ROAD TEST: Lexus LS 600hL

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Lexus LS 600hL

It’s massive, impossibly quiet and unsettlingly brown and we here at OVERSTEER love it to bits; the Lexus LS 600hL is the biggest Lexus on the block and it just keeps getting quieter and more high-tech. But has a recent infusion of bling hurt it at all? We take a look at the latest version of the big hybrid to find out.

When Lexus first launched in 1989 in the US market, it was with the remarkable LS 400 that had been the result of six years of secret development, known internally as “Project F1” (F1 stood for “Flagship Number One”). The aim was to produce a world-class luxury sedan and the way with which Toyota nailed that particular target was impressive indeed.

The LS 400 was (and still is, for that matter – we were lucky enough to have a drive in the first RHD example ever sold a while back) a startlingly good car – superb materials, incredible build quality, remarkable spec levels and utter, utter silence were its hallmarks and successive generations of LS have only improved upon that early benchmark.

Subsequent models have grown in size, spec and price, but have never compromised the initial ideal of being a world-class luxury sedan.

While the current LS was originally released in 2006, a facelift for 2013 has bought its looks more into line with the new-generation of Lexus vehicles, spearheaded by the new GS, as well as adding even more kit to the LS’s already impressive haul.

Outside

I rather liked the last Lexus LS for its plain, unadorned looks. Looks that some unkind souls may call bland, but I would not be one of them, because I always felt its restrained looks bought a welcome degree of dignity to the LS, making it somewhat unique in the large luxo-limo sector.

The LS was always big, quiet, dignified and strangely cool, simply because it wasn’t screaming out for attention. Plus Tony Soprano ran over that dude in one in the first episode of The Soporanos. So that was cool.

But Lexus have decided to bring some bling to the LS party, so now we get a big a BIG grille, sparkly headlight/taillight jewelry and more chrome.

There is also a new nose and tail to bring it into line with the current Lexus line up. For the most part, the facelift works reasonably well. The additional sparkliness is a tad disappointing, but doesn’t ruin the big LS’s dignified demeanor, particularly in the “Volcanic Bronze” colour of our test car (that’s metallic brown, to you and me).

The only real criticism we would have of Lexus’ new design direction is that it has had an unfortunate Aston Martin effect, in that it is very difficult to tell the various models apart when they are not parked next to each other…

Inside

Inside the LS 600hL is still a place of pure, technically-perfect luxury. The massive leather seats are supremely comfortable and adjustable about a million different ways* and can both heat and cool your bottom at will.

Everything falls nicely to hand in a way that can only be described as, well, “Toyota-ish” I suppose. The Mark Levinson audio system is ear-bleedingly good and everything is so stunningly well made that it is hard to take in.

But as good as the front bit is, it is the rear that is the truly spectacular part of the long-wheelbase LS. Like their counterparts in the front, the rear pews are fully electrically adjustable, heated and ventilated. Unlike the fronts, they also boast a vibrating massage function and are fully reclinable, complete with leg rests. And the leg-room is truly epic.

Forget the third centre seat, because that gets nothing, but it also effectively disappears once you pull down the centre armrest that houses controls for the seats, audio/video system, rear climate control and the rear and side sunshades.

There are also two 9-inch drop down LCD screens for the built-in BluRay player, which actually seem strangely small inside the big car, especially in comparison to the enormous 12.3-inch screen in the dash up front.

Still, no point in complaining. Just lay back in the ventilated, vibrating leather recliner and laugh at the poor people from behind the privacy of your sunshade…

(*Warning; exaggeration)

Under the bonnet

While all LS’s come with that magnificent quad-cam Lexus V8, the 600hL takes thing a bit further by not only having a bigger version (5.0-litres versus the LS 460’s 4.6), but also by adding a hybrid electric drive system just to make things even more effortlessly powerful.

The 5.0-litre V8 pumps out 290kW of power and 520Nm of torque, while the hybrid system chucks out 165kW and 300Nm. Of course, it is not a simple matter of adding the two numbers together to get the total output – because electricity is weird – so the total power output of the LS 600hL is 327kW.

Which does mean the LS 600hL gets along very nicely indeed…

On the road

The LS 600hL is utterly stunning on the move. Almost entirely silent, even when not running on electricity alone, the sensation of silence is quite strange at first.

Lexus have seen fit to fit their system that pipes an artificial engine note into the cockpit under heavy acceleration, but it is not bad here. It’s just that the silence is more impressive.

The ride is, of course, opulent, with the kind of wafting arrogance that you expect from such a big, luxurious car. Handling, on the other hand, is about what you would expect too.

While the likes of a 7 Series BMW would leave it for dead along a winding road, the LS 600hL is far from desperately out of its depth through the corners. You are VERY aware of its size though, but it is relatively easy to get a nice flow going in the LS and once you have, it eats up distance remarkably easily indeed.

The four-wheel drive system is so unobtrusive as to be not detectable – which is as it should be for such a car – and the fitment of Lexus’ Drive Mode Select system with its five different driving modes – Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport Plus – seems slightly at odds with the LS 600hL’s luxury standing. Just leave it in Comfort and get on with things is best really.

Verdict

Utterly spectacular. While the exterior may have gone a little sparklier than before, the whole package is still absolutely top-notch in terms of quality, specification and comfort.

As a pure luxury car there is little that would better the LS 600hL this side of the full-blown Rolls-Royce experience and even then the Lexus would be better built.

Unlike the vast majority of cars, a drive in a Lexus LS 600hL is a serene and relaxing experience. In my week with it I found myself actually hoping for heavy traffic, just so I could spend more time in it. I can’t think of a much higher compliment to a car than that…

Lexus LS 600hL specifications

Price: POA
Body type: 4-door sedan
Drive: Four-wheel drive
Engine Type: V8 petrol/hybrid electric
Engine Capacity: 4969cc
Max power: 290kW @ 6400rpm (327kW total hybrid system output)
Max torque: 520Nm @ 4000rpm
Fuel Consumption: 8.6L/100km
C02 emission: 199g/km
0 to 100kph: n/a
Front suspension: Multi-link
Rear suspension: Multi-link
ABS Brakes: Yes
Air Bags: 9
ESP: Yes
Air Conditioning: Four zone climate control
Lap/diagonal belts: 5
Satellite Navigation: Yes
Electric seats: Yes
Burglar Alarm: Yes
Panic Button: No
Wheel type: 19-inch alloy