Nik J Miles

Archive for February, 2010

She – As the hybrid market grows, the spectrum of choices expands with vehicles as basic as the Toyota Prius or Ford Escape up to elegant road masters like the Lexus LS 600h.  There is even a slathering of partial hybrids like the Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Yukon.

Generally manufacturers take existing products and “hybridize” them, installing batteries under the rear seat and adding all the electrical components and sophisticated computers to make them a hybrid.

As Toyota’s premium brand, Lexus has gone heavily into the hybrid business with four offerings.  The newest, the HS 250h, is a different kind of animal because it’s new from the ground up and is the world’s first hybrid-only luxury car.

He – When Lexus decided to produce a smaller hybrid to go with the larger RX, GS and LS luxury hybrids, the logical thing to do was to build it from the company’s entry-luxury ES model.  However, with the overwhelming success of their own purposely-built Toyota Prius Hybrid, Lexus planners knew their new smallest hybrid needed to be distinctive.  It needed to be the world’s first hybrid-only luxury vehicle and it was important that it not be a gussied up version of the Prius.

Many will try to associate the HS with the Toyota Prius, but other than a few similarities, the HS is a unique ground up design. Read the rest of this entry »