The 2013 Lexus LS 600h L challenges conventional wisdom about what a hybrid should be. As Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder notes, this luxury hybrid is EPA rated at an unimpressive 19/23 mpg city/highway — only 2 mpg better than its non-hybrid counterpart, the much cheaper LS 460 L. However, not only does the hybrid far outweigh the 460, it packs beefier horsepower and quickness. It also boasts one of the softest rides around, an enormous backseat and a host of over-the-top features like a power ottoman and massaging seat that could shame Sharper Image. In other words, it’s totally awesome and awesomely impractical.
Former Assistant Managing Editor-News Matt Schmitz is a veteran Chicago journalist indulging his curiosity for all things auto while helping to inform car shoppers.