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“Lexus is highly regarded as an industry leader in vehicle design and innovation and this award recognises that. Lexus continues to rate highly in the area of customer satisfaction and support. This is due to our dealer network, which strives to offer nothing but the best.” Lexus Australia chief executive John Roca

This is no easy and skewed prize to win, the award comes after vehicle evaluations from more than 16,000 vehicle owners in the UK after an average of two years of ownership were put together.

The survey evaluates 77 vehicle attributes in four different categories: quality and reliability, service satisfaction, vehicle appeal and ownership costs.

Lexus overcame 28 other car-manufacturers to take out the Gold Award for customer satisfaction, so far no other manufacturer has won the award eight times.

Participants gave Lexus 866 out of a possible 1000, well above the industry average of 803.

Additionally, Toyota’s hybrid car, the Prius, was the highest-ranking model on the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI).  The green car earned a score of 901 our of 1,000 with buyers highly satisfied with quality and reliability.

The top five manufacturers in the survey:

1. Lexus (866)
2. Škoda (846),
3. Honda (844),
4. Toyota (836)
5. Jaguar (833).

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Given the heavy disguise it’s hard to tell whether the headlight and taillamps have changed, but the bulge on the bonnet leads us to believe the actual prototype is a test mule for an IS variant featuring Lexus’ Hybrid Synergy Drive.

The BMW M3 and Audi RS4 competitor, the Lexus IS-F should be arriving soon. The IS-F will pack a 5.0-litre V8, good for around 300kW. It will put its power down through the rear wheels using an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Lexus will also bring the IS coupe/convertible to Australia later in the year.

Toyota’s luxury arm is also working on a smaller and cheaper Lexus model to compete in the bottom end of the luxury market (against the 1-series). However that won’t be here for a few more years.

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Paul Maric:

Okay, so the Lexus LS600hL looks near identical to its LS460 sibling, but looks are where the similarities stop. The LS600hL uses a 5.0-litre V8 engine, but also features an electric motor which produces 165kW. Coupled with the 290kW V8, the LS600hL produces 327kW when all systems are running. It’s a massive figure, but only so much is needed to pull all 2.4-tonnes with any great pace.

Power is handled by a CVT (Continually Variable Transmission) and is sent through a torsen all-wheel-drive system. But driving the Lexus isn’t as interesting as riding in the back seats, let me explain why.

Take a seat behind the front passenger seat and hit the Ottoman switch. Instantly, the front passenger seat folds forward and the rear seat is turned into an Ottoman, fitted with foot-rest. Once you’re settled, turn on the heated/cooled seats and select your massage program – Shiatsu or Stretch. From there, you can turn the in-seat vibrate function on or adjust your personalised heating controls.

Rear seat passengers are graced with wireless headphones and a flip-down LCD screen for movies. You can chill your favourite Cab Sav in the cooler, or flip out the small table to do some work on the way to your jet – at your airport. In comfort mode, the ride is devilishly smooth. Electric rear and side sunshades also block out peasants who insist on looking in.

Back in the driver’s seat, if parallel parking isn’t your thing, the LS600hL also has it sorted. Line up next to a parked car and select reverse. From there you place the rectangle in your desired spot via the LCD screen and hold on; the car literally reverses and turns the wheel into your parking space. In theory, it works great, but in practice it’s a relatively useless gimmick. By the time you activate the system, you could have parked, run your errands and made it back home in time for the stock report.

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Our sources tell us that Lexus is going to use the legendary 24-hours race at the Nürburgring in May to officially show the all-new LF-A to the public for the very first time.

However it won’t be the production variant, but this angry race-prepared LF-A variant. Caught by our European photographers yesterday, the ultimate Lexus doesn’t seem to share many design ideas with the current range. Not that it needs to.

Equipped with a massive aerodynamics kit including front flaps, smaller mirrors, a dramatic rear wing to ensure downforce plus an additional fuel filler right behind the passenger’s side window, the LF-A might just surprise us all in May (it may also fail miserably against the strong competition).

