Look How Far Lexus Have Come

Lexus have finally managed to make a foot hold in the car market and this has meant that their German rivals have had something to think about in the past couple of years. This is because Lexus have been able to develop consistently good cars such as the new IS series as well as the new supercar that has been released the LF-A.

But it was in 2007 that the new look GS series was released onto the car market with brand new looks and new engines that boosted power as well including the famous hybrid technology that Lexus have been working on in the past few years making their cars cleaner and better to the environment.

As well as the standard model range of the GS series, they are planning to release a new GS-F high performance model that will join the F marquee high performance line with the existing IS-F model already in place. Constantly the F Marquee division of Lexus has been related to the M division of BMW that also release the high performance versions of their saloons and convertibles such as the M3, 5 and 6 as well as the Z4M.

The new GS-F will have the same V10 engine that has been dropped into their supercar, the LF-A. The standard range however has been very successful already and has made a big impact on the European market. With the combined hybrid technology and safety features that all Lexus cars have it made the models all very heavy.

This meant that there was the potential for the model range to be slow and sluggish compared to all their main rivals, and this meant that there was the possibility it may not reach their full potential. But, thanks to the new more powerful V6 engine and the combined hybrid technology, the new top of the range GS450H (h for hybrid) can produce a substantial 330 hp which was relative to the BMW M3. This is good enough to propel the car from 0-60 in 5.2 seconds and this is very good for a car of its size.

The hybrid technology also means that the car can have a power output that is relative to a V8 but have the economy of an average car such as Vauxhall Vectra and this means that the car can deliver the best of both worlds. The hybrid technology works by using a standard petrol engine and a separate electric motor selectively.

For example, a car with hybrid technology cruising around town stopping and starting may only use a tiny amount of power from the engine and have full use of the electric motor meaning that the car is cutting the carbon emissions down to a very small amount but still being able to do everything a standard petrol car can do. But when wanting to pass someone on the motorway or blasting around B roads the car will make full use of all the power available from the petrol engine to deliver the best driving experience and maximize the cars potential. The car can still run the electric motor which means that some of the carbon emissions from the engine are lost meaning the car is still being cleaner than a car of its relative size and market.

Overall the new GS series has been able to set the standard for large saloons and has been a relatively large thorn in the sides of the comparative German big three.