Archive for Lexus

It looks like the Selangor state’s new 15 unit fleet of 2.4 liter Toyota Camrys purchased at RM 130,000 each are not good enough for Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, as he has declared a new Lexus SUV (according a Bernama report, presumably the Lexus RX 350) as his new official car to be used for official business only.

When asked why he did not use one of the Camrys, Tan Sri told the Bernama reporter that he was more comfortable with the Lexus. He says he only uses it for work (he owns the car but the government pays for its maintenance so he wants to make sure it is for work purposes only), and for personal trips he uses a personal car. Of course, a Lexus RX is nothing compared to what Khalid Ibrahim’s political secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad claims Khir Toyo purchased during his Selangor MB tenure – a Mercedes-Benz S350L.

I feel Tan Sri Khalid should have waited for the new 2009 RX due to be launched in Malaysia this year, then perhaps I can ask him if he finds the new “Remote Touch” system user friendly!

Sources say Lexus will most likely add a baseline V6 model to its flagship Lexus LS range, in line with recessive market trends as well as expected benefits to the company’s overall CAFE ratings. This could happen when Lexus unveils the facelift for the LS, which would be due anytime soon as it was launched in the year 2007.

A Lexus LS 350 could be powered by the 2GR-FSE 3.5 liter V6 engine incorporating Toyota D4-S twin injection technology, which combines port injection with direct injection. It produces 315 PS and 377Nm of torque, which puts it somewhere in line with the F01/F02 BMW 740i.

The LS is currently only offered in LS 460 and LS 600h variants. Both are V8s with a 4.6 liter and 5.0 liter engine respectively, the latter also equipped with a high-output electric motor and a NiMH battery pack. In Malaysia in particular where only the LS 460 and LS 460L are sold, the LS is burdened with high road tax costs, and a LS 350 could help boost LS market share with the private buyer “entry level” owners.

Don’t expect anything lower than this at the moment though, as the LS doesn’t have the kind of volumes in 3rd world countries to warrant something like the 730i (yet to be released with the F01/F02 but is said to be a work in progress) or the S300.

Essentially what you could consider a hybrid version of the Toyota Avensis, the new Lexus HS 250h is not exactly a dedicated hybrid version by that definition but in the Lexus line-up it does come only with a hybrid powertrain, which is what Lexus means by a “dedicated hybrid vehicle”. It is powered by the 2.4 liter Atkinson cycle combustion engine and electric motor hybrid system from the Camry Hybrid. This is vehicle platform and powertrain sharing at it’s best, one that rivals the Volkswagen Group’s. We’ve previously already taken a look at the HS 250h but for the 99.9% of us that did not get to witness the HS 250h’s unveiling at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, here’s the official launch video from Detroit, along with new photos.

Click here to read the rest of Lexus HS 250h Detroit Auto Show Unveiling Video

Despite it’s somewhat concept-like looks, thanks to so many car manufacturers releasing concept cars that are near production models totally changing our opinion of what a concept model looks like these days, the new 2010 Lexus HS 250h is a production model that will debut in late summer this year. But despite being a production model apparently specifications are still preliminary, though it’s very likely most if not all of what’s been released at the Detroit show will make it into the car in the showrooms this summer. It will slot in between the ES and the IS as an entry level hybrid car.

The new Lexus HS 250h is a front wheel drive sedan which has similiar proportions to the UK’s Toyota Avensis in terms of height, width and length, and in fact it shares the same 2,700mm wheelbase. In comparison, the Lexus ES/Camry’s wheelbase is 2,776mm while even the wheelbase of the IS is longer at 2,730mm. It’s amusing how a luxury American C-segment car can have a longer wheelbase than an European D-segment car, but the latter have traditionally been smaller than its American counterparts anyway. I guess that’s how superminis survive/thrive in Europe. I believe the HS is classified as a front-wheel drive non-sporty hybrid counterpart to the IS in the Lexus range, just like what the ES is to the GS (but the ES does without dedicated hybrid engine). Frankly I wonder if this is just a reskinned Euro Toyota Avensis with the Camry Hybrid’s powertrain thrown in, with the interior then loaded up with high-specs.

The drivetrain in the HS 250h is lifted from the Toyota Camry and thus retains its 2.4 liter Atkinson cycle engine, the electric motor, front wheel drive layout and CVT transmission. The engine and electric motor combination puts out a combined total output of 187 horsepower, but no torque figures have been released at this time. The engine is rated as a SULEV engine thanks to low emissions even on 87-octane gasoline. The combustion engine uses cooling piston oil jets, an optimized balance shaft rate for improved NVH properties, and a hot-air venting system mounted behind the radiator. An exhaust heat recovery system reduces the amount of time it takes to warm the engine up, thus enabling earlier activation of auto-start-stop functions.

