Test drive Lexus GS 2005 - 2008 sedan

For multiplying

Contempling advertising shields with a boorish, but accurate indication of the target audience - for multiplying, the editor -in -chief of the autopilot erroneously but sincerely believed that this advertisement was addressed to especially economical motorists, customers of the Lexus GS 450 hybrid. He was mistaken. He was deceived regarding the hybrid itself, expecting from him the qualities of Perpetuum Mobile, but not the Nintendo prefix. According to Nikolai Fomenko, the cunning Japanese autods still lead us by the nose. But why are they doing this - for him it remained a mystery.
Quiet sapa. It was in Perm. I was invited to the presentation to the local dealer center. And there they showed a new Lexus RX 400H car.
I get behind the wheel. I insert the key. I turn. Nothing works. Complete silence. Like in a coffin. The arrow of the tachometer - and it in Lexus is specific and shows only kilowatts - lies at zero. And the car is broken, my dear, not a feature starts up,-I say with the gloating of a spoiled client sales manager. He is whitening. And he begins to mutter something like a blue flame burned down. And I understand his horror. Because throughout Perm is unlikely to find at least one soul that can fix this technical curiosity. With shaking hands, he climbs to open the hood, but then he suddenly stops and says: thank God. It still works, is it not visible? And quietly, because the car is so arranged. This is a hybrid.
 
That night I did not sleep. I was thinking about the end of the internal combustion engine and the beginning of a new era of automotiveism. I presented me paintings in the spirit of Herbert Wells - hybrids come. Behind the first, simple, a hybrid is a second, more difficult, followed by a third, in general, hyperboloid. This offensive is inevitable, I believed. And as soon as a decent sedan with a hybrid installation appears, I will run to purchase it. In order not to be the last sucker.
 
Lexus GS 450h - the second experience of the company in the production of hybrid equipment after RX 400H. The letter h in the designation just indicates the presence of a hybrid installation. Index 450 in the designation of the car is not associated with the actual volume of its engine. This is a kind of hint that the combined power of a hybrid installation and a V-shaped six is \u200b\u200bcomparable with a power of a 4.5-liter V8 engine. The total power of the gasoline engine (296 hp) and the electric motor (200 hp) makes GS 450H the most powerful sedan with a hybrid engine. Recorden and another indicator: the specific power of the machine - 100 hp. per liter of the working volume of the internal combustion engine.
Buy. EXPENSIVE. And so he appeared. Lexus GS 450H sedan. Divine. Shining. Cover me with roofing material, otherwise I will blind. Write me in the queue for a test drive immediately.
And so I am driving this car on the asphalt of the Tushino airfield, but so far I have not climbed into my pocket for money to buy this car from a company representative right there, on the field.
 
Firstly, I feel sorry for 80,000 conditional units. As a jerking Russak, I think that the red price of the GS 450H is $ 50,000-60,000.
I don't want to pay Japanese. Japan is a country with special pricing. Everything is more expensive there than in Europe. Probably because the Japanese receive more than others in the world and generally live better than anyone. The Japanese man sincerely does not understand why he should pay 10 rubles for a bun, when you can give all 30. According to his logic, a bun for 10 rubles is a catch. All over the world, this island feature has already been covered. And they specially carry Japanese tourists for shops, where goods are sold with 40-50% of the cape only at the time of arrival of the eastern groups.
 
Secondly, I do not see that the revolutionary in fact the machine was very different from ordinary cars with conventional engines. In general, the example of Japanese designers of clothes and jewelry, who ahead of the planet of the whole, creators of cars from the country of Sakura behave like diligent apprentices. I can imagine how the elder with a piece of paper costs and reads the cost register:
Is there a servorul? -- There is. Is there a bar? -- There is. Is there a DVD? -Yes, yes, now we put it. As the options are combined with each other, it is often the tenth business.
  
In fantastic novels, ”Ilf remarked once,“ the main thing was the radio. ” With him, the happiness of mankind was expected. There is a radio, but there is no happiness
Sunrise manually. It is clear that in the Lexus GS 450 there is everything. Well, maybe at least something is not? - You ask with hope. Everything is! “I will answer how I will cut it out, I am.” And, we must pay tribute, the dangers of alapled combinations of materials and details by the creators of the machine managed to avoid. Everything is harmonious. All at the level. But something still rushes out. These are some things inaccessible to the understanding of the European. This is what is hidden from us with hieroglyphs. Here, for example, to take the skin in a car that Hyundai Sonata immediately reminded me. This is not the skin in the sense in which we, the villagers, imagine it for ourselves. This is not the skin of the BMW M6 and especially Ferrari Scaglietti. This is the material that Japanese scientists came up with in the basements of their huge skyscrapers and welded it there. This material satisfies the latest and most stringent requirements of ecologists. It has amazing and unique properties: it withstands the herd of elephants, does not get dirty for a hundred years, exudes the aroma of the perfume Issey Miyake ... This material is incomparable. But this is not leather.
Or take the display in the car. This is also an oriental little thing. He has a different logic of functioning. Here the algorithm of work is progressive. And we are used to the jump regime. Now we need the Internet and drink. And now we must answer by phone. At the same time, we will see how much gasoline is left in the tank. And it would be nice to refuel a disc with Cheeinger. And give us all this right away. To instantly, with several pokes - one, two, three, four, ready. The scatter of Russian thinking.
The Lexus GS 450H display works like an old Windows. We activate the program A, then set the program B, go to the D mode from C. And so the Step by STEP, and the steppe and the steppe around.
 
