LIFE BY LEXUS 20
E
nter the new Lexus IS300h SE. Complementing the recently refreshed IS range, the local line-up of the Japanese luxury marque’s best-selling compact executive sedans now for the first time
include a hybrid model. The latter joins the NX and RX SUVs as well as the ES large sedan in the Lexus family, increasing the company’s tally to four hybrid offerings – more than any other manufacturer. And it’s not just any type of hybrid setup either,
because the IS300h doesn’t require plugging in to charge its battery. No load shedding or blackouts, ever: think of it as always-on wireless charging.
THE GREEN ECONOMY It’s hard to believe, but the spiritual founder
(and IS300h’s genetic forebear) of the hybrid car revolution, the Toyota Prius, turns 22 this year, with more than four million units having found homes since. In 2017, Lexus, together with Toyota, sold 1,5 million hybrids worldwide. Of course, engineering continues to ceaselessly
evolve and today all so-equipped Lexus models feature the latest cutting edge hybrid technology. As a best-of-both-worlds solution, the IS 300h’s
hybrid setup comprises a traditional internal combustion petrol engine as well as an electric motor, operating – depending on the circumstances or settings chosen by the driver – either individually or together. Kinetic energy generated from the vehicle’s forward motion that would have normally gone to waste is harvested during braking or coasting and stored in a battery that’s deployed for later use by the electric motor. The IS300h takes the smartness one level further by using its petrol engine as a generator to charge the battery if the latter has run out of charge. The benefit? Thanks to a smaller-capacity petrol engine than would have been typically used and is required to do less work thanks to the boost from its electric motor, the IS300h delivers increased – no, make that mega – fuel efficiency (4,9 litres/ km and 104 g/km CO2
) without sacrificing an inch
of performance. Lower emissions mean a cleaner planet and a healthier wallet. The ultimate win-win. It gets better, as a self-charging hybrid makes the most sense in a country like South Africa. While there are other pure plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) or derivatives thereof locally available, it’s worth remembering that almost all of our country’s electricity is generated by heavily polluting coal-powered power stations, which negates the intention of being kinder to the environment when having to plug in. It’s the Lexus way – reducing emissions by always being one step ahead.
FROM ROAD TO RACE TO ROAD But back to winning. Much of the IS300h’s technologies
employed have been honed through the lessons learnt in Lexus’s parent company Toyota’s participation in the world’s toughest and most famous endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which they won outright in 2018 with their pair of hybrid-powered TS050 race cars. When the IS300h’s 2,5-litre, direct-injection,
variable valve-timed, four-cylinder engine (producing 133kW/221Nm of power and torque) works in synergy with its 650V electric motor, the combined power delivery increases to 164kW. The IS300h accelerates from standstill to 100km/h in 8,5 seconds and has a top speed limited to 200km/h. Power is transferred to the wheels through a
seamless continuously variable transmission. While such a gearless configuration can deliver a
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