentioned, the LS 600hL has several unique features (particularly the all-wheel drive) that cut into the $33,000 price difference versus the LS 460. This isn't just a case of pointless hybrid markup, no matter how often it's repeated.

***

As a sidenote, the buying public sure isn't phased by the negativity -- Lexus was only expecting to sell 2,000 LS 600hL's in 2008, and the car is currently moving 1,000 units a month.

The minute I saw that Jalopnik Jonny Lieberman had gotten his mitts on an LS 600hL for a week, I knew we were in for a treat, and I was not disappointed in the least:

Why am I laughing like such an idiot? Seriously, my cheeks hurt from grinning. Well, the reason why is that I've died and gone to Heaven, if only for five minutes or so. I've had pure automotive moments before. A Porsche Boxster on Decker Canyon. A Miata at 6:00 am Sunday morning on Angeles Crest. A Mustang in the desert. A Se7en on the Dragon. This [The Lexus LS 600hL], screaming along with one of my favorite bands with both feet off the pedals suspended in perfect leather-soaked isolation, ranks right up there. What? Why? Because I was doing exactly exactly what the car has been designed to do. Man in harmony with machine, all 5,219 porky, absurd pounds of it.

Highly enjoyable, it's nice to read a review that captures just how impressive this car is, the feeling it brings. It's even possible there won't be any complaints about the trunk space:

Already looking forward to part two.

Driving.ca took a unique turn with their review of the Lexus LS 600hL, putting Jimmy Pattison, the fourth richest man in Canada, behind the wheel:

Once the colourful self-made billionaire figured out how to operate the keyless ignition and push-button emergency brake on the 2008 Lexus LS600h L -- and put his seat belt on "old school" style, with the shoulder belt behind him -- he instinctively piloted the massive executive sedan for a highway off-ramp and a place to wind out the new Lexus flagship.

Within just seconds of turning onto the highway, Pattison had the hybrid luxury car sniffing 160 km/h on an empty section of the TransCanada Highway. With his well-manicured hands firmly gripping the wood and leather-trimmed wheel, he effortlessly and confidently settled into taking the Lexus through its paces.

"Boy, this is some car," the natural-born salesman commented a number of times during the highway run, typically when he'd mat it.

"For the size of this car, it really goes."

He was even more impressed by the groundbreaking LS600h when reminded it is a hybrid.

"Boy, that's something."

The idea of actually incorporating a potential customer into the review is a novel one, too bad there's a catch -- Pattison earns part of his billions by owning car dealerships, including a Lexus branch in Vancouver, BC.