The V6 gasoline engine itself with a dual vvt-I gas distribution phase system is worthy of flattering words for originality. For the first time, a combination supply of gasoline was implemented at the first time both in the combustion chamber and in the intake manifold. What makes the engine optimal and economical. The power unit is deprived of the starter - it starts from an electric generator - and a separate timing belt (instead of it - a chain), which makes the mechanism more durable.
Panasonic electric batteries - they are under the rear seat of the car - do not need maintenance at all and are designed for the entire life of the car.
GOELRO is Japanese. In fantastic novels, ”Ilf remarked once,“ the main thing was the radio. ” With him, the happiness of mankind was expected. There is a radio, but there is no happiness. In my view, science fiction was Lexus hybrid motor. You observe this science fiction without getting up from the chair. The picture that occurs on the display when turning the ignition key is fascinating in the first moments. You are immediately demonstrated by all the capabilities of the Nintendo toys. Exactly. This is not even the Sony Play Station 2. You just imagine: now you are driving along the road, and there are wheels under you, I earned an electric motor, the current ran to charge the battery ... Well, isn't that magic? Magic. Then you understand that in principle the picture does not change. The script does not develop further cartoons from the Jetix channel.
 
But the main strangeness was waiting for me ahead when the on-board computer showed me the average fuel consumption after a series of sharp accelerations on the airfield-29 liters per 100 km. This is the same embodied science fiction. There is fiction, but there is no happiness.
 
I imagined everything differently. Frankly, I believed that the gasoline engine in such a machine serves only one goal - to be a charger for the battery, which in turn nourishes an electric motor. And that the entire talent of engineers is aimed at removing 1000, 2000, 5000 horsepower from this electric motor. And that the car will behave like a trolleybus, which, incidentally, accelerates faster than other sportsmen. He is like a light switch. Once - and he has already lit. Okay, I was mistaken. But the Lexus GS 450H is not a trolley. By clicking on his pedal, you will not break off, despite the fact that the power of the machine is almost 300 hp. And this is serious. This is such a Porsche Physical House, if you figure it out. But there will be no so -called sport. Because when pressing the pedal, not an electric motor begins to work, but a gasoline.
 
Then I will allow myself a retreat. The Japanese motor is also a thing in itself. They seem to be a secret, but no one here knows which one. The simple secret of the V-shaped six is \u200b\u200bthat she has a good but very short pickup. As a show -off worker, the motor demonstrates the willingness to serve always and immediately. But it calms down very quickly. It looks like this: you click on the gas pedal, follow a powerful kik-down and a frisky leap. The car seems to show the owner: well, did you understand how I can? You saw how hot I am, hot. But in fact, it was all his wah. The German car, the same Mercedes S-Klasse, when you press the pedal, there is a feeling that you are falling from a 300-story skyscraper. The German motor is upward, that there is infinity. The supply of forces is limited only by electronics.
 
On the Lexus GS 450h, the calmness of the motor is aggravated by the presence of a variator living in its life. Therefore, the gearbox lever here is just an element of decoration. This is also to complete the list. That was. And then the motorist will sit down, and he does not have a lever. And he will be indignant: am I in the moon park, or what? Where is the plug? And they put it on him. Although the car does everything itself. You can brake to zero, and your fifth gear will burn on your display.
 
Lexus GS 450H created for roads called German autobahns. But even on straight lines, the driver cannot be relaxed. It's all about the load on the car. At the car - due to an extra engine - a strange weight. The feeling is this: you are taking a huge generator for a summer residence that pulls you on your side. In fact, it seems that laying Lexus even with the protection systems on is easier to light. And another oddity: he turns to the left better than to the right.
What I liked without any reservations is how Lexus slows down. Braking goes with a disabled gasoline engine. Only thanks to an electric motor. It seems that the commands are directly transmitted from foot to computer and wheels. If there were such brakes on all cars, we would not have had accidents on the roads.
I don't want to pay Japanese. The Japanese man sincerely does not understand why he should pay 10 rubles for a bun, when you can give all 30. According to his logic, a bun for 10 rubles is a catch
If it comes tomorrow. My daughter and colleagues recently traveled on the instructions of a businessman to the Samsung factory. They were driven by a large number of premises, but not even more allowed. The funny thing is: that in one of the halls where there were some incredible examples of technology, they were told that it was not necessary to look at this yet. Meanwhile, it was about museum exhibits.
 
