Road Test: Lexus LS600hL

Review by Feann Torr - 30/October/2008

As we breeze across Bolte Bridge, the long Lexus effortlessly soaking up bumps with its computer-aided suspension wizardry, I can't help but notice how pleasant the world seems.

When the everyday sounds of the outside world - cars honking, diesel trucks compression braking, trams screeching - are stopped from entering the cabin, leaving you in an isolated bubble of tranquility, it makes driving remarkably relaxed.

The stereo system has 19 individual speakers that use rare-earth Neodymium Iron Boron magnets and pure titanium-diaphragm tweeters that bathe you in melodic bliss.

Lexus isn't the only car maker to built a stretched luxury saloon that can make you feel as though you've escaped the monotony of everyday life every time you ease yourself into the plush interior; but it was the first car maker to build one with a hybrid powertrain.

The Japanese company has been at the forefront of hybridisation with numerous petrol-electric vehicles already on sale, and both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are only now beginning to release their own takes on the hybrid luxury limousine.

Is Lexus a trend setter? The old guard might call it a trouble maker. 

Whatever label you want to attach to it, one thing is clear after spending a week in its flagship car: Lexus builds quality automobiles.

The Lexus LS 600hL delivers a number of world firsts for the Japanese luxury car maker, including the first application of LED low-beam headlights,the first Intelligent Park Assist (IPA) system and the first all-wheel-drive V8 hybrid system.

Walking around the car, it's easy to pick up on its high-tech, sophisticated construction. The LED lights, the integrated design, and the small buttons on the door handles.

It's not a unattractive car, in fact it looks pretty decent for something the size of a minke whale, but this car was built for one purpose: to cosset it's occupants.

If you've ever travelled on a Lear Jet, you'll know what to expect: plush pile carpets, rich leather upholstery everywhere, suede headlining and lots of flush-fitting flip-out gadgets and gizmos.

The private jet of the automotive world, this flagship Lexus has so many convenience features you won't even want to disembark when you touch down at your destination.

The most basic comfort functions of the car - the seats - are excellent. But basic is probably not the best way to describe the lavish pews in this luxo-barge.

Up front, the driver and passenger get large, welcoming seats with supportive cushions and ultra-smooth leather upholstery, along with power adjustable seats in several thousand directions.

But it's not until you step into the rear of the car that the Lexus LS600hL's raison d'etre becomes apparent: first and foremost the Lexus LS600hL is built as a private limousine.

It's like the Tardis in the back, such is the room to move. There's flip out work tables, buttons, dials, and all sorts of override controls giving rear seat passengers maximum control over the cabin temperature, the DVD player, the 19-speaker stereo, the massage functions -- need I go on?

While there are buttons on everywhere - on the dash, steering wheel, on the doors, the seats - everything is well labelled and thoughtfully arranged, so it's rare to hit the wrong button.

It's an horrendously high-tech vehicle, yet remarkably user friendly. The only time I had to refer to the (extremely voluminous) manual was to figure out the automatic parking assistant.

If you opt for the super-luxury 4-seat version of this vehicle, one of the rear seats has an electronically controlled extending ottoman that also has a shiatsu massage function. And yes, it's awesome.

It's not quite as malleable as human hands, but is better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick; you can set it at three different intensity and three speed levels, targetting a couple of different areas of your back. There's also a vibrate function. 

This stretch-your-legs, massaging ottoman recliner turns the average car journey into a luxuriating, relaxing experience, particularly when you channel whale-song through the 19-speaker Mark Levinson stereo system which has seven tweeters, seven midrange units, four woofers and one sub-woofer.

The ottoman is the left rear seat, behind the front passenger, so you don't accidentally kick your chauffeur driver in the head during your daily shiatsu regimen.

I must admit though, you can't really stretch out your legs on the ottoman unless you're about 5'2" tall. Even with the extended wheelbase and front passenger seat moved fully forward, this is still a car after all.

There are parts of the interior that aren't soft leather, plush pile carpet or suede. The dashboard accents and steering wheel are timber, for example.

Electric side and rear sunblinds can provide shade and privacy for rear seat passengers at the touch of a button, and if you get too hot you can pump cool air through 20 air vents scattered throughout the interior, including the tiny perforations in the seat cushions.

Oh, and it's also got a steering wheel and some pedals, so you can drive it if you want.

