Studying Prius buyers over the last several years, Toyota noticed something unusual. A surprising number of high-income shoppers, who might ordinarily be expected to purchase a luxury car, were instead buying the green icon. There are, apparently, a large number of Lexus-level car shoppers interested in a dedicated hybrid car. And while Lexus offers hybrid versions of several of its cars (the popular RX crossover, for instance, is available in a hybrid), the company didn't offer a hybrid that wasn't also available as a conventional car - there was no unmistakable Lexus hybrid.
Enter the 2010 Lexus HS250h. With a drivetrain derived from the Prius, but bodywork and an interior exclusive to Lexus, it is the Lexus Prius - the first dedicated hybrid built by a luxury automaker.
The company has now allowed the automotive press to sample its efforts for the first time, and the verdict is...well...as mixed as reviews of the Prius were in its early days.
Car and Driver writes, "The Prius of Lexuses proves how tough it is to have your luxury and your mileage too." The HS carries the same electric motor as the Prius, but to pull the considerable weight of luxury levels of sound-dampening material, leather and electronics, the company instead put in the 2.4-liter gasoline engine from the Camry Hybrid. The two motors together make 187 horsepower, and earn an EPA city/highway rating of 35/34 mpg. But, Car and Driver says, they don't pull the weight of the car well enough. The HS250h, in their opinion, is less fun to drive than a Prius. "It's hard to say that the HS250h does the hybrid thing-i.e. get great mileage and make splashy green statements-as well as the Prius," Car and Driver concludes. "Nor does it do the luxury thing as well as other Lexuses."
Motor Trend had a similar experience driving the car. "How to describe the HS driving experience?" they ask. ‘Efficient'? Yes. ‘Soothing'? Maybe. ‘Luxurious'? Mostly. ‘Exciting'? No. It's just not the car's mission." They, too, found the acceleration lacking, even for a Prius-based car. The car's electronically-assisted steering, MT says, "has more feel and response than in the Prius, but you won't mistake it for a 3 Series. Ditto the brakes, which feel wooden and nonlinear." Inside, Motor Trend was impressed - but not overwhelmed. "The materials choices aren't as dazzling as they are in upper-crust Lexus models, but everything is of high quality and fits together nicely...Considering all the technology and functions that need managing, the various buttons and controls are straightforward," they write.
Autoblog, however, disagrees. "The HS never feels slow, not even in Eco mode, which was our favorite and coincidentally the slowest driving mode possible," they write. "We have no problem recommending the Lexus HS 250h because it certainly gets two out of three things exactly right: the cabin experience sets a fine mark for what a luxury pure hybrid can be and the driving is enjoyable. Our V8-loving enthusiast hearts never really felt cheated when tooling around in the car - in fact, we liked it." They were, however, bothered by the car's exterior, calling it "as slippery as it is bland...At one point, we pulled up next to a Toyota Corolla S, the one with the aero bits, and the resemblance was uncomfortable."
Readers hoping for more positive news about the first hybrid-only Lexus might want to take note, however, that early reviews of the Prius were just as underwhelming. The car may grow on the press, and on buyers, in time - especially as we watch the price at the pump climb toward its usual summer peak.
If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
