Lexus HS 250h
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FUEL ECONOMY:
n/a MPG n/a L/100km
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BODY TYPE:
Sedan
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TECHNOLOGY:
Hybrid
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BASE MSRP:
n/a
Never again let it be said that high-mileage hybrids are grim, joyless, or Spartan. The 2010 Lexus HS 250h sedan is the smallest and most economical car Lexus has ever built, but it’s unquestionably luxurious. Lexus has noted that more than 60 percent of luxury-car buyers would consider a hybrid if one were available. Well, now those buyers have a new option.
As of mid-April, the EPA hadn’t released mileage or emissions ratings for the new Lexus. But they’re expected to be close to those of its sibling, the all-new 2010 Toyota Prius, which achieved 51 mpg city / 48 mpg highway (50 mpg combined rating).
Lexus says the HS 250h will offer the best combined mileage of any luxury vehicle available in the US today, and will qualify as a Super-Ultra-Low-Emission-Vehicle (SULEV). The company also suggests its city mileage should be higher than that of the Smart ForTwo—which, for the record, is 33 miles per gallon.
The new Lexus HS will go on sale late in summer 2009. The company hasn’t yet announced pricing, though Toyota executives hinted to us that the base sticker might start between $30,000 and $35,000, with options that might carry it to $40,000 or more.
The HS 250h is the Lexus brand’s first dedicated hybrid, just as the Prius was for its parent brand Toyota. Previous Lexus hybrids were adaptations of existing vehicles, including the popular RX 400h crossover—replaced for 2010 by the RX 450h—the GS 450h sports sedan, and the full-size luxury barge LS 600h. But the HS will be sold just as a hybrid, with no gasoline-only version.
The comparison to the 2010 Prius is apt, since the two cars share the same basic platform. They both ride on a 106.3-inch wheelbase, though the Lexus HS 250h is 2 inches wider, half an inch higher, and a full 9 inches longer than its hatchback relative. The HS also has a larger 2.4-liter engine—similar to the one in the Toyota Camry Hybrid—against the 1.8-liter engine used by the 2010 Prius. The complete hybrid system in the Lexus is fully 40 percent more powerful than that of the Prius: 187 horsepower compared to 134.
So while the two cars have different bodies, different engine sizes, and certainly different personas, you can view the HS 250h as a new Prius with a trunk, a raft of luxury accoutrements, and a different tradeoff between fuel economy and features.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld might say.
Lacking the Prius’s high roofline and abrupt vertical tail, the more conventional sedan styling of the HS is marginally less aerodynamic than its hatchback sibling, with a drag coefficient of 0.27 rather than the Prius’s 0.25. Lexus has never offered a hatchback, so given that the HS is a relatively short five-seat sedan, that’s still a respectable figure.
Lexus buyers expect luxury, reliability, and features, and the HS 250h delivers those in spades. It offers such optional electronic gadgetry as Bluetooth connectivity, a heads-up instrument display, a front-view monitor with a 190-degree angle of view, and adaptive cruise control. Its navigation system incorporates real-time traffic and weather, and casual-speech voice recognition. It even lets the owner customize the levels of haptic feedback in the mouse-like controller mounted on the console.
The HS also includes leather trim, a moon roof, and swathes of insulation and thicker materials to reduce the noise, vibration and harshness that every Lexus owner dreads. Adding to the refinement is a sound-deadening inner layer in the windshield, exhaust flow optimized to cut noise, and even slower, softer-closing power window switches from the uber-luxurious LS sedan.
It’s not entirely clear how the HS relates to the two other compact Lexus models, the sportier IS and the more conventional ES front-wheel-drive sedan. It will clearly expand the brand’s green appeal, and perhaps offer an upgrade to Prius buyers who want to maintain 40-plus-mpg ratings but crave more luxury and a more upscale brand.
In the end, the HS is a new kind of car for Lexus. But if Toyota’s luxury brand has demonstrated anything over its 20 years, it’s that it can pioneer new ideas and make them a sales success.
