2008 Lexus LS600hL review
May 11, 2008 by Paul Maric
Of course, what the ad was getting at, is that with Lexus, you can spend less to get more, if you compare the car on equal terms, with its main German rivals. Nothing has changed in the luxury value for money stakes. A Mercedes S Class with equivalent power outputs and level of standard kit might cost up to $100,000 more than the LS 600hL. That’s a significant price advantage in favour of the Lexus.
Take the LS 600 hL engine. It’s just a V8, but when its on-board electric motors (it has two-which equals h for Hybrid) kick in, combined power output is a substantial 327kW and torque is somewhere north of 520Nm at 4000rpm.
Those outputs are equivalent to some of the world’s fastest V12 powered super sedans. But it gets even better than that. The electric motor delivers a staggering 300Nm from ZERO rpm! The result. Drag car like acceleration, but without any of the harsh sound effects.
In fact, so quiet is the LS 600hL, that you will probably end up trying to start the car at idle. You simply cannot hear anything, not even the slightest whine, at any speed under 20km/h. And even on the move at a considerable velocity, there are so many silencer panels and sound absorbing materials, that it’s difficult to judge just how the quick the car is travelling, such is the refinement of the drivetrain.
While luxury and ride quality are best described as 7-star, the same cannot be said for the way the big Lexus goes around corners.
While the Lexus Adaptive Variable Suspension tries hard to minimise pitch and roll during high speed corning and to some extent it succeeds, the sheer weight of the car (2,430kg) seems to fight with the advanced electronics every inch of the way.
But then again, when you make a choice to go with the Lexus over its German counterparts; you are far more interested in the comfort side of life, rather than sports car like handling.
You won’t be able to pick the gear changes because technically, there aren’t any. Transmission is via an Electronic Continuously Variable unit and is absolutely seamless.
If you switch over to the Sequential Transmission option (manual shifts if you will) you will feel up to eight gear ratios changes. The electronic part of the CVT is in fact causing the engine to break at certain intervals, which mirrors the characteristic of a traditional automatic transmission. It’s very clever and works well enough but I won’t say the driving experience is any better than some of the six-speed ZF gearboxes I have experienced recently.
I’m not completely sold on the overall styling of the LS 600hL but features such as the integrated rear exhaust tips look the goods. Lexus is always searching for new levels of perfection, so expect styling to emulate that of the Germans some time in the foreseeable future.
CarAdvice overall rating: 
How does it drive:
How does it look:
How does it go:
2008 Lexus LS600hL Specifications
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 & electric motor
Power: 327kW (combined)
Torque: 520Nm
Top speed: N/A
Safety: Electronic stability control- front air bags – side airbags – curtain airbags – front seatbelt pre-tensioners and load limiters.
0-100km/h: 6.3-seconds
EuroNCAP rating: N/A
Turning circle: 11.8m
Fuel tank: 84-litres
Fuel consumption : 9.3 litres/100km (claimed)
Fuel type: 98RON Premium Unleaded
I love the rear seats! Just wonderful! How come the 5 seater is cheaper than the 4 seater though?
Id love to hire this car from an airport!
The 4 seater is proably more expensive because of all the stuff u get instead of the 5th seat
(Anti-Spam word is Lexus)
can’t wait for the Ls-F.. saw a video review from the states where they rated it higher than its Audi rival..
god I cant WAIT.
Paul/Anthony –
How would you rate the 19 Speaker Mark Levinson sound system?
I bet it blows away the IS250 (14 Speaker Mark Levinson) you tested a while back =)
the one thing id change is to put an anolog clock where the digital one is.sat in one at brizzy motor show and it was mad.also 5 seater cheaper because id doesnt have the divider its just one seat
Camski:
It’s a great sound system, but the Bang and Olufsen sound system offered as an option in some Audis, along with the DynAudio and Harman/Kardon systems offer more clarity and better sound in my opinion.
But, by no means, it’s not a poor sound system, there are just better offerings on the market in other brands.
Camski: It’s not often I completely agree with my colleague Paul Maric, but when it comes to sound systems, he is one-hundred percent correct.
It’s so close between Dynaudio and Harmon Kardon that chosing a winner, is near impossible.
Great photos as usual Paul.
Well Tony and I spent the greater part of a day being chauffeured around Melbourne by Paul in this car, and let me tell you, the rear seats are simply bliss, much better than the new S-class IMO.
Specially with the shiatsu message going.
As for the Audio, it was great, but as both tony and paul said, its probably not the best, in fact, i’d go as far as to say the Volvo S80 with the Dynaudio (worth 1/3 of the price) was comparable.
Good god, at nearly 2.5 tonnes it would want to be bulletproof with titanium door skins!!
