Because It's Worth It
by Mike Grundon (23 May 06)

The question is, do you want to be green or be seen to be green? Lexus has launched a high-performance version of its sleek and elegant GS sport saloon range called the 450h which uses a combination of petrol and electricity to pump up the power and cut down on pollution. It’s a world-first in its class but you can’t easily tell it’s a hybrid car by looking at it, listening to it or even driving it.

Cruising down the Queen’s highway you’ll still get eco-warriors pinning you as a gas-guzzling git even though your champagne cruiser is only sipping unleaded at an average rate of one gallon every 35.8 miles and churning out a measly 186g/km of CO2 - less than a 1.6-litre Corolla automatic.

Hybrid power makes perfect sense. Car engines produce more electricity than they need to recharge the standard battery and run all the kit, and when they trundle down hills burning nothing they could be reaping the effects of gravity to store up energy for future use. The good news is that the technology doesn’t have to whir, clunk or induce yawns of saintly virtue. From today, you can really get sexed up over it.

Not convinced? Well listen to this. The GS 450h, which costs between £38,015 and £46,765, is the most sophisticated executive sport saloon on the market. It uses a petrol engine and an electric motor, fed through an electronically controlled CVT (constantly variable transmission), to stuff up to 341bhp into the tarmac. That's enough to clip through the 62mph mark 5.9 seconds away from the lights, then horse relentlessly on up to a less-than-saintly 155mph.

These and other statistics flashed through my mind just a few miles into my first launch test run. On hot, dry blacktop just outside Malaga, I stomped on the pedal to whip out at a busy road junction. The intemperate use of the right clog brought a satisfying and perfectly controlled tail-slide as the car cranked into line with the flow then shot off up the road to take its place in the traffic stream without causing anyone on the road, least of all me, any stress whatsoever. The next 150 miles were obviously going to be fun.

They were. Accelerating out along open, empty roads the 1.9-tonne beast leapt out like an athlete, the CVT allowing the engine to hold a steady note as the speed picked up. High speeds were clean and stable, overtaking was a doddle.

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