rosskoss

http://www.caranddriver.com/shortroa...s-ls600hl.html

encore888

0-60 in 5.4 seconds...

"All these results are significantly quicker than those recorded by the Lexus LS460L, which was 500 pounds trimmer when it was tested for our January 2007 issue."

STIG

This is one time I really like Car And Driver! LOL!

Way to go lexus!

And now let's hear what haters have to say

Gojirra99

Significantly faster than Edmunds' test of the 600hL as expected, but Edmunds got better skidpad of 0.82g for the 600hL if I recall correctly.

I don't think we know exactly how much faster the 600hL is compared to the 460L though, I suppose C & D can feel the 600hL is faster, but can you really compare their times of 5.4 sec. for the 600hL to the 6.1 sec. they got for the 460L tested on a different occasion(& are they pre-production cars ?) ?
Other tests from other sources have tested the the 460L at 5.4 sec. & 5.6 sec. 0-60 if I remember correctly.

mmarshall

Why is it that the 0-60 times and skidpad/slalom figures always seem to be the first thing that people check when they read or quote a car test? There's a whole lot more to a vehicle than how fast it accelerates or handles at the limit.....but that's all a lot of people seem concerned with. It's the same thing, over and over..........

Even Car and Driver, which is a classic "enthusiast" magazine, concentrates on more than just speed and handling.

encore888

^^^
Interesting point. For me, this is not always the first thing, but since the Edmunds review, there has been this question about whether the LS 600h L is a significant improvement over the LS 460 L...whether the added performance is verified. One poster was asking, "I have yet to see any test match Lexus' claimed figures." The C&D test results exceeded them, that is all.

As for whether they are good judges of luxury vehicles, of what I have traditionally thought so up until more recently, remains to be seen. I find the way their articles have gotten more and more brief in recent years to be...wanting. But the point is well-taken, there's so much more to cars than that.

newr

That was me and my comments were based on
1. The 0-to-60-mph sprint took 6.0 seconds and the quarter-mile went by in 14.3 seconds at 101 mph (http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehi...83.A12252.html)
2. On the open road, the 5.0-litre V8 engine chatters into life, propelling the 2,270kg machine from 0-62mph in only 6.3 seconds (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carrevi...us_ls600h.html)
3. The 0-to-60-mph sprint took 6.0 seconds and the quarter-mile went by in 14.3 seconds at 101 mph (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=120486)


Now with the latest results from C&D.
"We also beat the company’s 0-to-60-mph forecast of 5.5 seconds by a 10th and matched its quarter-mile claim of 13.8 seconds"

Lexus' claim is now valid and proven. These numbers are respectable and make a lot more sense. A 'halo' car is not supposed to be slower than its sibbling (LS) which was my original point. In this test, at least it did not get beat by the 460. I know there is a lot more to a car than just 0-60 (my original signature btw. ), but when we talk about halo car, cream of the crop or showcase... performance is a BIG one and mid 5s to 60 and high 13s in 1/4 is very respectable.


"The fuel consumption should be about the same as the LS460L’s — which requires 6.2 seconds to hit 60 mph. Under the 2008 EPA testing regime, the LS600hL is rated at 20 mpg city and 22 highway. We estimate that for 2008 the LS460L will have a rating of 17/25. More telling is that our observed consumption with the LS460L was 13 mpg, whereas the LS600hL returned 20 mpg during its week-long visit with us."

LS460L got 13mpg If this is the case, then the hybrid system in the LS600hL works wonderfully. It gets 20mpg.

spwolf

now imagine what would happen if we compared apples to apples - LS600h vs LS460L AWD. It would be bigger difference 0-60 and bigger difference in MPG....

Gojirra99

Well, you know Car & Driver beat up the cars when they test them , & did they get that mpg from a pre-production LS460L ??

My answer to mmarshall ^^^ would be the same, a loaded 460L is $30K less than a loaded 600hL, so beside AWD, better mpg, better emission rating, better interior & better handling with the ****, it should be expected to perform better than the LS460L as well. Plus this thread is about a Car & Driver article, so performance it's expected to be talked about first.
5.4 sec. 0-60 & 13.8 sec. 1/4 mile is more in line with expectation, given it's heavier with AWD & hybrid compared to the 460L. Let's see if it can do even better with more tests from other sources ...

spwolf

loaded 460L, without AWD, is 94k...

So 30k is a bit too much, isnt it?

Gojirra99

If you didn't delete the rest of my post in your quote, you can see I took AWD into account in the price difference I just meant to round it to $30K anyway . . .

spwolf

isnt that even less then? maybe 10-15k difference?

I know, I know...15k is pocket change

STIG

Yeah, the LED headlights alone worth 15K

Gojirra99

The point is whether the additional features & performance gain is worth $30K. The difference between a GS350 & GS350AWD is only about $2k, & I think the **** is a $4K option for the GS450h . . . .

XeroK00L

A whopping 50+% gain in real-world fuel economy, not to mention that it actually matches EPA's figure.

0-60 in 5.4 secs is much faster than C&D's 0-60 time for the LS460 too (6.0 sec?). Do people see the point of the LS600hL now?