Side-by-side Comparison
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It looks alot like a tricked out Corolla, rather than a Camry.....I wonder how this will compare to a Camry hybrid vs. a Prius (or even the Corolla with a 2.4). The Prius chassis is halfway between a Camry (length) a Corolla (width). If all the "hybrid-specific" designs in the Prius end up getting the same MPG as a Camry Hybrid when you put a bigger engine in it, it will be a pretty good argument that the hybrid specific design doesn't really help much. If this gets the same MPG as the Camry, I'd question if a better car wouldn't be a "Lexified" Camry with the same engine.
We'll see if the wealthy folks run out in droves for this or if most the market for hybrids remains in the middle classes. The only remote competition for this are the german TDis (and that is pretty remote....).
So take the Camry Hybrid and re badge it charge a lot more.
Great move Toyota to make more money on the same car.
HA HA who ever gets this car would really be stupid.
My girlfriends sister's '06 Cobalt has a better interior. Exterior is a vast improvement over the over the Prius though, but that just means it is as good as a Corolla now....an expensive one....with no better mileage. Hooray......... : (
O, and for the Record, the Tesla Roadster was the first luxury electric car.
Nice way to steal Ford's 3-bar grille. The last Camry stole the Mazda 6's front end. How original.
Boom Boom makes a intriguing point... it will be interesting to see how it sells compared to the Audi TDIs getting ready to go on sale... I wonder how the MPG will stack up between those as well.
This should sell fairly well. Many people that want a dedicated hybrid but don't buy a Prius are mainly against it because of the angle of the rear window, so this should bring in more buyers.
One thing though is that a lot of people like their hybrids to stand out a little (like the Prius) so we'll see how that plays out.
The dashboard mouse thing is pretty cool.
Which Audi TDIs? AFIK, the A3 isn't available until the first part of 2010, whereas the Lexus will be on sale in 2009. Will Audi models be available prior to 2010? (I ask b/c I am very interested in purchasing one). Thanks.
BDW
Just for the record, a Toyota executive said that the company expects to sell roughly 30,000 Lexus HS models in its first full year on the market.
That compares to a sales goal of 180,000 for the 2010 Prius, or six times as many. So the Lexus HS is more of a niche model.
The people who think that this is just a camry don't really get it!! There is more content and different glass (insulated). The margins on the build is tighter for less wind noise. Smart key entry along with the latest navigation system. Its on a different body then the camry. Its a totally different car! So before you start on beating this car up you should get the facts...
I don't want to be mean, but you don't make too much sense here! This car will have a much better quality interior than a cobalt, with a lot more gadgets. The Tesla is a pure electric, this is a hybrid, but regardless, the tesla isn't a luxury car, it's a sports car. Probably not very luxurious to drive, the tesla, though it's gotta be fun.
Worst luxury interior ever......
Call me stupid then. excited to get rid of my '08 prius for this car!
The Prius chassis is halfway between a Camry (length) a Corolla (width). If all of the "hybrid-specific model in the Prius at the end is always the same MPG as the Camry Hybrid, if you have a larger engine, it will be a pretty good argument that the hybrid design is not really helped.
The Prius chassis is halfway between a Camry (length) a Corolla (width). If all of the "hybrid-specific model in the Prius at the end is always the same MPG as the Camry Hybrid, if you have a larger engine, it will be a pretty good argument that the hybrid design is not really helped.
I think Boom Boom is completely right. The first impression that struck me was, oh no, it's a Corolla with bigger alloy rims and weirder tail lights.
Toyota is an engineering company. They typically take an existing product and improve it. We wonder why the US companies like GM can't compete.
Nice car, I dont know if I will be able to spend 30K on a dolled up Corrola. I will stick the IS250 :)
How can the viewing angle of the screen be 190 degrees?
I think the name HS 250h is obtuse enough to qualify as a Lexus badge number, but perhaps it needs a couple more aitches to truly convey its hybrid drivetrain... How about HSh H250h?
Carwatcher, you hit the nail on the head. End of subject. Thanks!!!
Bryce,
The Toyota/Lexus hater bunch has come back under your leadership.
Try to save GM instead. They're in deep trouble now.
