SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.

Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.

For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.

Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own. We do not accept paid editorial content or ads of any kind.


This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get a test unit for trial. Thank you for understanding.

Launch report: 2009 Lexus GS 450 and RX 400 hybrids

Performance with conscience

First posted September 29. 2008

This is a worthy buzz phrase indeed as big, thirsty and polluting luxury cars and SUVs fall foul of both bunny huggers and those tired of being held to ransom by oil barons.

Many attempts have been and are being made to reduce consumption and pollutants; from purely electric vehicles that need plugging in to the mains (and what about the coal-burning pollution caused in the generation of that electricity, you ask? And don’t even say the “N” word), to the limited success of Toyota’s Prius hybrid and the as-yet unproven in real life Chevrolet Volt.

While we all know that Lexus is the high-end luxury arm of Toyota, it is not fair to assume that the two Lexus hybrids announced recently are simply bigger Priuses. The technology is newer for one thing and the approach is slightly different. Both the GS 450h sports saloon and the RX 400h SUV, sport petrol engines up to the task of moving their respective bodies with more gusto than that of the Prius.  Their ancillary electric motors are also more powerful.

The GS 450h uses a 3.5-litre V6 VVT petrol engine and a 147 kW electric motor, while the RX 400h has a 3.3-litre V6 coupled to a 133 kW electric motor driving the front wheels, plus a 50 kW version supplying urge to the rear wheels as needed.  

It goes beyond simple petrol-plus-electric, though. Because there is always the electric motor ready to kick in with its maximum power and torque available from revolution one, the petrol engine can be tuned for minimum pollution, producing up to 70% fewer smog-forming emissions than the average new vehicle and CO2 output of as little as 185 g/km. In addition, the nitrogen oxide (NO) and hydrocarbon (HC) levels have been reduced to almost zero.

When running in electric mode, stationary or operating at low speeds, zero emissions are emitted. The power sources in hybrids can therefore be smaller than those in non-hybrid vehicles yet produce the same performance without as much impact on the environment.

“But what about turbocharged diesels “ you ask. Fans of petro-electric hybrids will point out that particulate discharges are much lower from petrol- than from diesel engines, there is no expensive turbocharger, no turbo lag and that petrol engines are generally a lot more refined and quieter than diesels. The fuel is also a bit cheaper at present.

By combining the outputs of both motors when maximum power is called for, hybrid cars enjoy the performance of either much bigger engines or ones that have been supercharged, without the same degree of environmental impact.

For example, the GS 450h saloon sprints from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.2 seconds with its top speed limited to 250km/h, averaging 7,9 l/100km on the combined cycle and returning 185g/km of CO2 – less than many mass-market family saloons. The RX 400h SUV is claimed to return 8,1 l/100km while delivering 200km/h performance and a 0-100km/h acceleration of 7,3 seconds.

Both boast comprehensive lists of features and convenience items, too long to repeat in a brief launch report like this. Suffice to say that they are Lexuses, with all the luxury expected of the brand.

We drove both in the course of scenic and testing runs between Witbank and Waterval Boven and back, over two days recently. The GS 450h impressed as a very capable and sweet-handling car with really dynamic performance, while the RX 400h was also very able, but its greater height and ground clearance made it slightly less of an ultimate road burner.

The only real letdown on the GS is that the nickel metal battery steals almost one third of the car’s boot space; something to consider if your family’s needs include maximum cargo capacity.

While not yet the definitive answer to the trade-off between performance and pollution, these new Lexuses (Lexi?) have certainly reduced the gap and are possibly the most viable solutions presently available.

Information obtained at a manufacturer-sponsored launch event

The saloon is offered in two models, GS 450h and GS 450h SE, at R 586 100 and                 R 635 000 respectively. The RX 400h SUV is offered in one level only, priced at R 644 000. (NB: These were the prices on launch date in September 2008)
Warranties: 3 years/100 000 km
Full maintenance plans: 4 years/100 000 km
Batteries are guaranteed for 3 years, but are expected to last at least 10 years.


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.