Electric Lexus

In the “super-luxury” car class, the flagships of Mercedes, Audi, and BMW have six-liter, V12 engines. Lexus put “600” in its new flagship’s name because the LS600h—with a five-liter V8—performs with the best of those six-liter, six-figure super-sedans.

In the first application of hybrid technology to a luxury sedan, a highly efficient battery pack and electric motors boost the V8’s 389 horsepower to 438, distributed to all four wheels by a Torsen self-adjusting differential.

The car’s eight-speed automatic is called continuously variable, but unlike those with a steel belt stretching around adjustable pulleys, this transmission uses eight planetary gears, shifting smoothly in automatic mode. The driver can select one of the eight gear ratios—excellent for using gears to decelerate or to descend hills, although it may not beat the slick auto-upshifts for acceleration.

The LS600h includes the LS460’s radar-directed, no-hands, self-parking option and a reclining massage seat in the right rear of the stretched “L” model. But it adds a few tricks of its own. A crash-avoidance system detects objects coming up on the road—whether beyond the reach of the LED headlights or too close for a drowsy driver’s reaction time. A camera on the steering column monitors the driver’s face; if it detects vision straying from the road a bit too long, it sounds an alert. If it detects an object ahead at the same time, it applies the brakes, firms the steering for faster response, and tightens the front seatbelts.

It’s enough to make a person sit up and pay more attention to the road, so as not to be humiliated by a car that is far smarter than its driver.