Korea and Japan are already living tomorrow. This can be judged even by fragmentary news: either the battery was released, which works on Helia for 5 months without stopping, then some robot was done, able to speak, dance and play chess. With such powerful the potential to make a Lexus GS 450H hybrid is like a zaporozhets to break. On the example of this car, the Japanese simply demonstrate their capabilities. I am convinced that they are easy and tomorrow can produce an electronic car in its pure form. I think that they already have Perpetuum Mobile: I drove up to the cranes with water, refuel and - thanks to the cold nuclear reaction - ride five million years. But the Japanese do not release perpetuum mobile, because otherwise the whole world economy will immediately collapse. They pity us. They do not want us, who were mistaken from our unreasonably expensive gasoline, go and drowned from grief when no one needs this gasoline in FIG. And so for now, hybrids are sold to us. Type Lexus GS 450H.
And again I can’t sleep ...
 
On the Lexus GS 450h, the gearbox lever is an element of decoration. He is here to be. And then the motorist will sit down, and he does not have a lever. And he will be indignant: am I in the moon park, or what? Where is the plug?
 
In Russia, the car will be sold in the only version of Premium. This option is practically All Inclusive. The database contains Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) collisions and adaptive Cruise Cruise Cruise Control (ACC), Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS) adaptive lighting system, alloying discs, leather salon, multimedia and navigation systems, multimedia and navigation system Audio Mark Levinson and DVD, Safe Parking Assist Monitor Parking system with display.
 
Due to the lowest indicator of nitrogen oxide emissions and hydrocarbons compared to any internal combustion engine, drivers Lexus GS 450H are exempt from the fee for entry into the center of London.

Text Nikolay Fomenko, photo Andrey Danilov

We thank for help in organizing the shooting of Toyota Motor LLC, (495) 258-3465, and the Russian Automobile Federation.
Lexus GS 450h
 
V6 gasoline engine
Working volume (cubic cub) 3456
Power (L.S. at rpm) 296 at 6400
Moment (nm at rpm) no data
Total power of the hybrid power plant (L.S.) 340
Gearbox E-CVT variator
Length/width/height (mm) 4825/1820/1430
Wheel base (mm) 2850
Equipped mass (kg) 2000
Maximum speed (km/h) 200
Acceleration to 100 km/h (c) less than 6.0
Fuel consumption (average l/100 km) 8.0-10.0
Price in Moscow $ 78 500

Www.carview.co.jp: Of course, the hybrid has its own emblem so that others can somehow understand where the car with a mixed type of thrust is, and where not. The fact that the designers decided to give the hybrid almost the same forms as the machine with an ordinary internal combustion engine may indicate an attempt to fix the Lexus \u003d Hybrid formula in the mind. This is a completely different position than the one that the designers who worked on the appearance of another hybrid - Toyota Prius ... if I remembered Prius, I will allow myself to note another detail. The goals that determine the use of mixed traction are significantly different in the first and in the second case. If in Prius the main task is the maximum fuel savings, then in the case of GS450H everything is different. In this project, engineers were required without reducing the power of the power plant itself, to ensure that as little fuel as possible was spent on a unit of power. In fact, the internal combustion engine itself develops a power of 296 hp, and in combination with an additional electric motor this indicator is brought to 345 hp. Here you have a hybrid!
Croxon, automobile newspaper: a fairly gentle running turn on a wide paid highway unexpectedly seemed too cool and narrow. To be written into it, I had to tightly strain and squeeze the steering wheel tightly. A couple of seconds later, already on a straight line, I turn to a pale companion:
-Strange, for some reason it begins to wear it from the trajectory. Maybe the tire pressure fell?
-- Idiot! Have you looked at the speedometer? More than 200 km/h! Do you know what happens for such an excess of speed?
... GS450H acceleration is very good. From the respectable business class sedan with a not the largest 3.5-liter engine of such abuse, one does not have to wait. However, on a hybrid car there are two engines - gasoline and electric ...
KM.RU: The salon of the new Lexus GS450H is good, pleased with the finishes, the build quality at the height, only a little scarlet look like a red wood inserts, especially at the automatic gear selector. In the back row, 3 people of medium complexion easily fit, space for their knees is more than enough. But the trunk compared to competitors is completely small, only 280 liters, but this is the payment for an electric motor whose batteries are located just behind the rear row of seats ...
In general, the purchase of the Lexus GS450H seems quite profitable, because a more richly equipped car costs cheaper than the closest competitors, and fuel consumption cannot but rejoice - only 7.9 liters per 100 km in mixed mode. By the way, prices in Europe start at 57,600 euros, while the less powerful and more gluttonous Mercedes-Benz E 420 CDI costs about 5000 euros more expensive
Drive.ru: If you disassemble this hybrid installation according to the components, we will see the following: a 3.5-liter V6 engine, an electric motor and a set of several nickelmetalgid batteries. The motor is 3.5 liters, and in the model index are numbers 4 and 5? Lying and falsification? Not at all, having reunited everything back, we get a total capacity of 335 horsepower and acceleration to a hundred in 5.6 seconds. Such indicators are equated to the power of a 4.5 -liter gasoline V8. Everything is honest. The power is equal, and the price of the GS450H hybrid is $ 4250 higher than that of the GS450 gasoline. Agree, the difference is not great. Especially when you consider what you get in return. And in return you get a solid car with a green image today. Plus some, but real savings on fuel.
 

A source: "Autopilot"