Review: 2013 Lexus GS 450h

The 2013 Lexus GS 450h launched recently by Japanese carmaker Toyota is a luxurious sedan designed with a new and different approach. Toyota has made this car fuel efficient and the mileage delivers by the GS 450h is better than the 2011 model. This new sedan continues as a series-parallel hybrid, which means it can operate in three different modes: electric only, gasoline only and a combination of gasoline and electric mode. The 2013 Lexus GS 450h will be manufactured in Japan in 2013.

2013 Lexus GS 450h

The beauty

This five-seat sedan has got a cool and attractive exterior and its interior is spacious enough to accommodate five passengers comfortably. This car is powered by an engine delivering 338 horsepower and it allows this sedan to go from 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds. Despite packing so much punch, the new 2013 Lexus GS 450h delivers good mileage. Lexus claims this car delivers 29/34 mpg city/highway, which means around 31 mpg combined. The time required by the Lexus GS 450h to hit the speed is 0.5 seconds less than the time taken by the fastest hybrid sedan available in market. The best thing is that this luxurious sedan achieves this speed using less fuel than its competitors.

The powertrain

This series-parallel hybrid is powered by a 3.5 L gasoline V6 engine, which has high fuel efficiency because it uses the Atkinson cycle. Lexus has increased the compression ratio of this car to 13.1:1 from 11.8 and it also sports a new mid-port generator. Besides these features, Lexus has also incorporated direct and port injection technology in the gasoline engine. This technology is called D-4S. We know that the efficiency of this car has been increased using the Atkinson cycle, but this cycle has narrowed the power band of this engine, but this drawback is compensated by the second power source, i.e., the electric motor. The 41-hp electric motor used in this sedan provides the extra power. This water-cooled electric motor derives energy from a nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

In Sport mode, the power of the battery is raised to 52 hp and the combined power increases to 338 hp. The rear wheels are driven either independently by the gasoline-powered engine and electric motor or they are driven on tandem. The movement depends as per need. Lexus has used lightweight chain technology in this car to reduce the noise of engine and its vibration and friction too. The operation range of the regenerative braking technology used in this car has been expanded, which also improves the fuel efficiency.

The Thrill

With a fuel efficiency of 29 mpg in city and 34 mpg on highway, this car is definitely much better than the previous GS hybrid’s numbers. This car can go from zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and it can hit a high speed of 131 mph.

Interiors

The technological amenities incorporated by Lexus in the upcoming GS 450h are the same that we have seen in its gasoline-powered version. This car features Remote Touch and LED indicators’ equipped analog clock. The S-Flow system used in this car saves energy by controlling the climate automatically. The steering wheel of this car is very beautiful featuring bamboo finishing. Lexus claims that the new GS 450h is better than all other mid-luxury hybrid available in market.

Picture Gallery

2013 Lexus GS 450h

2013 Lexus GS 450h

Exteriors

The new Lexus hybrid with its brilliant design is expected to give new direction to the rest of the lineup in future. This car has been designed like the LFA supercar, increasing its aerodynamic efficiency. The three-lamp design of this luxury sedan is unique and attractive. The high and low beam lamps featuring LED lights are fitted in a single horizontal row. The apertures of the exhaust pipe are covered by the rear bumper and blue hybrid badging gives a different look to this car. The GS looks like a roomy sport sedan from the sides. The GS line-up will be available in three new colors Meteor Blue Mica, Riviera Red and Liquid Platinum.

Should I buy one?

This luxury sedan with a cool look, powerful engine and high fuel efficiency is set to find many takers. The technical specifications released by the company showed that this car is here to stay and it would take the luxury sedan market by storm after release.

Price and availability

This car is scheduled to go into production in April/ May of 2013. Lexus has not announced the price of this sedan so far, but it is expected that this car will be priced at around $60,000.