Eco-conscious Luxury from Lexus

Having one’s cake and eating it too is indeed a luxury, and Lexus has managed to do just that with its new RX400h. After introducing the 2nd generation Toyota Prius earlier this year, in late September it was Lexus’ turn to launch its eco-friendly petrol/electric hybrid model. Unlike the Prius, instead of having a combination of a small engine with an electric motor and battery to power the vehicle, the RX400h makes use of the same basic 3.3-litre V6 on the RX330 (which is not sold in Singapore), coupled to two electric motors – one located in front and one in the rear – and a battery pack. All three power units combine to give the RX400h a maximum output of 208bhp and 288Nm of torque, similar to that of a 4.0-litre V8 engine. Its 7.9 second 0-100km/h acceleration is also very impressive. So where does the eco-friendly aspect of this Lexus come in? The 400h’s complex powerplant has been engineered to idle and move off with the petrol engine off, and it only kicks in when speed and the road conditions need more juice. The other intelligent aspect of this Lexus is that it uses the rear electric motor to supply power to the rear wheels to supplement the front ones that are connected to the engine and electric motor. It definitely isn’t your conventional all-wheel-drive power unit. Oneshift.com is certainly looking forward to testing this state-of-the-art hybrid vehicle. Watch this space for a complete review.