Video: 2010 Lexus HS 250h

Now, in terms of size, this is gonna slot between the IS sedan and also the ES, which is their front wheel drive mid-sized car. It actually looks a little bit more grown up in the front than the IS does. This is based on a front wheel drive platform. We're pretty pleased that it didn't look like a big fancied up Prius, because this is a dedicated model. It's only a hybrid. It doesn't come with a regular gas engine. And when we heard dedicated hybrid, we thought Prius with really nice lights and wheels and stuff. Fortunately not. I'm here on the lap of hybrid luxury. I really like the quality in here. The size is pretty good for someone like me. I'm about six feet tall and I got room. It looks a little bit different than the smaller cars. This little controller here, it's like a mouse almost, has come out in the RX, but otherwise it's pretty exclusive within the Lexus range. This is a car with a four cylinder. Now, not to get too technical, but the four cylinders run on a certain cycle that make them considerably more efficient than the V6 hybrids that Lexus makes. They don't know for sure what the mileage will be yet, but they're saying travel be 30 or even higher. And this will obviously be their most affordable one. No prices yet. But if you think about it, it's like the opposite of what they came out with a couple of years ago, the LS 600H, which is a hundred thousand dollar big hybrid car. Now where people are with the economy and concerns about fuel prices and the environment, this is a pretty good approach and good timing to have this efficient and more affordable luxury hybrid car. Okay, always an important question in a hybrid is how much room is there? Because the battery pack and extra components tend to take up some room. This is pretty good. The back seat gives me a leg room, even with the front back rest back as far as it'll go. Pretty flat floor here. Head room's okay. I've got maybe an inch to spare. One small disappointment. This is probably the fourth or fifth hybrid sedan on the market and it doesn't have folding back seats. So if you take a look, the trunk is actually pretty roomy. It looks like there's a bit of a bulkhead here that takes up some of the space. But again, because this is made as a hybrid to begin with, it lets them put stuff at the absolute best place, both for the car itself, for the passengers, for the battery and for cargo room. (trunk slamming) So overall actually a pretty usable hybrid luxury car. Because it's a luxury car, the folding back seats aren't quite as big of a deal. People aren't going to be hauling as much. Overall, the timing is good for a small, very efficient, and more affordable than before, hybrid luxury car. <v Announcer>For additional information on this car or any other, go to cars.com and our blog, Kicking Tires.