Sitting in the captain's seat of the Lexus LS600hL isn't quite as rewarding as sitting in the back seat, watching you're favourite DVD while having your lower back massaged by robots, but if you are one of the handful of people who will purchase this car, you can rest easy in the knowledge that driving it is effortless.

Because the car is a hybrid it can also trundle along at low speeds without ever engaging the petrol V8 engine.

During our test of the luxury limousine, we were cruising along at just under 50km/h in the city at one stage and the petrol engine hadn't kicked in, meaning we were running purely on electricity with zero CO2 emissions. 

Of course, to maintain this you have to feather the throttle and accelerate very slowly otherwise the petrol V8 will kick in.

The huge limousine is actually a pretty good performer in dense traffic as the sound damping is excellent and the vehicle's huge size is mitigated by active sensors around the car's perimeter.

As the driver, there are quite a few buttons and dials to run your eyes over but you're not completely assaulted with controls. 

The centre console features an intuitive touch-screen display which comprises satellite navigation, stereo, HVAC, plus trip computer and energy consumption/hybrid drive details.

Speaking of which, the car isn't too bad on petrol. On the highway the Lexus LS600hL drinks around 8.0L/100km, and our overall consumption over our seven day test was 12.4L/100km.

Considering the car has a kerb weight of 2340kg - which means a laden weight of around 2.5 tonnes with a couple of passengers - that's decent fuel economy. 

Manoeuvering the Lexus is child's play thanks to the soft-but-precise steering and wide array of driving aids - including radar-based cruise control - but I did notice the car bottom out once or twice.

The battery system is located in the boot, which not only makes it tail-heavy but significantly reduces boot space. Just 330 litres is available, which is enough for a few golf bags but little else. 

You can't fold the rear seats down either because there's a great big nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery in the way.

Because the car uses an all-wheel drive system, with a Torsen centre differential at its core, it accelerates nicely and rarely struggles for traction, even on wet roads.

The car's ride quality is excellent; it seems to glide along even the most pock-marked roads and with adjustable suspension levels and variable ride height controls located near the gear lever you can tailor the chassis to most situations and road surfaces. 

I found the ride height adjustment very useful for tricky driveway approaches, while the shock absorber options - auto, comfort, sports - give you a good range of suspension stiffness levels to choose from.

Park assist is always on, letting you know when other cars come too close in traffic for instance, or if someone approaches the car in your blind spot which is a useful feature.

While it's performance edge is blunted somewhat by its colossal kerb weight, the 327kW output from the petrol-electric motors combined moves the Lexus easily.

The Japanese company claims the car will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds, but our times were closer to 7.0 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250km/h and the big barge has a claimed quarter mile time of 14.3 seconds.

Interestingly, the 327 kilowatt output from the petrol and electric motors is the highest in the Lexus range, besting even the beefed-up IS-F performance V8 model.

The gearbox fitted to the Lexus LS600hL is an electronic CVT (continuously variable transmission) that almost always ensures you're in the powerband when you gun the throttle, and also means the V8 engine unnecessarily taxed when cruising.

While there is a speedometer to show how fast you're travelling, there is no tachometer to measure engine speed. It's been replaced with an ECO meter, which shows whether you're using power or charging the batteries. 

Regenerative braking helps to charge the battery packs when you hit the anchors, and though the Lexus LS600hL is a heavy tub, the brakes are very good even when accounting for luggage and passengers.

Audi's S8 had stronger brakes with more initial bite, but the Audi is an all-out performance car (and more expensive too) and for what this vehicle is designed for - pampering passengers - it has surprisingly good stopping power.

Lexus has rarely 'cloned' or copied elements of rival designs from automakers such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, and the LS600hL is yet again very much its own car. 

I actually quite liked the look of the vehicle, mainly because it manages to make a stretched 5.15 metre block of aluminium and steel look attractive. 

The front end has fairly blunt nose and a conservative visage, but this is juxtaposed by the highly technical headlight cluster, which is comprised of numerous projector globes and LED low beam lights.

Again, the car's silhouette is best described as conservative with clean lines and nothing too dramatic. 

Even though it's a squarish design, the Lexus has an excellent drag coefficient of 0.27, and one of the car's best design cues is probably the integrated exhaust pipes which have recently been 'borrowed' by BMW's new 7 Series. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; Lexus must be chuffed.

