Mark Glover’s AutoGlo
car reviews also can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento
And yet, I can’t feel too guilty. It is a hybrid after all.
Reworked and re-engineered extensively for 2013, the
3.5-liter V-6 power plant combines with electronic assistance to waltz into the
near-350 horsepower community, and let me tell you, this is the hybrid hot rod
of your dreams.
In fact, I don’t even think of it as a hybrid. It’s that peppy. Seamless power plant performance is matched
with a new, stiffer – downright sport-tuned for my money – body structure.
On the outside, the car looks to be a midsize. Inside, it has all the room of a full-size,
yet it drives like a peppy, agile sports car, with a ton of luxury thrown in.
Yet fuel mileage is an impressive 29 miles per gallon in the
city and 34 mpg on the highway.
A mean, green machine?
Affirmative.
Be advised that this is a supremely engineered Lexus, and
there’s a price to pay for that: $58,950 to start, and mine had extras that
pushed the sticker’s bottom line to a hefty $68,814.
Yes, my ride was dressed up to near limo standards, and I
undoubtedly enjoyed the 18-inch alloy wheels, the primo Mark Levinson
surround-sound audio system and three-zone auto-climate control amid a sea of
leather and polished wood.
But what I enjoyed most was driving it.
As I said, engine response is so instant and so robust that
you pretty much lose the idea that you’re piloting a hybrid vehicle. It doesn’t behave like a hybrid. It acts more like a weekend racer, a
scalded-cat blazer with monorail-like stability and butter-smooth, bump-absorbing
characteristics.
It’s hard to imagine a better car for taking a long
trip. You have all the interior
luxuries, performance as needed and plentiful comfort. And again, with its
fuelish ways, even a cross-country adventure won’t crush your wallet.
I know the performance purists out there will run from any
car that wears a hybrid label, and that’s fine with me.
But just between me and thee my tire-screeching friends: You
really don’t know what you’re missing in this very fine GS 450h.
Hybrid cars have often been the butt of jokes because of their looks but you definitely can make a mockery when it's a Lexus. I'm quite in awe of how they're able to get everything you love about the sports and luxury cars into a green car.
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