Lexus LS500h 2018 first drive

Which is a 3.5-litre V6 developing 295bhp without the aid of turbochargers, but boosted by a hybrid system to produce a ‘total system output’ of 354bhp. It powers either the rear or all four wheels suspended at each corner by multi-link suspension units.

And I’m afraid my fears were largely confirmed. There is a lot of theatre when you approach and board the LS: the door handles illuminate, puddles of light appear beneath the mirrors, the seat belt presents itself and even its holder extends by 50mm to receive the buckle. The seat can adjust itself in 28 ways and offer a range of massage functions from ‘stretch’ to ‘Shiatsu’ and five levels of strength. The interior is not just attractive, it’s fascinating – layer after layer of full-width metal strips splitting the dash from door to door. If ever a car made a promise about the experience to come, this is it. But the car itself fails to deliver.

The most obvious problem is the engine, which has to work far too hard to cart the immense weight of the LS from place to place. In the specification I drove, it weighed 2420kg, almost half a tonne more than the new Audi A8 when fitted with a similarly powerful V6 motor.

If this were a sonorous V12 or even a thundering V8, you might not mind too much, but it’s a coarse V6 that develops maximum torque at a sky-high 5100rpm, and not even ten gear ratios (four real, six virtual) can disguise the fact. On a steady motorway incline, it would at times have to rev to over 4000rpm to maintain progress, and it’s not shy about voicing its displeasure. It’s a shame to say it but, when all the mainstream alternatives have quiet turbo engines offering massive thrust from barely more than idling speed whether they be powered by petrol or diesel, this normally aspirated V6 is nothing less than inadequate for a car whose prices only start at £72,595 and extend all the way up to £97,995.

In other ways, it feels more as you’d hope a flagship Lexus to be: the ride quality on air suspension (standard on all bar the entry-level model) meets the expectations of its class and, while it’s not remotely fun to hustle, nor is it in the least unpleasant, proving accurate and quite composed in long fast corners.

But when it comes to cars that must transport a number of people over long distances, style is almost always a poor substitute for substance, and this is where the likeable but far too flawed LS500h comes substantially unstuck. The packaging is not good enough for such an enormous car, it is too heavy and too difficult to operate. But it is the engine that is its undoing: bluntly, it has no place in a car like this. Over a genial chat with its deputy chief engineer Shinji Kishida, I asked him why the hybrid system was not available with the twin-turbo V6 fitted to cars sold outside the UK. And he replied that the engine was new and there’d not been time to integrate the hybrid. When I asked him if that was work in progress, he grinned from ear to ear and simply said: "That’s a secret."

Such an engine, far more refined in character and flooded with low-down torque as it would undoubtedly be, could genuinely transform this car. But I can report only as I find and, as it stands, the LS500h promises more than it delivers. Five generations on, I’d hoped for more.

Lexus LS500h Premier AWD​

Where Oman Price £97,995 Engine 3456cc, V6, petrol plus electric motor Power 354bhp at 6600rpm Torque 231lb ft at 5100rpm Gearbox CVT and auto Kerb weight 2420kg Top speed 155mph 0-62mph 5.5sec Fuel economy 39.8mpg CO2/tax band 161g/km, 31% Rivals Audi A8 55TFSI, BMW 740Li