Test Drive: 2010 Lexus LS 600h L

2010 Lexus LS 600h L. Click image to enlarge

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Review and photos by Paul Williams

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2010 Lexus LS

In the world of luxury vehicles, the Lexus LS600h L is a trendsetter. Yes, it’s powered by a V8 engine, but it’s also a hybrid. As you might expect, this car is the technology and quality showcase for the entire Lexus brand, and at a starting price of $119,950, rising to $144,000 for my Premium Executive test car, it will find a home in only the most exclusive driveways.

First of all, some key standard features. The 5.0-litre V8 engine/hybrid powertrain makes 438 net horsepower at 6,400 rpm, and 385 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. This is an all-wheel drive vehicle, with a CVT transmission, an adaptive front and rear air suspension system and the full range of electronic stability and traction controls. It rides on P245/45R19 all-season tires (my test car was fitted with Blizzak winter tires), weighs 2,290 kilograms (5,049 pounds), has a 3,090 millimetre (121.7-inch) wheelbase and an exceedingly low coefficient of drag of 0.27.

2010 Lexus LS 600h L. Click image to enlarge

Standard equipment highlights include heated wood steering wheel, power tilt and telescoping steering, 450-watt Mark Levinson Reference Surround audio system with 19 speakers, USB audio input, Bluetooth capability, premium leather heated and cooled front seats, 16-way power driver’s seat, 12-way power passenger seat, heated rear seats, power rear window and rear door sunshades, hard-drive-based navigation system with voice recognition, leather-covered instrument panel and doors, LED headlamps and taillamps, auto-levelling headlamp system, push-button start, clearance and backup sensor, power assist doors and several cup holders.

In addition to the above highlights, you can assume this car features just about every other technological and convenience item imaginable (dual-zone climate control, fog lamps, rain sensing wipers, etc.).

But I did say “just about,” and that’s where the Premium Executive Package comes in – the “icing on the cake,” so to speak.

For an extra $24,050, the Premium Executive Package adds a rear-seat DVD player/entertainment system with remote control, two sets of wireless headphones, four-zone independent automatic climate control, infrared body temperature sensor, intelligent cruise control system, pre-collision system, lane keeping assist system, driver monitoring system, obstacle detection system, heated and air conditioned power rear seats, right rear seat retractable ottoman, rear seat Shiatsu massage, and 18-inch aluminum wheels.

So, is the LS 600h L a driver’s car or a passenger’s car? That may depend on where you sit (or lie…).

2010 Lexus LS 600h L. Click image to enlarge

From the driver’s point of view, the LS 600h L offers a sublime ride and driving experience with none of the idiosyncrasies that may be encountered in budget hybrid vehicles (grabby brakes, droning CVT transmission, sedate performance). On the road it is exceedingly quiet (silent, in some cases) and smooth, and the only time you can actually hear the powertrain is under hard acceleration, when the engine emits a lusty but civilized V8 exhaust note. Otherwise, the mechanical operation of the LS600h L is virtually undetectable.

While we’re on the subject of acceleration, this car seems to move from one speed to another without any physical sensation imparted to the occupants. Yes, you can see the speedometer needle moving rapidly from left to right, but you can barely feel the g-forces inside the car. I’m not saying this is bad… just odd.

There are so many controls at the driver’s command that a few weeks behind the wheel would be required to prioritize and set them to suit one’s preferences. There are the ride/suspension controls, the power settings, the proximity sensors, the display options, the cruise settings, lane departure activation, the audio options… countless buttons and switches for numerous functions, many tucked away due to the lack of additional instrument panel real estate. It’s a smorgasbord of electrical and mechanical controls, although they are not always readily visible. Connecting one’s cell phone via Bluetooth, by the way, took only a couple of seconds, even without reading the manual.

Eventually you kind of set everything in the middle, and just drive. Premium fuel is required, and the big car returns a genuine 9.0 L/100km on the highway and 11.0 in the city (very close to the official 9.1/10.6 Energuide estimates). The intelligent cruise control works very well, obviating the need to use the accelerator or brake for long distances on the highway.

2010 Lexus LS 600h L. Click image to enlarge

The automatic climate control system in the LS600h L is one of the best I’ve ever experienced. There’s no noise as it brings the interior to comfortable levels, and the infrared body temperature feature continuously measures your temperature and adjusts the climate controls accordingly. This is a true “set and forget” system.

The LS600h L does feature the Lexus automatic parking system, but like the folks at Top Gear, I failed the course. The system does work — I’ve used it in a Lexus demonstration where I had no trouble at all — but on the fly without preparation, I resorted to parking the car conventionally.

From the passenger’s perspective, the back seat of the LS600h L is an area in which you could get up to all kinds of hijinks. Reclining and massaging seats, rear privacy screens, vast legroom, audiophile entertainment system: it’s party central back there. Or it could be, I guess, unless you’re a genuine executive doing business-like things, in which case it’s a genuine executive suite.

But should you want to make a quiet getaway from… whatever, you can switch the car to Electric Vehicle (EV) mode, and silently exit the scene, avoiding unwanted attention as you do so.

The interior fit and finish, by the way, is beautifully rendered and of the expected fine quality throughout. The exterior styling ably communicates that this is an exclusive vehicle, with some drivers choosing to give the Lexus the right-of-way at intersections, presumably because they thought its driver was important and deserved such deference. From the rear it does look somewhat like a BMW, but the Lexus L-Finesse design has been criticized for that before. It’s a formidable look, perhaps lacking in passion, but definitely grand.

Probably the most obvious criticism of the LS600h L is its diminutive trunk. The whopping wheelbase provides vast space for rear-seat occupants, but the hybrid battery has to go somewhere, and that seems to be behind the rear seat, intruding into the trunk.

Another criticism is that the rear DVD entertainment centre is not high-definition Blu-ray. I’m thinking that when you buy an advanced car like this, you should get the latest. If mini-laptop computers can do it, so can Lexus.

Other luxury brands are now introducing hybrid versions of their flagship vehicles (Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series), but Toyota/Lexus is the pioneer with this technology. In the LS 600h L, however, that technology is so seamlessly integrated into the vehicle’s drivetrain that some occupants wouldn’t know it was a hybrid unless they were told.