Lexus LS Hybrid

The 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid uses plenty of leather, wood, glass, and fabric, to come up with the classiest cabin in the midsized saloon class. The cabin in fact is refreshingly different. Instead of copying German cars, the Lexus LS Hybrid has a rather distinctive interior that's beautifully constructed. All models get genuine leather seats. Lexus has even managed to invigorate the interior real estate where the door meets the dashboard. It creates a sense of flow, accentuated by ambient lighting, inspired by traditional Japanese Andon lanterns, and the ‘floating’ armrests. The fluent-looking dashboard gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment unit. The power and volume knobs are centrally positioned, providing easy access. The system supports navigation and voice commands. A 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a head-up display, and digital key operation come as part of the standard equipment in the 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid.   

The 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid has moved on with the fifth-generation upgrade. The massive spindle-shaped grille and maws are more impressive now. The grille has 5,000 separate elements and is more of a work of art than engineering. The open-mouth vents on either side look daunting. The headlights are Z-shaped and look like lightning streaks. The 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid has a huge, barge-like body with a 3,125mm wheelbase. The strong shoulder line and the arching roofline look different. The car's rear looks more conventional. The dripping-with-chrome taillights look neat. The car runs on 20-inch alloy wheels that look imposing. 

The cabin of the 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid is spacious though headroom on the rear seat is a bit disappointing. Taller passengers may find their heads brushing with the ceiling, because of the sloping roofline. The leather seats are buttery soft and come with spinal support that make long rides less tiresome. The front seats are electrically adjustable and enjoy the maximum legroom. There's sumptuous shoulder room on all seas. The air-sprung car raises the height for better entry and exit. The car is mounted on a new multi-link suspension system that doubles the ball joints in the upper and lower control arms This leads to better wheel control and adaptive damping. The automatic climate control cools the car in minutes. The comfort of the LS Hybrid is good but certainly not the best.

The 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid is hauled by a twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder, 3.4-litre petrol engine that produces 416 PS/600 Nm. The motor is mated to a 10-speed automatic. The hybrid setup comprises two electric motors. The Lexus LS Hybrid isn't exactly fast and despite a powerful engine, takes time to rev. It's a big car and handling does need some practice. Pulling only on electric power is sedate. Performance can be best termed as average.  

Higher versions of the LS Hybrid get the Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 suite of driver-assist features as standard. The 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid 500h Platinum gets the 2.5 version with Lexus Teammate which provides limited hands-free operation. Other standard safety features include pedestrian detection, autonomous emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. 

With a starting price of AED 455,000, the 2024 Lexus LS Hybrid 500h Platinum is among the most expensive cars in its segment. It has a luxurious cabin with lots of features. But despite having a powerful engine, the performance is somewhat disappointing. Mileage isn't good either when the hybrid mode is switched off. It's a big and bold car but not quite worthy of the price it commands.