Comparisons

Autoblog recently published a review of the Lexus GS 450h, detailing their impressions of the performance hybrid sedan.  Along with favorable mentions for the silent electric mode capability and interior design, the review raved about the 340 hp V6 hybrid’s performance:

The GS 450h is the world’s first performance luxury hybrid, and we loved its performance. That’s right, love. Why? Because batteries rock. They make things happen right now, and anytime we dabble in acceleration our preferred phrase to begin the proceedings with is “right now.” Acceleration from a stop isn’t cheetah fast – cheetahs take time to get up to speed. This is gazelle fast. When you’re being chased by something with teeth that’s already running 60 mph, you don’t have time to meander up to speed. The GS 450h accelerates like it doesn’t want to be eaten. Instant torque, party of one, your stoplight is ready. And this is in any gear, at any speed.

The review further found the Active Power Stabiilzer Suspension System (APSSS) as rendering corner-carving flat and stable, regarded the steering as fine, and observed that brake feel was surprisingly better after extended use.  Ultimately, Autoblog called the GS 450h the Lexus they would choose if their “budget was limited to $200,000” - with a caveat, namely the IS-F.  (Further details after the jump).

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The New York Times (and many other outlets) is reporting that the Lexus CT 200h will start with a €21,000 when it goes on sale in Europe next year.

The natural question turns to how that translates into the North American price—a direct, euro-to-dollar conversion would currently mean a starting MSRP of $28,755 USD, putting it just over the top-end $28,070 USD Toyota Prius V.

However, when you consider the higher price of vehicles in Europe, it starts to tell a different story—some examples:

• The Audi A3 2.0 TDI Automatic has a base price of €26,700, or $36,560; in the USA, the same Audi A3 retails for $29,950 USD—meaning that the U.S. price is only 81.9% of the German price.
• The base model price of a Toyota Prius is €25,450, or $34,571 USD; in the USA, the top-end Prius is $28,070 USD—the U.S. price is 81.1% of the German price.
• The Lexus RX 450h retails for €50,159, or $68,135 USD; in the USA, the RX 450h AWD is $44,275 USD—so the U.S. price is 64.9% of the German price.

Ignoring the RX 450h and sticking with A3/Prius’ 81%, the rumored €21,000 price tag on the CT 200h would translate into a U.S. MSRP of $23,550 USD, a total that’s beyond ridiculous—but then, looking at the price of a German Prius would have ended the argument right there. Could the CT 200h really be less expensive than a Prius in Europe?

(In the end, I think $28,070 in the USA is more likely than €21,000 in Europe.)

[Source: NY Times]

Even with all the photos of the Lexus CT 200h at the Geneva Auto Show, it’s hard to get a good idea of just how big it really is, so I put together this chart showing the newest Lexus as compared to the IS, HS & ES:

Put into perspective, the CT 200h looks bigger than I imagined, though still much smaller than anything else in the lineup. It’s interesting to put the hatchback beside the existing lineup—there’s certainly a lot of shared details, and it definitely fits into the model range quite well.

I really love the look of the new TFT instrument panel in the 2010 Lexus LS 600hL:

There was also these images from yesterday’s L-Select LS 600hL photo gallery from Japan:

The IP’s central circle theme is a much cleaner approach than the traditional two dial display, and brings to mind the LFA’s design:

Cut the LFA display in half, and you’re left with the older, wiser LS 600hL—what a beautifully subtle shared design cue.

Last week, I asked you to vote for your favorite Lexus of the past decade—510 votes later, here are the results:

Ranking

1. Lexus IS F 20%
2. Lexus 2nd Gen IS 16%
3. Lexus 4th Gen LS 13%

The IS F received 1 of every 5 votes and took the poll with ease, not unlike how it would compete with the lineup on the track. Combine the IS F number with the second generation IS that it’s based on, and that design really put up a dominant performance. Victory lap (by Aaron Povoledo)!

One last thing—there was some confusion about the first generation IS not being included in the poll. I didn’t included it in the poll because of its 1998 release in Europe. That said, the IS SportCross should have been included. Sorry for the confusion, hopefully it didn’t skew the results too bad.

Edmund’s Inside Line has pitted the new Lexus LS Sport package against the BMW 750i Sport in a performance track test, and in the process, somehow managed to add a full second to the LS 460’s official 0-60 time.

According to the Edmunds numbers, the LS 460 Sport hits 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds compared to the 750i Sport time of 5.2 seconds. This flies in the face of the official numbers for the non-sport LS 460, which Lexus is claiming can hit 0-60 in 5.4 seconds.

Hard to believe the LS Sport package would come with a performance disadvantage—surely something must be amiss with the testing.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]