Looks like the Koreans have them beat and they’re playing the same game. Build the “Hyundai” of the luxury car world. More bling and eletric features for a smaller price, while bypassing the driving and handling abilities. Selling purely on paper. Certainly a lot for the money vs competitors as back seat limos go.
Sure it’s a nice car, but the only comment enthusuasts on here will say is that for a little more you can buy a limo that drives well. Then again, Toyota have worked out that limo drivers don’t drive like hot hatch drivers, so perhaps a smart move!
bob, i think you mean lead doorskins as titanium is one of the lightest metals known to man!!!!!
Car Advice, 3 stars + 3 stars + 4 Stars = 10. 10/3=3.33
Therefore should this car not get 3.33 stars????
Or are your ratings as arbitrary they seem?
There are other factors involved Jimbo.
The final score includes value for money, features etc. The other rankings simply relate to their designated title and although they impact the final score, it’s not proportional to the ratings achieved in the other areas.
Oh ok fair enough
I have owned the LS600hL FULLY loaded in Canada for the last 9 months. It is everything you say it is and MORE, however, Lexus has dropped the ball on their Navigation system. It only gives “turn here” information not text to speech and it is not very accurate. The ETA information is highly inaccurate boarding on useless. Telephone reception on a Blackberry Curve within the vehicle is highly unsatisfactory due to the shielding the glass creates. It is sad to report these 2 or 3 main problems with such a fantastic vehicle, however, it is the truth. Lexus promises to look into the problem and we hope we can realize a resolution, but I am not too hopeful. They make a great car, but lack in “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection” in these above mentioned areas.
A lot of money for a rear drive Aurion.LOL.
Don’t u mean the relentless pursuit of profits?
Mmmm No comments from TP about his own preferred Manufacturer. How strange.
What a car a great luxury barge then. I don’t think people buy these for sporty driving. Bearing in mind the price difference to the commpetion its a winner. However having a bank of batteries won’t get it out of paying Londons congestion charge to many CO2 bit spewing out the exhaust for our dear Boris (New Lord Mayor of London).
I would still have an Auudi A8 over this though.
Hey NO NAME………….Boris is a eccentric one and seems likeable and odd as. Is cool Man U won. I watched it on BBC! Gee would love to live there as cool people, cool food and very cool climate
I dunno whats happened Maximus but our weathers gone nuts. Summer last year didn’t get above 20degC rained all summer literally. Remember the floods?
Now in late spring its about 28dgeC today, wall to wall sunshine. Love it.
Food ain’t so cool either – not pricewise. And I don’t personally think the UK murder capital London is such a groovy place to bring kids up. 16 Murders of youths by youths this year.
off topic – oops. Yeh the Lexus. You can see why Toyota are so sucessfull, Irons in fires. Must admit to Lexus being OK but why would anyone want to pay the premium for what is a leather clad Toyota.
This been out for ages here in the states,
work has a couple of people driving it, probably vice president or something hehe.
Its immaculate at first hand.
the 240K price range for Oz is slightly over priced.. haha, say that with a straight face.
In the states it sells for half of that or just slightly above it. Now.. for that figure its GREAT price.
Jamison – “In the states it sells for half of that or just slightly above it. Now.. for that figure its GREAT price.”
Don’t you mean ‘great car’? Hows the states, Bush invaded any countries today apart from Bhurma.
realcars Says:
A lot of money for a rear drive Aurion.LOL.
I do hope thats sarcasim because the only thing after that is stupidity.
A lot of money to pay for a car with the same styling Qs as an Aurion or am I stupid?
You mean the fact that it has four doors…?
Given the fact this would have been designed in Japan where the Aurion is an Aus only thing…
This beats any German 4 door cars!
Only in terms of it offering hybrid drive, GTR. Everywhere else, it’s trounced.
I think that was supposed to be a question Golfy not a statement from him hehehe………Is that the worlds biggest Camry ? That is a question or can be a statement.
Lol, it was a statement!
I think this car is ‘cool’ because of it’s hybrid system but i’d save some coin and opt for the ls460.
you said the 600h doesn’t like corners, but is the 460 considerably better given its about 500kg lighter? not sure if the suspension etc is the same.
if i was in the market for a luxury thing like this, i’d give the sclass and 7series a shot too. a difficult decision no doubt.
just looked at the lexus site and the hybrid is 12cm longer. i guess for some people with a super keen eye like myself, we can tell the difference between the 460 and the 600. one appears to be more agile while the other looks more like a limo.
i’m shocked to hear that the ML audio system isn’t as good as it gets.
I absolutely love this car! The styling is real nice, the interior is real nice and yeah all the rest. It’s a hybrid too! Not that its saving the world, its just not as bad as other luxury sedans… :)
Nice Lexus
Its about time lexus made a long wheel base car cuz there competition like mercedes and bmw have had the long wheel base like forever