Lexus luxury hybrid under consideration for Australia

Lexus will build its HS 250 h luxury hybrid sedan for worldwide consumption, but 'worldwide' doesn't necessarily mean 'for Australia'.

The HS 250 h, which was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is a sedan slightly larger than the IS 250 in size and featuring a host of luxury goodies such as satellite navigation, a lane departure system and the safety of 10 airbags, active headrests, intelligent cruise control and 'Pre-Collision'.

Power from an Atkinson-cycle version of the 2.4-litre engine driving the Camry is balanced by an electric motor/generator coupled with the engine to a continuously variable transmission set-up, much like the Prius.

Also in keeping with the Prius, the four-cylinder engine in the HS 250 h depends on variable valve timing to run the power stroke longer than the compression stroke. Total horsepower (including that supplied by the electric motor), is 187hp or approximately 140kW, according to Lexus.

Measures taken to reduce the load on the engine and improve fuel efficiency include the adoption of an infra-red-reflecting windscreen to aid the climate control system, an exhaust heat recovery system to reduce the engine warm-up time, and LED headlights, which require lower charge from the battery than conventional halogen lights. In addition, the HS 250 h is carefully styled for optimum aerodynamic efficiency, with Lexus claiming that the hybrid has a 0.27Cd coefficient of drag.

The Prius donates its floorpan to the HS 250 h project, but that's not to say that the platform for the Lexus and the Prius are alike. It seems that the Japanese engineering team working on the car have a very narrow definition of 'platform', which for the purposes of the HS 250 h, shares just the floorpan with the Prius. Such structural items as the firewall, fender inners, longitudinal rails and crossmembers are not common to the hybrid Toyota.

Other than the MacPherson-strut front end, the HS 250 h is technically removed from the Prius by the multi-link IRS system and a rack-and-pinion steering system assisted by the increasingly common electrical servo. As in other, similarly equipped cars, the electric power steering allows the manufacturer to adopt a 'Lane Keep Assist' system that uses input from a camera to monitor a car's position in the traffic lane --and then applies torque to the steering in order to maintain the car's position.

Comfort and convenience features on offer to HS 250 h buyers in the US include: leather trim, sunroof, premium audio with intuitive touch-screen display (as already previewed in the latest generation RX model range), speech recognition, satellite navigation and head-up display. To enhance safety, Lexus has equipped the HS 250 h with a forward-looking camera, installed in the grille.

Demonstrating just how far manufacturers are progressing along the path of CO2 reduction, the HS 250 h is built with 'bio-plastics' throughout the car. These plastics produce fewer CO2 emissions during the manufacturing process than conventional plastics.

The news that the HS 250 h would be built in Japan in both left- and right-hand drive configurations caught even Toyota Australia and Lexus Australia on the hop. Both companies are now tasked with evaluating the car for Australia.

Toyota's Corporate Manager Product Planning, Peter Evans, is inclined to the view that Lexus buyers are more open to a front-wheel drive car than they were when the importer chose to cease marketing the Camry-based ES300. Asked whether rear-wheel drive is still an important hallmark of the Lexus identity in Australia, Evans admits that it was important once upon a time, but now, he's not so sure.

"It was important for the brand when it was establishing itself," he told the Carsales Network.

Evans takes heart from the continuing success of Audi in Australia, the German prestige brand relying on a mix of front- and all-wheel drive machines for its record-breaking sales performance over the last several years. In the modern context, says Evans: "People aren't all that fussed [about front-wheel drive]".

But the drivetrain layout isn't the only concern for Lexus, marketing the HS 250 h in Australia. Being slightly longer than the IS 250, the hybrid model could be relied on to steal sales away from the car that has been a bread-winner for Lexus. So the importer will need to toss up the pros and cons of potentially cannibalising sales from another model -- and the pricing structure for the hybrid will have some significant bearing on that also.

In the international arena at least, Lexus is confident that the HS 250 h will be a hit. Mike Michels, Toyota Motor Sales Vice President, believes that American consumers will have no trouble accepting a Lexus that is -- however loosely -- based on the Prius.

"I would like to say that five years ago, a thrifty luxury car was the ultimate oxymoron," says Michels but now, "its time has come".

The HS 250 h will go on sale late in the northern hemisphere summer -- around July or August