The production version is expected to sport a V10 engine with around 400kW of power, but it’s uncertain which engine Lexus is using to power the race variant and how much power it produces.

The LF-A will the be Halo car for Lexus as it tries to bring performance to its brand. Lexus will shorly launch the IS-F in Australia plus many other ‘F’ models.

Honda is also working on the next-generation NSX to compete with its Japanese rivals.

You can find pictures of the LF-A Roadster here and here.

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Both models are equipped with a 5.7-litre V8 engine producing 270kW and 530Nm - making it the most powerful Lexus SUV ever.

Acceleration to 100km/h takes just 7.8 seconds from a standing start - down from 12 seconds on the previous model, with a fuel consumption figure of 14.8 litres/100km.

This is mated to Lexus’ new six-speed sequential-shift automatic transmission, designed and built for heavy-duty off-road driving with an integrated Crawl Control feature.

A four-wheel hydro-pneumatic suspension package with Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) and Active Height Control (AHC) delivers substantial reduction in body roll and an increase in ride comfort.

The LX 570 also features Multi-terrain ABS braking system designed to help reduce stopping distances on slippery surfaces.

Standard passenger safety includes 10 airbags, comprising driver and front-passenger knee airbags, second-row seat-mounted side airbags and full side curtain-shield airbags that extend across all three rows.

Standard luxury equipement includes Park Assist, smart entry and start smart, active cruise control, front and side safety monitors, four-zone, 28-outlet climate control system, a power-sliding second-row seat and a 19-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system.

LX 570 will come to market in Prestige and Sports Luxury grades, with a recommended retail price of $136,700 for Prestige and $151,700 for Sports Luxury.

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But the “F” is not going to be limited just to the IS series, much like BMW with the M series, Audi with the RS series and Mercedes with its AMG models, Lexus plans to introduce “F” variants across the range, including GS-F and even LS-F limos!

As important as the “F” variants will be, Toyota’s Luxury arm will also add hybrid variants to every model. So the choices will range from a full-blown performance machine to a hybrid system - all in the same model!

All this extra work is in preparation for Lexus to meet its goal of selling over 1 million cars in the next two-three years. But the “F” and hybrid variants just won’t be enough, there needs to be an entry-model Lexus, one to compete with the Audi A3 and BMW 1-series - and there will be.

According to Roca, Lexus is currently working on a smaller and cheaper Lexus model to compete in the bottom end of the luxury market. However that won’t be here for another few years.

Lexus will also bring the IS coupe/convertible to Australia later in the year, having recently lunched the IS250 X (a feature-packed IS250 from $64,790) to sustain interest.

Saving the best till last, the Lexus model which should scare the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini is the LF-A supercar, the car which has apparently set records around the infamous Nürburgring is now delayed till 2011.

Source: The Australian.

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It is still unknown if the engine will be placed in front or in a mid position, as the rear-mounted radiators suggest.

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Previously, Toyota has taken driving out of the hands of drivers with its self-parking system, which has achieved debatable success.

The typical GPS system in most cars is only accurate to around 15m, presumably this kind of technology would only be implemented on premium Lexus models where the high-end GPS software is accurate to within as little as 30cm.

The system is more than just a technological showcase, with Toyota set to release new models in Japan carrying the system in the near future.

Thankfully it appears as though the system relies on road markings unique to Japan, so it seems unlikely that it would make it into Australian spec vehicles.

Source: MotorAuthority

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The package will also include the highly praised eight-speed automatic transmission, already found in the top of the range Lexus range. The eight-speed box allows for an impressive fuel economy figure of just 11.0 litres per 100km.

Exterior changes include new front and rear bumper bars, mirrors, wheels and door handles while the interior gets an updated steering wheel, instrument panel, aluminium-look shift plate and revised flip-down control panel.

Expect more details on the GS 460 by the end of the day.

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