Lexus LS600H L Premier - New Hybrid Flagship

Toyota’s luxury arm continues to plough its own furrow with a new hybrid flagship.

Thirty years out, the story behind the original Lexus LS has passed into manufacturer legend. With Japan at the formidable crest of its post-war economic miracle, Eiji Toyoda secretly challenged his company to build him a luxury car not just accomplished enough to rival the world’s best, but capable of beating them outright. The resulting LS400 appeared in 1989, setting new standards of refinement and taking America, if not Europe, by storm.

Lexus LS600H L Premier

Now moving into the facelift phase of its fourth generation, the flagship Lexus is still not quite in tune with European tastes, but the brand continues to earnestly fine-tune its own idea of perfection.

Lexus’s latest styling cues have been absorbed into slightly meatier overhangs and updated headlights, while outlandish new features such as four-zone, infrared face-reading climate control, multi-phase LED lighting and Ottoman-style rear seats appear as standard in this range-topping, long-wheelbase, $149,245 LS600h L Premier.

Effortless progress is provided by a familiar collaboration between the muffled 389bhp 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine and a downright silent 221bhp electric motor. Despite getting on for two and a half tons, this flexible partnership enables it to reach 62mph in 6.1sec through an E-CVT transmission and all-wheel drive.

This car is intended to carry its privileged owner in the back seat and, let’s face it, an employee behind the wheel. For the benefit of that employee, Lexus has extensively reinforced its flagship for better rigidity, switched to a progressive air spring design, stiffened the bushes in the multi-link suspension to reduce roll and added five different modes in a new Drive Select system.

Seated considerably higher than they would be in rival cars, most chauffeurs should find the LS600 easy enough to pilot, but they might not find it effortless. Even with revised settings, the variable-ratio steering makes the helm feel vague, inconsistent and distant, and while there is certainly plenty of grip, it’s anyone’s guess where it runs out.

Lexus LS600H L Premier’s interior

That will be inconsequential to the mover and shaker sitting in the back, enjoying the phenomenal Mark Levinson audio system amid the lush leather of the sun lounger seats. However, they might feel that they are being moved and shaken a little more than expected. Faced with millpond-like road surfaces, the LS600h is noiseless and absorbent, but present it with continuous ripples and it fails to isolate its occupants.

LS is serene on smooth roads, but its ride is less absorbent than an S-class’s; cabin is laden with gadgets, but the helm offers no feel

The European opposition still haunts Lexus. An Audi A8 L 4.2 TDI is $30k cheaper and can return 37.7mpg to the LS600h’s 32.8mpg. Alternatively, a Mercedes S600 L is around $22.5k more, just as opulent and, frustratingly for Lexus, still better embodies the ultimate ambition of Eiji Toyoda.