Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £81,460 to £83,705
Comfortable, quick, relatively economical, well built.
Expensive, steering lacks feel.
A refreshingly forward-looking take on the classic executive saloon formula.
The campaign against big 4x4s has temporarily diverted attention away from some even less environmentally friendly cars. Big, luxurious executive saloons tend to emit just as many greenhouse gases as the typical SUV, if not more, and have an unhealthy appetite for fossil fuels. And unlike many Chelsea tractors, a lot of these big saloons are driven far and fast, ploughing up and down the motorways and across the autobahns, from head office to regional conference to holiday home.
In that context, the LS600h is a less-bad way of carrying on as before. Lexus doesn't claim that the hybrid version of its third-generation LS is a green car - it's just a cleaner, more responsible variation on that familiar theme. Its combination of 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine and electric motor won't be anything like as economical and non-polluting as, say, a Toyota Prius or a Skoda Fabia diesel, let alone a G-Wiz electric car. But compare it to the Jaguar XJ, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes S-Class and, indeed, the conventionally powered Lexus LS460, and it all starts to make sense.
At a glance the 600 looks just like the 460, aside from the different headlights and the Hybrid badges on the side. But under the skin it's a very different beast, with full-time four-wheel drive, revised steering and suspension, and different weight distribution because of the large battery above the rear axle.
It goes on sale in the UK in October 2007 in two forms: the LS600h, and the long-wheelbase LS600h L. All the extra 120mm of length has gone into increased legroom for the rear-seat passengers; in the L version there's a choice of conventional three-seat arrangement in the back or a plush two-seat set-up with extra reclining, massaging and climate control functions. When the prices are announced this summer they will be considerably above those of the LS460, as this is the Lexus flagship, with pretty much everything fitted as standard.
