2008 Lexus LS600h L Road Test Review
Comfort, Sophistication, Power, Style, Exclusivity. These are attributes that people look for when contemplating the purchase of an ultra-luxury automobile.
What do you look for in a sedan with a six figure price tag? Cars in this strata used to be few and far between, but these days, there are certainly plenty to choose from.
For the 2008 model year, Lexus has joined this exotic group with its first entry in the $100,000 plus price point. The car is called the Lexus LS600h L.
From it's outward appearance, there is not much to distinguish it from the LS460 L which was introduced last year as a 2007 model. The high-tech LED headlamps (the first in any production automobile) are different and jump out at anyone who knows what they are, but for the average Joe, they will go unnoticed. The L logo in the grill has a neat blue halo around it and there's that Hybrid badge on the bottom of the back door. And, of course, there is the LS600h L badge in blue and chrome on the deck lid, but that's about it.
The LS600h L has the world's first full hybrid V8 powertrain sending power seamlessly through all four wheels. This unique power system generates 438 horsepower. That's V12 territory, but with the fuel economy of the best V8s. It does this while earning a SULEV emission rating which makes it on the order of 70 percent cleaner then the competition.
