2014 Lexus IS gets TRD bits originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 May 2013 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lexus LFA owner gets town to remove speed bump originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• For starters, the LS hybrid mates a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 to a 165-kilowatt electric motor. The gasoline engine on its own is good for 389 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque, and with the electric motor factored in, Lexus states that the total system output is a robust 438 hp. (All of that, by the way, resides in what editor Zach Bowman refers to as the "world's saddest engine bay.")
• That makes for one quick sedan, even here with all-wheel drive and a hefty 5,159-pound curb weight. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes 5.5 seconds, and top speed is limited to 130 mph.
• Hybrid or no, as you'd expect with a package like this, fuel economy isn't exactly stellar. The EPA rates the LS 600h L at 19/23/20 miles per gallon (city/highway/combined). My average over the week was 19.2 mpg.
• For comparison, let me introduce you to the non-hybrid LS 460 L AWD, powered by a 4.6-liter V8 that makes 360 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque. Compared to the 600h, the 460 is slower to 60 mph by 0.4 seconds and its fuel economy numbers are 16/23/18 mpg. That's right: The highway economy number is the same as the hybrid, and the combined rating is only reduced by two mpg.
• Lexus does call the LS 600h L a performance hybrid, so rather than it being a more efficient version of the flagship sedan - sort of the way a Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is really just a more frugal S550 - this electrified LS is supposed to be the zenith of the line, offering the most power, quickest acceleration, and top-level refinement.
• Thing is, it's not all that good to drive. Even with the Drive Mode Select button toggled to Sport S+, the LS 600h L delivers driving dynamics that are far closer to that of a Hyundai Equus than an Audi A8 or BMW 7 Series. It's a giant rolling couch, with vague steering, plenty of body roll, and a suspension that, even in its firmest setting, doesn't offer a whole lot of sport. Comfy and plush, yes, but hardly engaging.
• The interior is really where the LS excels, yet lags. It has every comfort and convenience feature you can imagine, the materials are top notch, and it's, well, Lexus quiet. But from a user standpoint, there are issues. I know that Audi's MMI, BMW's iDrive and Mercedes-Benz's COMAND aren't always peachy systems to use, but they at least offer more user-friendly controllers than the horrible mouse-like Remote Touch controller in the LS. Several passengers commented on this during my week with the car, each one of them failing to understand the point. Perhaps Lexus could bring that 12.3-inch screen out a little more and just make it a proper touchscreen interface.
• But here's where it totally falls apart: as-tested, the LS 600h L I drove stickered for $135,029, including $895 for destination and handling. Remember that LS 460 L AWD I mentioned earlier? The one that's not much slower and, in most cases, just as efficient as the hybrid? Option it up to the exact same levels of equipment as this 600h and it's still $34,749 cheaper. That's right, nearly thirty-five thousand dollars less.
• Or hey, check out the BMW 750Li xDrive sedan. It has 445 horsepower, gets 24 mpg highway, and completely loaded, is $20,000 less than the LS 600h L. And if efficiency really is your thing, allow me to introduce you to the Audi A8L 3.0 TDI that claims up to 36 mpg highway. It starts at $82,500.
• What we have here is car that is, in a vacuum, fine. Everything that it does, it does well enough. But not for this price. And certainly not when there are so many more attractive options for buyers in the segment. Regardless of your preference for power, efficiency or just straight-up luxury, there are better ways to spend your cash than on this LS 600h L.

2013 Lexus LS 600h L originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #330

Autoblog Podcast #330 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Lexus small CUV may have been behind moving ES production to Kentucky originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport AWD

2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport AWD originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Lexus ES350 confirmed for Kentucky production starting in 2015

Lexus ES350 confirmed for Kentucky production starting in 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota offered $146.5 million to build Lexus ES in Kentucky originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ward's 10 Best Interiors released, Asian automakers take 7 of 10 spots

Ward's 10 Best Interiors released, Asian automakers take 7 of 10 spots originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 2013 Lexus GS450h [w/video]