As hybrid screams futuristic, it’s not surprising to know the interior has a decent amount of “innovations”. For one, the interior uses plant-based, carbon-neutral “Ecological Plastics” or bio-plastics in specific interior areas, or approximately 30% of the interior and luggage area. The in-car entertainment system features Bluetooth, sat radio, HDD-based sat nav, voice recognition, USB and iPod connectivity, a high-contrast multi-info display, the new Lexus “Remote Touch” iDrive-like controller, a heads-up display, a class-leading 10 airbags, and a lane keep assist system which detects lane markers on the road and adds steering torque to keep the vehicle in the center of a lane.

Look after the jump for a hi-res photo gallery of the new HS 250h.

Click here to read the rest of 2010 Lexus HS 250h dedicated hybrid with Camry Hybrid powertrain makes production debut!

After slightly more than a year of being the niche choice of C-segment luxury sedans buyers who want to buy into the whole Lexus experience at the cheapest price point possible, the Lexus IS 250 now receives a facelift, and now comes in 2 variants – standard and luxury.

Under the hood is a 2.5 liter V6 engine featuring D4 direct injection that puts out 205hp at 6,400rpm and 252Nm of torque at 4,800rpm, giving the car a 0 to 100km/h acceleration time of 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 225km/h. The engine also has Dual VVT-i variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust camshafts. This engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with enhanced lock-up clutch control in 5th and 6th gears for better fuel economy. The transmission also has an AT fluid warmer for better cold start performance.

The external changes are very subtle. The front grille receives a minor update with a restyling of the vertical bars as well as a different number of bars. The front lip of the bumper is also now integrated for a smoother experience. The front bumper has been extended by 10mm which gives the profile a sleeper look. Side mirrors now feature turn indicators, which were previously on the front fenders on the pre-facelift car. On the rear, the bumper now has a blacked out area to emulate the look of a diffuser. The brake lamp cluster has also had minor changes made to them.

Differences between the Lexus IS 250 and the Lexus IS 250 Luxury differ mainly in the equipment you get. The IS 250 Luxury has the option for a tilted moonroof. The IS 250 has a leather interior trim while the IS 250 Luxury gets 3 choices wood as well colour coded to the exterior colour, including Birdseye Maple which comes in either light brown or gray.

Other features that are only available on the IS 250 Luxury are electrically adjustable steering column, an electro-chromatic rearview mirror, a rain sensor for the wipers, illuminated scuff plates on the door sills, a rear window sunshade, semi-aniline leather, ventilated front seats, and a memory function for the front seat position. The 14-speaker Mark Levinson system with a 6-CD in-dash changer that is MP3/WMA capable is also only available on the IS 250 Luxury while the standard IS 250 gets a 13-speaker Lexus Premium system.

However I think the differentiation between the two models went abit too far as for such an expensive sedan, it’s sad to see the standard IS 250 getting regular headlamps while Xenon HID is only reserved for the IS 250 Luxury. The HID headlamps come with Adaptive Front Lighting, which adjusts the headlamp angle according to the roads for better illumination on winding roads.

Safety features include 4-wheel ABS, Brake Assist, EBD, airbags all-round including knee airbags and a multi-stage airbag for the driver, and VDIM which integrates brake, throttle, steering and transmission control into the stability control system.

The standard Lexus IS 250 goes for RM270,000 while the more premium Lexus IS 250 Luxury retails at RM305,000. Look after the jump for more images of the car.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Lexus IS 250 facelift launched in Malaysia, now available in 2 variants!

Lexus will be displaying a dedicated hybrid vehicle at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show next month. A dedicated hybrid vehicle is essentially a model that can only be had with a hybrid powertrain, unlike cars like existing Lexus hybrids which are hybrid versions of models that are also available with regular combustion engines (current Lexus hybrids are the RX450h, GS450h and LS600h).

The new Lexus dedicated hybrid is rumoured to be called the Lexus HS250h and will be exhibited in concept form, with a production version only due in North American showrooms in late 2009 as a 2010 model. The HS250h indicates a relatively small engine compared to the lumps in the 450h and 600h models.

The word is that the Toyota Camry hybrid’s 2.4 liter Atkinson cycle engine coupled with an electric motor will be used. That means front wheel drive, 147hp and 187Nm of torque from the combustion engine, and 40hp with 270Nm from the electric motor, or at least that’s what the motor makes in the Camry. It could be upgraded for Lexus use. If this is true, the new HS250h would probably be based on the Camry platform as well, turning it into a new hybrid-only “Lexus ES”.

Lexus sales in Europe only commands 1% of the total market, but Lexus plans to hopefully increase this to 150,000 units a year by the year 2015. Spearheading this push is a new premium hatchback that’s now been confirmed by Lexus Europe managing director Tadashi Arashima, but a launch date has not been set yet. A tentative guesstimated launch has been set for 2011. Europe is quite fond of premium hatchbacks such as the BMW 118d that recently won the World Green Car of the Year award. The new Lexus hatch will rival the likes of that car, and the Audi A3.

