17 · Wednesday, May 12, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com $ 8 OFF any oil change package Coupon required. Expiry: June 30, 2010 Code: 5582 345 Speers Rd. (at Dorval), Oakville 905-842-9299 Valid at all GTA locations. Lexus drives down the luxury hybrid road By Lorne Drury Metroland Newspapers Carguide Magazine Toyota and Lexus have been driving down the hybrid road for a long time now, but the 2010 Lexus HS 250h sedan is a first for them. While it is the fourth gas-electric hybrid in the Lexus lineup, it is the first dedicated luxury hybrid car on the market and was designed from the ground up to be a hybrid like the Toyota Prius. The other Lexus models include existing sedans and SUVs simply fitted with the hybrid technology. Some automotive scribes have said the HS 250h appears little more than an upscale Toyota Corolla or a bigger Prius, but that is an unfair description. While there is some resemblance (after all it does have the Toyota DNA), the HS 250h is based on the same platform as the Toyota Avensis sedan, which is sold around the world but not in North America. Size wise, the HS 250h sits between the Lexus IS and ES models and to my eye is much more attractive than the Prius despite its cabforward design and short, stout front end. The HS 250h was introduced in the latter part of 2009 as a 2010 model and it gives luxury buyers with a "green" conscience the best of both worlds, a vehicle with luxury appointments combined with an environmentally-friendly footprint. Years ago, the idea of gas-electric hybrid was thought of as a pie-inthe-sky, but Toyota has helped make the technology mainstream since the Prius was first introduced in Japan in 1997 and worldwide in 2001. Since then, Toyota has sold more than two million hybrids including a couple of hundred thousand Lexus models. Lexus looks at the HS 250h as an important vehicle because it opens up an untapped section of the market. The entry luxury market in Canada accounts for approximately 32,000 vehicles a year and Lexus research shows that 60 per cent of car shoppers in that segment would consider buying a hybrid if it was available. Now it is. While it's still early to tell how quite up to what we have come to expect in a Lexus. As far as the interior is concerned, I would describe it as upscale, but not as luxurious as other Lexus models. The two-tone leather seats in my tester were attractive and very comfortable. I'm not a big fan of the centre stack, which juts out at the bottom and divides the front passenger compartment. On the Ultra Premium model, the bottom of the stack houses the Remote Touch multifunction controller that performs like a computer mouse to operate the navigation system. On other trim levels, a flipup lid opens for a small storage compartment at the bottom of the centre stack. One unusual item is the shift gate. Located on the dashboard just to the right of the steering column, an on/off push button starter is situated just above the shift lever. It takes a while to get used to it, but you slide the shift lever over to the left and then up and down for reverse, neutral and drive. Above the shift lever are the EV, ECO and PWR mode buttons and below is a button to push for Park. A graphic on the dash tells you whether you are drawing power from the engine, the battery or both. With all the other technological advances in the HS 250h, safety is not compromised. It features a classleading 10 air bags along with the usual Lexus handling and braking technologies. Tied in with the "green" image of the HS 250h, 30 per cent of all the interior trim and trunk material is manufactured with plant based `ecological' plastics. Further, more recycled plastic material is used on the car than in most automotive applications. If you're worried about the durability of the hybrid system, Lexus backs it up with a 96 month, 160 km warranty. The rest of the car has a 48-month, 80,000 km warranty. All in all, the HS 250h is an enjoyable car to drive. Featuring a hybrid system that provides the performance of a V6 and with the best fuel efficiency and lowest emissions of any car in the Lexus fleet, the Lexus HS 250h allows luxury customers to have their cake and eat it too. Luxury customers with an environmental conscience can have it all with the 2010 Lexus HS 250h, the first dedicated gaselectric luxury hybrid designed from the ground up as a hybrid. well the HS 250h will do in the marketplace, sales are picking up. In April, Lexus sold 92 HS 250hs, up 26 per cent over the previous month. That compares with sales of 317 Prius hybrids during the same month. The HS 250h is available in three trim levels, starting at $39,900 for the Premium model, $1,000 less than the starting price for the entrylevel Lexus ES 350 sedan. My tester featured the Premium Sport Package ($41,400), while the Ultra Premium model is priced at $48,750. The HS has the Lexus Hybrid System, featuring a 2.4-litre fourcylinder engine (the first four-cylinder in the Lexus lineup), which combined with a 141 hp drive motor, produces a peak horsepower of 187. This is the same power train as in the Camry Hybrid. A second electric motor serves as an engine starter and generator to charge the battery pack, located in the trunk area. Because of the battery location, the rear seats do not fold down nor is there a pass-through from the trunk. Despite this, the HS has more luggage capacity than the full-size LS 600h and GS 450h hybrids thanks to modifications to the size and design of the battery pack. Lexus says the trunk can hold four golf bags or three suitcases. Even at the base level, the HS 250h is well equipped with dual zone automatic climate control, 17-inch alloy wheels and a 10-speaker audio system with Bluetooth and XM satellite radio. The Premium Sport adds two-tone seats heated up front, sport-tuned suspension, aluminum sport pedals with rubber inserts, illuminated `Lexus' scuff plates and 18inch aluminum alloy wheels. Moving up the Ultra Premium package gets you a 15-speaker Mark Levinson surround sound audio system, headlamp washers, adaptive front lighting system, automatic high beam feature with auto leveling headlamps, heated and cooled front seats, voice-activated navigation system with backup camera and rain sensing wipers. The HS 250h has four driving modes--Normal, EV, Eco and Power. EV mode is battery only and can be used for short distances at very low speeds. The Eco mode allows the driver to make fuel efficiency a priority (it even adjusts air conditioning settings and reduces throttle response), while the Power mode comes into play when accelerating. The latter three modes can be activated with the flick of switches on the dash. During my week with the car I wasn't able to match the published fuel economy rating of 5.7L/100 km (50 mpg) because for most of my driving I was pushing it on the highway and not able to take advantage of the EV mode, which can really cut fuel consumption. The aerodynamics help achieve this level thanks in part to a 0.27 coefficient of drag. The low nose combined with spoilers, a gull wingshaped roof panel and undercar covers help promote airflow and reduce drag. Unlike other Lexus models, the HS is not a particularly quiet vehicle during hard acceleration until you reach highway speeds. A fair amount of wind, road and engine noise makes its way inside the cabin, but at speed things quiet down considerably. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) is responsible for much of the noise because of the high-revving engine whine that results. But it's no slouch in the performance department with a 0-100 km/h time in the 8.4-second range. In contrast, when you're in EV (battery) mode with the radio off, the silence is somewhat eerie. The HS has a nice, short turning radius making it easy to get around in the city, and I found the ride and handling to be fine, although not