2013 Lexus GS450h [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lexus to debut small hybrid CUV at 2014 Geneva Motor Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota may return to F1 under Lexus banner originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lexus LF-LC approved for production originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• It's been a long time since we've written up a review of the IS F, so let me remind everyone of a critical fact: this car lives just inside the borders of sanity. Forget for a moment that the 416 horsepower and 371 pound-feet of torque from the 5.0-liter V8 is actually starting to sound modest in today's turbo and biturbo days, and pay attention to the fact that the IS-F might be the easiest luxury car to get sideways that I've ever driven. Power delivery to the rear wheels via the quick-spinning V8 is incredibly rapid, so if you are inclined to introduce even smidge of steering lock into the equation, you're bound to go drifting, boy. Good thing hadn't just finished watching hours of racing at a Formula One track right after I picked the car up... oh, wait.
• In many ways, the newly sporting character of the more basic IS350 is a direct result of lessons learned building this IS F. The eight-speed automatic is a carryover from the F to the new IS, even though it's handling a lot less power in the new application. I actually don't think it works quite as well in manual mode in the IS F as it does in the new IS, primarily because it doesn't react quite quickly enough to smoothly handle all the power of the quick-revving engine. I found myself really needing to shift up a beat or so before I would have expected to in order to account for the lag in the transmission. Not a horrible thing after getting used to it, but it does make it harder to squeeze out those last rpms before having to shift up. Automatic mode is unobtrusive, however, and that's what I used for three-quarters of my driving in downtown Austin, for sure.
• When I got this IS F in Austin, I was immediately transported to the first drive I'd ever had of the car, and recapitulated my thoughts on what a bruiser it is. There's very little "Lexus-like" about how the IS F rides and handles. It's stiff and almost brittle over badly surfaced roads (of which Texas has far fewer of than Michigan, thank God), with practically zero lean in hard corners. It is also loud when accelerating hard, having a flat, metallic bark of an exhaust note that seems better-suited to a Nissan Z car than anything wearing the Lexus lazy L badge. It's almost as if the Lexus performance engineers got sort of pissed about getting teased in the Luxury Car Lunchroom and built a sort of psycho mini muscle car to get back their street cred. Yes, that means it's awesome.
• You can really see how far the Lexus interior design team has come between the launch of the IS F in 2007 and now. This older style car seems like a much less mature version of the 2014 IS, albeit with many of the same materials. The IS F has got loads of high-gloss carbon fiber, bright white leather and shiny black trim. None of that is bad, per se, in fact, John (who generally hates new cars as a rule) claimed to like the simplicity with which the controls were laid out, but it does feel immediately behind the times when compared with more recent Lexus interiors.
• On that front, Lexus doesn't have plans to discontinue the IS F in the face of the new IS. I was told that this car will stay on sale concurrently with the new model, presumably until Lexus decides to built a second generation of the F. Frankly, I couldn't even get them to confirm that a followup version of the F is set in stone at all.
• This is a completely tiny, annoying-car-writer bitch, but I can't help myself: How in the hell did the overlords at Toyota sign off on a front cupholder setup this bad? The IS just has that one easy-to-use front cupholder for the front two seats. The second one requires you to drive with the center armrest pad lifted up to use. Am I the only one that ever drives with a passenger and two beverages? Has the whole world gone crazy? As soon as I saw that the new IS had remedied this with two normal cupholders, I jumped up in the air just like those Toyota commercials from the 1980s, I swear.

2013 Lexus IS F originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport [UPDATE]

2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Satisfaction with dealer service rises, Lexus and GMC are tops

Satisfaction with dealer service rises, Lexus and GMC are tops originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Peel away the slush, and this car sure is sharp-looking. It strongly resembles the excellent new GS, no bad thing. With the move to the longer Toyota Avalon underpinnings, the ES300h is long and elegant. Lexus has really upped its styling game lately.
• The Hybrid Synergy Drive system for the ES300h is the same setup you'll find in the Camry Hybrid. That means a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine and electric motor that are combined for 200 total horsepower and 40 miles per gallon city, 39 mpg highway. It's a generally well-behaved combo, but the thrum and drone of the four seems kind of unrefined for a Lexus.
• Usually hybrids feel punchy when you put the spurs to them thanks to the torque characteristics of the electric motors, and the ES300h is only that way to a point. It can feel breathless when trying to merge into traffic, for instance. I often found my foot pressing the accelerator flat to the carpet a lot sooner than expected.
• Hybrids are generally not great in the snow, with their harder, low-rolling-resistance tire compounds and high-torque electric motors. The ES300h performed admirably in the storm that made our pictures filthy, with power delivery that can be easily modulated to use the available traction. With a set of winter tires, you'd have no worries at all.
• The trunk is useful, even with the hybrid gear. You get a whole mess of useable space, and the rear seat legroom is enormous, too, thanks to the longer wheelbase the ES now rides on.
• The interior is quite handsome and well-trimmed, not to mention comfortable. Just like the exterior shows signs of the new mojo working at Lexus, the interior feels luxurious enough to fend off the rest of its competitors. Unfortunately, the tech is a little clunky and there are a whole bunch of cutlines that show how the center console is assembled.
• There's a Drive Mode selector so you can pick between Normal, Eco or Sport modes. Naturally, Sport is the least annoying mode, acting most like a non-hybrid car. One nice feature is you can customize the instrument cluster to display the tachometer in any mode (among other little personalizations) instead of having to look at the hybrid power meter, that's way less entertaining.
• Hybrid brakes still feel like they're slowing the car more than they really are, something you realize halfway before a collision.
• Observed fuel economy was 34 mpg combined. That's in winter, running E10, mostly highway. Not terrible, but given the EPA numbers, you might reasonably expect more.
• While the ES300h is quiet and refined (and not super-floaty, yay!) most of the time, on the highway, there's more tire noise than you'd expect.

2013 Lexus ES300h originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards

Lexus, Mazda and Subaru top Consumer Reports Brand Report Cards originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Drifting on a frozen lake with a studded Lexus looks like fun

Drifting on a frozen lake with a studded Lexus looks like fun originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.