Boardroom suaveness

Strictly in a Bangladeshi context, the eat-your-greens Lexus GS300H is a car you would buy if you were a successful business man and have your chauffer drive you about. What makes me come to that conclusion? Quite frankly, there are loads of cars that are much nicer to drive than this, but very few that is so nice to be driven in. It's just that smooth and it's a handsome looking car as well; if you were to be driven around town in something subtle, this is it.

If you leave this car in Eco mode (where it most probably will be driven in for the rest of its life sentence), the big rev counter on the left of the cluster disappears and a "eco-meter" appears which encourages economical driving. The throttle pedal actually feels like it's doing the work of two pedals in one. The first half of it, the car doesn't really go anywhere; sure the speed climbs but at the same urgency as a fat dog. When you start to step on it further, it's far too sensitive which gives an impression that this car doesn't really want to go quickly, it likes being driven smooth. If you're gentle with the throttle the passengers would fall asleep in a matter of minutes without even realizing it. It's like floating on water, the suspension does a tremendous job.

There is a Sport and Sport+ mode in the car, which brings back the good 'ole tachometer. If you put it in manual mode, you can use the paddle shifters and somebody wearing a lab-coat at Lexus thought it would be a good idea if the CVT were to emulate "actual gears" in the same fashion as a tiptronic transmission. The car, being a hybrid, makes all its power in the low RPM range and is out of breath after 4000 RPM, which is probably what it was designed to do. Although I did not expect it, this car with all its comfort-oriented suspension handles quite well, and this is a sign Lexus really did a good job on the chassis: its rigid but it won't break your back.

The interior has a gigantic 12.3 inch display set into the wide center console, which can be operated by a very Lexus-sy computer mouse inspired remote touch controller. The finish of the interior panels is top notch, you get heated seats, all the switches and knobs are beautifully made and feel posh. The steering is not just a steering, it's cluttered with all sorts of switches to control…things just in case you feel like driving it yourself once in a while. You get a traditional dial and needle style clock mounted between the AC vents and a neat drinks holder. The front seats are electrically adjustable, although I can't help but wonder: if a 2001 onwards Toyota Allion can have a reclining and folding rear seat, why not this? Possibly because the hybrid battery packs and trees and such are hiding behind the seat. The rear leg-room is a bit cramped when the front seats are in their normal position. Considering you'll be spending most of your time in the rear seats, Lexus decided to put switches on the side of the front passenger seat which allows you to move the front seat forwards in order to create more space without actually asking the passenger up front. That's not the solution Lexus, that's just a Band-Aid around the problem.

The brake pedal needs a bit of encouragement to work because of the regenerative braking system which converts the wasted heat energy from braking into battery charge for EV mode. This car can be driven purely on EV mode itself for a short while, and while we didn't get to test it out properly, in our short test we drove it through a traffic jam on electric mode only. That means as long as you don't stomp on the throttle, the petrol engine won't fire up and some polar bears will be very happy. The switch from EV mode to the petrol engine is seamless and we noticed that the fuel gauge didn't move at all during our test drive.

Whatever Lexus has done to make this car so efficient has surely worked, I bet you could run around in this all day without worrying about it eating up my wallet.

The Lexus GS300H is for sale at a price of 97 lakh. For details, contact RPM Motors Ltd.

Photos: Tasdid Chowdhury