T
here are an awful lot of ways to
help save the planet these days
and to be honest, they generally
involve a disagreeable sacrifice or getting
muddy somewhere along the line.
Things get trickier when it comes to
buying cars: by their very nature, they are
never going to make the world a greener
place. You can buy an electric vehicle, but
by the fifteenth time you've pushed it
back to your house and plugged it in,
you'll wish you bought a bike instead.
You can buy a little car with a very, very
small petrol engine, but you'll be too
terrified to take it on the motorway
because you know, deep down, you'll be
crushed by duelling lorries.
You could buy a diesel, but you also
know that while it may be frugal on the
fuel, unless you push it everywhere (see
electric cars, above) it's still going to be
kicking out lots of bad stuff into the air.
It's a tough call. Still, help is at hand
and, as usual, it involves a compromise.
Hybrid technology has been with us for a
while, but until now hybrid cars have been
mainly for politicians, actors, and people
who had 2CVs in the 1960s; not for those
wanting a comfort and performance
package that looks reasonable.
Traditionally, hybrids are not cars for
enthusiasts; they aren't fast, they don't
make a loud growling noise and they
never look like something you'd actually
be happy about driving.
Until now. The
Lexus GS 450h has
a 3.5 litre V6; not a
good start for
economy. Strapped
to this, by some
large and
dangerous-looking
orange cables, is an
electric motor and together the two
develop more than 330bhp. That's quite
a lot, and enough to catapult this
leviathan to 62mph from standstill in 5.9
seconds, although it never feels anything
but extremely civilised.
Sliding in, you could be forgiven for
feeling a touch concerned when the start
button-push prompts no discernible
reaction from the engine bay. Bringing
up the energy monitor on the sat nav
screen will inform you the car has started
on its electric motor, and, as you pull
away in eerie silence you're reminded that
this really is not a normal car.
A further prod to the right pedal will
awaken the petrol engine and faintly, as if
in the far distance, a quiet purring sound
indicates the V6 is
running and ready;
you now have
335bhp at your
disposal.
Put your foot
right down, and
thanks to its
continuously
variable transmission, there's no kick in
the back, no shunt - nothing, in fact, to
indicate that you are advancing towards a
speeding ticket with startling rapidity.
This Lexus gathers speed in such a
remarkably nonchalant manner that the
only real way to get an impression of the
acceleration is to watch the speedo needle
progress around the clock, or watch the
car behind you get smaller in the mirror.
This hybrid Lexus
gathers immense
speed in a remarkably
nonchalant manner
18
Lexus GS 450h

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