Internally, the new Lexus hatchback is called the C-Premium. It’s development is in such early stages that it’s not quite sure at the moment whether it will be a rear wheel drive platform based on the IS, or a front wheel drive platform likely to be based on the Toyota Auris, which spawned a premium C-segment hatchback in Japan called the Toyota Blade.

Source

Lexus has unveiled the new Lexus RX range at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show today. The RX will be offered with a two-model range, the RX350 with a regular 3.5 liter V6 engine and the RX450h also with a 3.5 liter V6, but running on the Atkinson cycle together with a hybrid electric system. In the UK, the RX will be offered exclusively as a hybrid.

The RX350’s 3.5 liter V6 engine puts out 275 horsepower, mated to a 6-speed transmission. Both front wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions are available, with the latter using an Active Torque Control AWD system that varies torque distribution according to driving conditions. Both this model and the hybrid version uses a new double-wishbone rear suspension for better control.

While current Lexus cars use a simple touch screen interface to access its in-car entertainment and navigation systems, with the new RX, Lexus now has its own iDrive/MMI-like system.

It uses a “Remote Touch” controller that’s supposed to be as natural to the driver’s hand as a computer’s mouse. Let’s see if the Japanese get it better than the Germans. The system also uses HDD-based storage.

The hybrid RX450h’s 3.5 liter Atkinson cycle engine together with its hybrid electric drive system has a combined output of 295 horsepower. To differentiate it from the regular combustion engine-only RX350, it has its own front grille and bumper design, hybrid badging, blue-trimmed Lexus logos, an optional 19 inch wheel design that’s exclusive to the RX450h, blue-tinted headlamps and taillamps and optional LED headlamps.

The RX450h’s Lexus Hybrid Drive system has two new features – the first is an exhaust gas heat recovery system that reduces the time it takes for the engine to warm up. As only a sufficiently warmed up engine can do automatic stop and go smoothly, this reduces the time it takes for the start-stop feature to be activated. The second feature is a cooled exhaust recirculation system which reduces pumping losses, helping improve power and fuel economy.

Unlike the RX350’s mechanical all-wheel drive, the RX450h’s Lexus Hybrid Drive can allows it to function as an all-wheel drive via an electric motor powering the rear wheels. The rear motor also functions as a brake energy recovery device, which means brake energy recovery can be performed on all four wheels.

Lexus Malaysia Sdn Bhd has been known to bring in new Lexus products rather quickly into the market (partly thanks to the ease of bringing in a CBU model), and looking at how the second generation RX has been spoiled by all the grey market RX and Toyota Harriers running around being sold at a much cheaper price, you can expect the new RX to make a Malaysian debut very soon next year.

Look for a hi-res gallery of the new RX after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 3rd Generation Lexus RX unveiled at LA 2008!

The facelifted 2009 Lexus IS range have been unveiled in the UK this week (though at first sight I cannot tell what on earth has changed with the design), and it is now more accessible with the cheapest model (which is the IS 220d SE) costing £22,490. The entire range has also got price slashes, some by more than £1,000. This is probably an effort to keep up sales volumes in these tough times.

The IS 220d is now more environmentally friendly, with a small drop in CO2 emissions from 168g/km to 163g/km. In the UK, this means it moves down a band for vehicle excise duty from E to D. The owner of a facelifted IS 220d will save £25 a year on his road fund license and reduces the Benefit in Kind (BIK) rate for company car tax calculation to 23 per cent.

Other changes include VDIM as standard on all models, and folding rear headrests. A Satnav option is available for £1,825 on SE and SE-I models which include Europe GPS maps, a 7 inch 640×480 LCD display with touch screen operation, Bluetooth hands-free, a rear parking video feed monitor and a 13-speaker audio system with an in-dash 6-CD changer. This pack can be upgraded to a Multimedia Pack on the SE-L for £2,710 which includes the same stuff but adds a 14-speaker Mark Levinson system with a 6-DVD changer.

Look after the jump for more shots of the facelifted Lexus IS.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Lexus IS Facelift unveiled in Europe!

There’s so much that can change on the way from a concept display to a production model and the comparison image above shows just that – how different the production next generation Lexus RX will look like compared to the Lexus LF-Xh Concept displayed last year at the Tokyo Motor Show.

The front end has stayed largely similiar but the rest of the SUV ends up looking like a Nissan Rogue. Look after the jump for a strangely Subaru-ish rear view of the new RX, or head on to the source link for more shots of the brochure.

The thing is the RX always had very subtle roof rails, but they seem to have grown larger or at least apear to be more prominent in this new installment in the RX series, causing the new RX to take on a new feel.

Source

Click here to read the rest of 2010 Lexus RX brochure shots leaked!