| Lexus RX 450h Details | ||
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(Tue 03 Mar 09) As promised last week, Lexus has revealed more details about its hybrid RX 450h SUV at the Geneva Show.
The RX 450h, with its 3.5-litre V6 engine and electric motor, replaces both the existing hybrid RX 400h and the petrol-only RX 350, and has much better official fuel economy and CO2 emissions than either at 44.8mpg and 148g/km respectively. It's also quicker, with a total output from the the two power sources of 295bhp (246bhp of it from the engine alone) leading to a top speed of 124mph and 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds. But that is by no means the whole story. The RX 450h also has a new bodyshell, which sets the wheels further apart and improves interior space, and gets a different rear suspension layout as well as several revisions to the front in the interests of better handling. For the same reason, Lexus has also fitted an electric Active Stabiliser System to reduce body roll in corners, and more expensive models have air suspension with a choice of four suspension heights (including one, 30mm lower than normal and selectable only when the car is stationary, to make loading easier). The hybrid system now has three new modes, one called EV which makes the car run on electric power only, one called Snow which we don't intend to explain further, and one called Eco which reduces throttle sensitivity (so the system won't immediately react to sudden pedal movements) and also reduces the load created by the air-conditioning during hard acceleration.
The interior is all-new and includes several clever touches, including the first-ever application of something called Remote Touch. This features a knob on the transmission tunnel which acts in the same way as a computer mouse for the audio, navigation, air-conditioning, phone and vehicle set-up systems displayed on the central panel, and a particularly clever wheeze is that the system automatically pulls the cursor towards an icon if it passes close by, minimising the amount of attention the driver needs to pay to it. Previous RX models had monitors to help the driver park the car, and this one has yet another one called a Side Monitor which uses a camera mounted in the passenger door mirror. The view from this camera is displayed on the central screen in versions which have the Lexus Navigation system fitted, or in the interior mirror for those which don't. As for safety, Lexus is expecting the RX 450h to achieve five-star results in the Euro NCAP test programme and its American and Japanese equivalents. This is partly because of a new pre-crash safety system which uses a radar sensor to detect if something ahead is in danger of being hit, and primes the brakes and seatbelts accordingly. The car also has a total of ten airbags (the one for the front passenger being designed to cradle that his or her face "like a baseball catcher's glove") and active headrests which moves forwards and upwards in the event of a rear-end shunt. |
