2010 Lexus HS 250h - Review

By High Gear Media Staff

High Gear Media Staff

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2010 Toyota Prius

The world gets a new Lexus hybrid next week, and it's not a version of an existing Lexus vehicle. As our colleagues over at AllAboutPrius.com predicted last year, the new 2010 Lexus HS 250h will be a spin-off of the brand-new 2010 Toyota Prius (shown above).

While enjoying sales success and critical acclaim with its Prius and Camry hybrid models, Toyota has taken an arguably more cautious approach with hybrid technology at sister luxury division Lexus. To date, Lexus has only offered a hybrid SUV (the RX 400h), a hybrid full-size luxury sedan (LS 600h), and a hybrid mid-sized sports sedan (GS 450h). All three vehicles have focused more on performance than on efficiency, with powerful V-6s and V-8s being fortified with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive electric motors for even more accelerative force. While the hybrid technology does allow less gasoline consumption in the city, the mileage improvements offered by Lexus' three hybrids have been respectable rather than impressive.

That is set to change, we think, with Lexus introduction of the HS 250h, a compact sedan that will be introduced next week at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. If this new vehicle follows the Lexus hybrid naming tradition, it will offer an engine displacement smaller than its alphanumeric name suggests. Just off the top of our heads, we could see fitment of something along the lines of the Toyota Camry Hybrid's 2.4-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder under the hood of this new sedan, though that particular powertrain is engineered for a front-drive vehicle.

Stay tuned for Detroit coverage as we uncover the details, and get the very latest over at our flagship site, TheCarConnection.com.--Colin Mathews

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