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2013 Lexus GS 450h [w/video]

Jeff Sabatini — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Lexus, First Drives, Luxury

Lexus' Best Compromise Yet

Ever since the Prius unexpectedly became the Xerox of hybrids and a greenie icon, Toyota has been trying to figure out how to apply the technology to its other models. Its results have been decidedly mixed, nowhere more so than with its luxury lineup. But with the 2013 Lexus GS 450h, Toyota thinks it has finally figured out what a hybrid luxury car should be.

From a sales perspective, the first-generation GS 450h was a disappointment. While we liked it quite a bit when we test-drove it a couple years ago, Lexus just hasn't been able to move the metal. Introduced to much fanfare in 2006 as a 2007 model, the GS was Lexus' second hybrid and the first rear-wheel-drive hybrid on the market. Lexus touted it as a performance sedan, even as Toyota was heavily marketing its hybrids as fuel sippers. Whether consumers were confused or not, they never took to the hybrid GS. Sales peaked at just below 1,800 in that first year and have gone down in each successive year. In 2010, Lexus sold barely 300 GS hybrids, roughly four percent of total GS sales, which were about 7,000.

The cognitive dissonance presented by Lexus hybrids has been an issue since the brand launched its first, the 2006 RX 400h SUV. Only marginally more powerful than the standard RX, its improvement in fuel economy was similarly slight at launch. The LS 600hL - the brand's halo car before the LFA sports car came along - is a six-figure, 20-mile-per-gallon hybrid marketed as having V12 performance with V8 fuel economy, the rough equivalent of ordering a Diet Coke with your Super Size Big Mac Extra Value Meal. The "Lexus Prius" HS 250h, with neither particularly good fuel economy (35 mpg combined) nor any sporting aspirations, has been a critical and sales disaster and is rumored to be on the chopping block. While Toyota's simple, "better mileage" definition of its hybrids is clear, Lexus has combined green machine and muscle car in varying doses, such that you never quite know what you'll be getting with a gas-electric Lexus.

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Smaller hybrid drivetrain coming to Lexus GS

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:44:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Europe, Lexus, UK, Luxury

The flavors of Lexus GS on offer in Europe will differ slightly from those here: we will both get the GS 450h, but we'll only step down to the GS 350 for an entry-level model, while the Europeans will make do with a GS 250 housing a 2.5-liter V6. That smaller-capacity sedan is meant to challenge the BMW 520i and Mercedes E250, but Lexus is reportedly planning an even more frugal drivetrain for the UK to challenge even more popular competitors: diesel executive sedans.

The BMW 520d SE automatic gets 60.1 imperial miles per gallon combined, and the Audi A6 2.0T Multitronic gets 56.5 imperial mpg. According to Autocar, the estimated fuel economy for the 2.5-liter V6 in the 2012 GS 250 is just 35 imperial mpg. Giving up 20 mpg, even of those smaller English gallons, is a huge disadvantage.

But Lexus doesn't do diesels, so it's developing what is thought to be a four-cylinder lump hooked up to an electric motor, putting out 180 horsepower combined. That would put it right in between the BMW and Audi outputs, but fellow UK publication Auto Express suggests a 50 mpg rating, perhaps due to an almost-certain weight penalty. The exact details on the hybrid setup should come "imminently."

Smaller hybrid drivetrain coming to Lexus GS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2013 Lexus GS 450h does the electric slide

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Hybrid, Sedan, Lexus, Luxury

What might the 2013 Lexus GS 450h add to the additional performance goodness delivered in the 2012 Lexus GS 350? More power and more fuel efficiency, for starters. The second-gen hybrid system boots out 338 total horsepower for a 5.6-second sprint to 60 mph. That's 32 hp more than the GS 350 and a 0.1-second improvement on the stoplight run.

Fuel economy gets an "expected" 30 percent improvement - the quotes meaning the sedan's fuel use hasn't been officially certified, but anything in that ballpark will be a tremendous gain. If it's a GS 350 with instant torque, that would be enough for us, but we'll look forward to driving it soon and finding out ourselves. A press release lays out the particulars and our gallery of high-res photos shows them off.

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