Test drive Lexus GS 2005 - 2008 sedan

The legacy of the grandfather of the Prius

Everything in the world develops in a spiral, once the passed is revived by a more perfect one in a new round. So I thought at the wheel of a hybrid Lexus-GS450H for a reason for quite some time I drove on the first serial hybrid Toyota-Prius.
On a new round
I press the button, start the motor. The instrument shield flashed electric lighting, the air conditioner earned, but I did not hear either the starter or the sound of the engine. I recall the priest after turning the key under the hood began to rumble a gasoline unit. The new GS compressor has an electric air conditioner (like a water pump), and so far there are enough energy in batteries, the internal combustion engine will not work. True, this is in hot weather, and in winter the help of a gasoline engine will be required immediately after starting, for example, so that the stove warms up the salon.
A 3.5 liter gasoline engine in conjunction with an electric motor makes a hybrid 450 of the strongest among Lexus-GS. By the way, this six-cylinder unit is completely new and interesting at least the original D-4S power system. Fuel in each cylinder injects two nozzles one into the combustion chamber, the other in the intake pipeline. For example, at idle, gasoline is supplied only directly to the cylinder under a pressure of up to 130 bar. During cold start, both nozzles work first fuel in the intake manifold, and at the end of the compression tact, another portion enters the combustion chamber. In small and medium loads, injectors are triggered at the same time when the piston goes down. Why did the garden are so, it is easy to guess, of course, for the sake of ecology and fuel saving.
As on the prize, the power batteries of the hybrid installation are located behind the seats, which means that they seriously reduce the luggage compartment. Alas, there was no other place, but it was possible to get the perfect weightlift 50:50. In the trunk, an additional 12-volt battery will also have to be cooked if the car is simple for a long time without movement.
REMEMBER EVERYTHING
Those very forgotten sensations Lexus rolled silently outside the parking gates on one electric motor. Smoothly start to accelerate somewhere by 30 km/h, the gasoline engine is connected. Moreover, it is absolutely imperceptible to the driver and passengers: only the picture on the central display changes.
The hybrid accelerates yellow arrows ran from gasoline and electric motors to the wheels. I inhibit the internal combustion engine in front of the traffic light, and the electric motor converts mechanical energy from rotation of the wheels to electric. Arrows become green and head to the battery. At the same time, the priest was funny as a trolleybus, the GS has almost no heard a characteristic sound in recovery mode. By the way, it is difficult to blame tenacious brakes, but the information content of the pedal could be better. From the habit, at first you vigorously nod the windshield.
We got out to the highway of the gas pedal is drowned on the floor, the gasoline engine at high speed turns a monotonous song, and Lexus quickly gains speed. Smoothly, absolutely without jerking, like a car with a variator. But why does the tachometer needle climb further and further? And this is not a tachometer at all, but a wattmeter that measures the power of the electric motor. The speed is about a hundred ... A small jerk similar to switching in a hydromechanical box, and a double -stove arrow falls a two -stage gearbox, a new element in the hybrid transmission of Lexus.
Ready to believe in numbers from press materials: a high-speed interval from 80 to 120 km/h the sedan covers for about 5 s. Another advantage of Lexus-GS450H approximate silence in the cabin at constant speed. Hearing captures only aerodynamic noises and a light hum of tires.
The uninitiated does not need to know that under him is a hybrid! In other words, a car with two engines should do everything that ordinary cars can better better than them. Apparently, therefore, a manual transplant shift mode has appeared on the new Lexus. The selector is no different from GS gasoline versions, and the same virtual steps. To drive the programs manually, trying to win at least a fraction of a second when typing, it is pointless to the hybrid smartly smart. But to stick the lowered before turning is sometimes useful. Surprisingly, there are no jerks of a smooth slowdown, although not as intense as we would like.
Amazing nearby
Lexus-GS450H have already entered sale. For 78,500 dollars, the buyer will be offered an interesting car with a bunch of different options. Most of them have already been tested on gasoline modifications (ZR, 2005, No. 6) Parktronik with a rear view camera, a complete set of airbags, including knee protection, video and audio system Mark Levinson, voluminous sound, leather salon, steering. with a variable gear ratio
I don’t know how much a person who spent such a solid amount on the car will excite the fuel consumption. Although the Lexus GS450H is strong, including efficiency. Having measured about 200 km along the city streets, a suburban highway and high -speed tracks, the on -board computer issued a consumption of about 11.5 l/100 km. A good indicator for a machine of this class and power, but far from 8 liters received on treadmills.
The manufacturer claims that the entire hybrid filling will live no less than the rest of the nodes. It gives a guarantee for 5 years and 100 thousand km. Russian servicemen are ready to serve a sedan with two engines The benefit of communication with such a miracle car, the Lexus RX400H all-resistant carrier. So modern models with hybrid transmissions should not be afraid, like the first cars that brought us from Japan and Europe. And at prices, hybrids are already comparable to gasoline versions more than GS300 in a similar configuration, but cheaper GS430.
The evolution of hybrids is seven -mini steps. The new Lexus GS450H is largely similar to the first serial hybrid, but at the same time more comfortable, more interesting from the point of view of technology, more economical and almost harmless to the environment. In general, grandfather can be proud!

Lexus-GS450H prestige and comfort for the owner, a visual aid for techies, an expensive gift for the environment.

Hybrids go back
Lexus GS450H the first serial car with a hybrid drive to the rear axle. The general layout of the units is similar to gasoline versions, only instead of a gearbox hybrid transmission (Lexus Hybrid Drive), which, incidentally, is only 10 mm longer than a regular six -speed box. It contains a planetary transmission that coordinates the operation of the main nodes of the hybrid power plant: the electric motor is associated with the crown gear, an internal combustion engine with the water satellite, and the generator with a sunny one. By the way, the latter not only recharges batteries, but also serves as a starter for a gasoline engine. At the same time, the wheels are also associated with the crown gear thus, the speed of the electric motor is proportional to the speed of rotation of the wheels. The torque from the internal combustion engine goes through the satellites and they drove to the crown gear and then on the rear axle.
In a hybrid transmission, a new element of a two -stage gearbox has appeared for the optimal use of torque, depending on the speed and mode of movement.
 
 

 
Maxim Sachkov
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"