Just wanted to clarify that the new HS 250h does not share a platform with the new Prius. It will be a platform that will be all new to North America. The HS 250h sedan will be the most fuel efficient Lexus ever sold; it will offer the best combined mpg of any luxury vehicle in the U.S. Its expected fuel efficiency will be more than 30-percent better than the most fuel efficient model currently on sale in the Lexus lineup (RX 400h at 25 mpg combined). We’ll announce specific mpg details closer to the sales date.
I does share the 2.4L 4-cyl with the Camry Hybrid but will have unique engine tuning, a new more efficient inverter, and a new exhaust heat recover system.
- Greg Thome, Lexus Communications
-Hate to part company with the crowd here, but this seems great, if the article is correct. Toyota/Lexus are expanding the hybrid drivetrain to a new area, and this will help extend the versatility and make the luxury segment more fuel-efficient. Now if they could only come up with an efficient sports car or a convertible based, say, on this chassis, it would be cover even more territory.
Greg Thome, thank you for the information that you have provided.
RKRB, I agree with you. It is not the name of the car or car manufacture that is important here. It is the idea of more mileage per gallon and less dependency on oil as the major provider of energy for cars. This would be a very dull world if all we had was one hybrid to choose from. Now the choices will start ranging from the relatively inexpensive Honda Insight to the expensive Lexus hybrid line. It just becomes a choice of balancing budget against luxury.
And wait one or two more years at the most. One will have a choice of sport car hybrids.
Any chance this will be available with AWD? As a "winter" state resident, my dream has been a Prius with AWD, but I'm sure that's never going to happen (and I'm not interested in a SUV). But some of the Lexus 250 sedans are currently available AWD models.
yo Greg:
Why can't you make a small Lexus?
Maybe based off the Yaris 4-door hatchback
Hybrid and non-hybrid versions
manual and auto transmissions
Priced in the 20's
I love my ES250, but the gas mileage sux (16/22 mpg EPA)
no leather
no sunroof
5-speed manual transmission
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Here's the lineup I'd like to see on a Lexus version of the Yaris
2d and 4d hatch, same price
all cars available with 6-speed manual or CVT
YS150 (current Yaris 1.5L) $20000
YS180 (Corolla's 1.8 1ZZ-FE) $23000
YS250 (2AZ-FE or 2AR-FE) $26000
YS150h (Prius powertrain) $30000
YS-F (2ZZ-GE 190 hp) $28000
I would by a YS-F (or whatever you'd end up calling it)
yo qqRockyBeans
A luxury car the size of a Yaris?!? - I can't see a luxury car buyer wanting such a small thing.
Bryce I'm sure if you sat in the HS250 and then your girlfriend's sister's Cobalt the difference in quality would be apparent - and not in favor of the Cobalt.
30% better than 25 MPG?!? If Ford decides to make a Lincoln version of the Fusion hybrid it will be bigger and get better mileage than this Lexus...
yo Shines:
they do it all the time!
Acura EL and CSX
Mercedes-Benz B-Class
BMW 318ti
Euro 1-series hatchback
Audi A3
BMW Mini Cooper
VW Rabbit/Golf has become a small luxury car (Yaris-Sized!)
And
Toyota/Lexus >> VW German "engineering"
I urge Lexus to offer an interior that is not leather. I don't know exactly when it became fashionable to line the interior of a car with animal hide but it's out of date to me considering both the environmental and ethical considerations of an evolved society. And, it seems to me this is the evolved demographic this car will appeal to.
And for the guy tempted to call me a wimp or an elitist for this point of view... easy... because yeah... I'm both a vegetarian and a person who can execute a devastating spinning back kick.
Amen and peace.
Hi Greg,
Obviously you cannot reveal the exact dates, but I am deciding between buying a C class and this one, and was wondering whether Lexus is very close to releasing this car? Web reports fluctuate between late summer and early fall (what day is that exactly?), and no specific month is indicated. Do you think we shall start seeing test drive reports by June?
I agree.
How does a Colbalt have a better interior.
Especially in 06 when GM interiors were horrific?
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