LexusNet Blog

After living with the first ever Lexus dedicated hybrid for a week I have to say this is just not my kind of car. Sure the mileage is great for a midsize luxury sedan, sure the interior is solidly build, sure the powertrain is a magnificent piece of work but ultimately I just couldn’t see myself spending $40k on it. Like I’ve mentioned before the handling and ride just are not up to the normal Lexus standard and although beauty is in eyes of beholders I just couldn’t warm up to its styling. Even though the Lexus hybrid is really … Continue Reading

The powertrain, in my opinion, is one of the few bright spots about the HS, the 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle powerplant delivers healthy 187 combined HP through the smooth CVT transmission. Although the hand-off between the gasoline engine and electric motor is noticeable but it is probably the best in the hybrid world up to date. Lexus claim 0 to 60 in 8.7 seconds and according to my butt-lerometer is about just right, which is not bad at all for a hybrid that returns 35 MPG combined.

During the week that I had the HS250h I have put over 1,400 miles on the … Continue Reading

During my 3-day, 1000-mile trip up north to San Francisco and Napa Valley, I’ve learned a lot about the HS’ ride and handling characteristics in both high speed and city crawling conditions. Following I’ll try to break down the pros and cons of the dynamics side of Lexus’ first ever dedicated hybrid.

Handling: During low speed one could easily mistaken the HS for one of the FWD sports sedans since the steering wheel has a nice weight to it, although the steering isn’t insanely sharp like the BMW and Porsche but it … Continue Reading

During the whole week, the most frequent comment I got from the people who saw the HS in real life for the first time was:

“Wow, the car is much bigger than I expected, isn’t it smaller than the IS?”

So I always tell them that the HS is actually sized in between the compact IS and the almost-full-size ES, however the that’s-unbelievable look from their eyes always makes me chuckle. On paper the HS is 4.5 inches longer, 3.2 inches taller but about half inch narrower than the IS from the outside; from the inside the HS has almost full 4 … Continue Reading

When the power button is pressed, the car is in full silent except for the instrument lights lighting up; then after about 10 seconds the engine will fire up, it is a totally different experience than any ICE cars.

Also, the car will travel on full EV mode for a period of time if the speed does not exceed 15 mph. It seems a bit pointless on paper but is very useful when entering and backing up from garage.

Discuss about this blog entry in LexusNet Forums – … Continue Reading

So, after coupe months of waiting, I finally got my hands on a HS for the week-long test drive. I plan to write about the car whenever something interesting or informative pops up, kind of like Twitter, so stay tuned…

The one that was given to me is a base model with navigation, light maroon (Lexus calls it Metador Red Mica) exterior and tan interior. The first impression I got from this car is that it is definitely bigger than it appears in … Continue Reading

Following are the performance specs released by the manuactures for both cars:

Lexus LFA / MB SLS AMG

Power Rating: 552 HP / 563 HP
Torque Rating: 354 lb-ft / 430 lb-ft
Curb Weight: 3,263 lbs / 3,571 lbs
Engine Type: 4.8L V10 / 6.3L V8
Engine Placement: Front-mid / Front-mid
Drive Type: RWD / RWD
0 – 60 Acceleration: 3.6 sec / … Continue Reading

According to the Audi S4 vs. BMW 335i comparison test from Edmunds InsideLine:

Audi S4

Base MSRP: $46,725
As-tested MSRP: $59,150
Slalom (mph): 68.8 (67.2 with stability control on)
Skid pad (g): 0.90 (0.92 with stability control on)
0-60: 4.9 seconds
Curb weight, as-tested (lbs.): 3,984

BMW 335i

Base MSRP: $41,125
As-tested MSRP: $49,320
Slalom (mph): 68.4
Skid pad (g): 0.92
0-60: 5.3 seconds
Curb weight, as-tested (lbs.): 3,607

Now, stop reading for a second, look at the test results again and try to come up with a winner OBJECTIVELY. when you are ready, … Continue Reading

Following are the rumored performance specs for both cars:

Lexus LF-A

Power rating: 550+ HP
Torque rating: 369 lb-ft
Engine type: 4.8L V10
Engine placement: Front/mid-mount
Drive type: RWD
0 – 60 acceleration: ~ 3.5 seconds
Top Speed: 210+ mph
Price: ~ $250,000 US

MB SLS AMG

Power rating: 563 HP
Torque rating: 480 lb-ft
Engine type: 6.3L V8
Engine placement: Front/mid-mount
Drive type: RWD
0 – 60 acceleration: 3.7 seconds
Top Speed: 197 mph
Price: ~ $250,000 US

As you can see, these two cars match up pretty well on all aspects, including mechanical setup, performance and even down to pricing. The only difference seems to be AMG prefers … Continue Reading

Due to the broken moon roof, heavy steering and couple with an engine that’s somewhat “unfriendly” to the automatic transmission (covered in part 1: ) I’ve decided to take the BMW 328i back and switch for another car after one week. I called Enterprise up and they told me the only equivalent car they have at the time is a Volvo S60. Given that I’ve never driven one before I decide to make the switch so I ended up with a 2009 steel gray Volvo S60 with a black interior and about 5000 miles. Following is the summary of my impression for the car:

Exterior: Given that the S60 is at the end of its production cycle (2009 being its 9th year for the current generation) so obviously the car looks dated. However, the styling is unique enough so even after a pathetically long production cycle it still stands out in its own Scandinavian distinctive way. Paint job although is nothing to write home about but yet not bad by any means. This particular car has four gazillion-spoke chrome wheels that makes me want to puke my brain out but with other wheel options such as the one in the picture it is actually a somewhat handsome car, perfect for young executives/professionals in their early 30s.

Discuss about this blog entry in LexusNet Forums – Blog Discussion

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