2013 Lexus GS 450h - CNET
In our youth-obsessed culture, however, that sort of brand identity does not sell cars, so Lexus set out to change its image in the only way possible: changing its products. Which is why the front of the 2013 Lexus GS 450h looks like the spiky hair of a Japanime character. Despite being a hybrid, often code for slow and wallowy, the GS 450h takes off with the force of a charging rhino and hammers on corners like a swordsmith crafting a katana. Making all this possible is a 3. 5-liter V-6 engine using Lexus' unique combination of port and direct injection, aided by an electric drive system. Possibly Lexus could pull more power out of it, but that might adversely affect fuel economy. The electric drive system is a bit more complex, using two motor-generators producing 180 horsepower and 200 horsepower. Rather than add up power numbers, Toyota cites an honest-sounding 338 horsepower for total system output, and does not give a total torque figure. When I put the pedal down, the car shimmied a little, the traction control light flashed repeatedly in the instrument cluster, and then the car got down to the business of plowing up the road with a force that felt unstoppable even as it sailed... Part of that inexorable rush comes because of the continuously variable transmission, a standard part of Lexus' hybrid drive system. Source: www.cnet.com
