Cars.com's Mike Hanley takes a look at the 2010 Lexus HS 250h. It competes with the Toyota Prius and BMW 335d.
Transcript
<v Announcer>Cars.com Auto Review. Hi, I'm Mike Hanley with cars.com and this is the Lexus H S 250 H. It's a new compact hybrid sedan from Lexus, that gets pretty good fuel economy figures and delivers on the Lexus luxury experience.
But if you're looking for the Lexus driving experience in this car, you may be a little let down. The H S 250 H is powered by a 2.4 liter four cylinder and electric motor that make a combined 187 horsepower. Now you're probably curious, well what kind of mileage does this hybrid get? Well, it's rated at 35 miles per gallon in the city and 34 on the highway, and since I've been driving it, I've been getting about 34 and a half. So those numbers seem about right on the mark. The interior of the H S 250 H features some nice materials. This is the premium model, and it comes with features like real wood trim, these heated and cooled leather seats, which are pretty nice to have. So it really lives up to the Lexus interior quality that you've come to expect from the brand. Lexus has packed a lot of technology into the H S 250 H and you can see it in the electronic gear selector that's a lot like the one in the new Toyota Prius. The car is also available with Lexus's new navigation system that features the company's remote touch interface, which uses this track pad like joystick to control a pointer on the dash screen to make selections. So it's an interesting way to operate a navigation system. It's a new type on the market. There's also numerous cameras that are available in the car. If you put the car in reverse, you have an available backup camera, and there's also an available front camera. So when you're pulling out of a tight parking spot you get a wide view, so you don't accidentally scuff one of your bumpers. The H S 250 H's driving experience is quite a bit different than Lexus' other cars. It's a small front wheel drive car. So it doesn't have the handling performance of the IS sports sedan. And it doesn't have the comfortable ride that you might expect from an E S or an L S. What it really drives a lot like is a mainstream compact car and if you come in expecting Lexus traditional driving experience, that may surprise you. The cargo area in the H S 250 H measures 12.1 cubic feet. And that's enough for a few golf bags. However, the back seats in the car don't fall down. So you just have a solid wall against the front of the cargo area. The H S 250 H starts at about $34,000. But if you choose a lot of options, like this model has the price quickly climbs. As tested this is more than $46,000. Now part of that's all the technology packed into this car and part of it's the Lexus premium brand. But if you really just want to go green, there are other models out there including Toyota's own Prius that gets better mileage and cost a lot less. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net.