You wouldn't know the car was sitting on 19-inch alloy wheels because its huge size dwarfs the wheels, but they do suit the car and when shod with 245/45 R19 tyres the image they create is classy and ride quality isn't adversely affected.

Lexus has built a car with a lot of sense too; it's got more sensors than a tactical nuclear submarine.

As well as two front facing duct sensors, there's an external temperature sensor, two solar sensors for front and rear seats, a pressure sensor, plus front and rear cabin evaporation sensors.

Together these digital 'eyes' automatically tailor the interior temperature and atmosphere to be as pleasant as possible. 

Because it's got a quad-zone climate control system with 20 vents (including the seat cushions), the system identifies each passengers body temperature and then tailors the heating or cooling levels respectively. Motoring madness? Perhaps, but you're always comfy in this car.

It's also got roof mounted infra-red sensors, ultrasonic sensors around the car's perimeter, and even a pollutant sensor that keeps an eye on the level of CO2, NOx and hydrocarbons in the car. Yep, you don't even have to hit the recirculate button with this technological tour-de-force.

Some of the other high tech features include radar-based cruise control, which has three different distance modes and automatically slows and accelerates the Lexus depending on the distance between the vehicle in front. 

This advanced cruise control system is easy to use and works remarkably well, capable of applying a strong amount of brake force without human intervention if the car in front slows rapidly. 

But the side effect is that it makes you a lazy driver as you rarely have to touch the brake or the accelerator pedals.

The Intelligent Park Assist (IPA) system is one of the Lexus LS600hL's headline technological features, and it works: I used it a couple of time to parallel park and it slotted the car in as promised. Watching the steering turn of its own volition is a bit spooky though... 

At the end of the day I found the IPA self-parking system to be more of a gimmick than an intuitive tool that saved time. You have to line it up and mark out the spot you want to park in, and this takes more time than parking it yourself. But there are people who really hate parking and if you're one of those drivers, you'll love the system.

As well as everything else - the massaging ottoman seats, the flip out DVD players, the 19-speaker stereo, the fold-out tables, the swivelling headlights - the LS 600hL also includes the world's first seat cushion airbag, which stops the passenger in the ottoman from slipping forward in the event of a collision.

The safety suite in the Lexus LS600hL is pretty serious, including 11 airbags (and the world's first in-seat airbag), a Pre-Collision safety system and a Vehicle Dynamic integrated Management system or VDiM for short, that controls everything from the advanced stability control system to the suspension stiffness.

If you like dropping random acronyms into conversation, this car is for you. VDiM is the grand Pooh-bah of the car's electronic systems, and controls the Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), electro-hydraulic Electronically Controlled Braking (ECB), anti-lock brakes (ABS), Traction Control (TRC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS), Electronic Power Steering (EPS) and Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) systems.

If I were to cover every feature and techno-trick that is built-in to the Lexus LS600hL, the Internet would probably implode. Suffice it to say, this car has a lot going on behind the scenes, yet most of the technology is delivered to the occupant with subtlety and can be manipulated in a user friendly way.

You can look at the pictures and read the review, but until you get to spend some time in this vehicle it's difficult to fathom just how well built and positively luxurious it is.

Overall: 4.5/5

Whether driving or being driven, it's hard not to be impressed with what Lexus has achieved with the LS600hL. 

It's a massive car but doesn't feel bulky when you drive it. It's got a big V8 engine and an avalanche of power, but is remarkably fuel efficient. And most surprising of all, the gadgets aren't just for showing off - they actually work and contribute to car's prestige.

Beyond all the clever things the car can do, beyond the massages and the automatic parking assistant and the titanium-diaphragm tweeters, the basics haven't been ignored: this Lexus is well built and drives nicely. Even before you consider all the extras it offers, it's an immaculately designed and precisely manufactured vehicle that more than measures up to its German rivals.

It's an expensive car, but the investment is well worth it considering what you get. Did I mention the rear seats recline, and one of them is an ottoman?

The Lexus LS600hL is arguably one of the most technologically advanced and feature-packed vehicles on the road today, having an uncanny ability to turn the everyday drive into a luxurious escape. 

This side of the $1.1 million Rolls-Royce Phantom, there's no other car that can touch it.