Tuesday, 14 February 2017

No L: New Lexus LS Hybrid Is the LS500h

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February 14, 2017 at 3:37 pm by Clifford Atiyeh | Photography by Michael Simari and the Manufacturer

An all-new Lexus LS hybrid will make its debut in at the Geneva auto show next month as the fifth-generation flagship attempts to regain lost ground among full-size luxury sedans. And the model designation of the new hybrid, LS500h, indicates a change of tactic for Lexus.

Toyota won’t yet say what’s powering the LS500h, but given how much the new LS shares with the 2018 LC coupe, we’ll bet our Nakamichi tape decks that this car will use the LC500h’s Atkinson-cycle 3.5-liter V-6, two electric motor/generators, and a four-speed planetary gearset that manages to mimic both a conventional 10-speed automatic transmission and a continuously variable automatic (CVT). Total net horsepower in the 2018 LC500h stands at 354, which is down from the 2018 LS500‘s 415 and the previous LS600hL‘s 438 hp. The old LS hybrid was the sole Lexus hybrid to rock a V-8, and it really didn’t improve performance or fuel economy over the standard LS430.

We also see the LS500h missing the capital L from its model name, due to the fact that Lexus is going with a single body size (rather than short- and long-wheelbase versions) for the new LS. When the first LS600hL launched for 2008, the long-wheelbase 600 was aimed at the German kingpins, the Mercedes-Benz S600 and the BMW 760Li. Lexus never played the efficiency card with that model—instead, the idea was to provide V-12 shove with the fuel economy of a V-8 and the electric silence of a Toyota Prius in city traffic. But that combination had limited appeal. Last year, only about 40 buyers signed up for the LS600hL, less than 1 percent of all LS sales.

Hybrids may command only a sliver of the market, but with BMW and Mercedes-Benz now selling plug-in versions of their big sedans, it makes sense for hybrid pioneer Toyota once again to put a gasoline-electric setup into its flagship model. This time, though, Lexus appears to be pushing efficiency rather than V-12–wannabe performance. We’ll know more when the LS500h makes its debut next month.