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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Japanese_Flag_30x22.jpg Find me a person who thinks this luxury hybrid is beautiful and I'll find you someone who has a plaid La-Z-Boy in the family room. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil30-2009oct30,0,3315693.column)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/HS_250h_Passenger_Side_Front_Headline.jpgBy Dan Neil - LATIMES (http://www.latimes.com) - October 30, 2009

Wow.... harsh words! Is it really that replusive to most people? --Ed.

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening and all over the Lexus HS250h until I beat it into something that vaguely resembled a luxury car.

I'd start by chiseling off the Ford Fusion-like grille, then I'd go to town pounding some rakishness into the hood and then I'd ding and dent some character into the fuselage.

Anything. Just make the boring stop.

This is one of those instances that defy the notion that automotive styling is subjective. Find me a person who thinks this car is beautiful and I'll find you someone who has a plaid La-Z-Boy in the family room.

In most respects, this car makes sense to me. It makes sense for Lexus -- the luxury imprint for Toyota -- to offer a dedicated hybrid, which is to say, a vehicle that is not a hybrid version of a conventional vehicle, and to slot it in at the bottom of the price ladder ($34,200), between the IS and ES models. This is Lexus' mileage marquee player, with an EPA average of 35 miles per gallon. Well done. Bully.

It also makes sense to transplant the Camry hybrid's excellent powertrain -- a 2.4-liter, 147-horsepower Atkinson-cycle engine, continuously variable transmission, 141-hp traction motor, 244.8-volt battery, the... http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil30-2009oct30,0,3315693.column

Hi Sean:

___Dan's got the exterior right but then praises the interior, where we actually live for 100's of thousands of miles???

___The little that I have driven it, it is very composed and quiet, far more so than the Prius but the exterior "yells" Corolla to me?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

At least he's comparing it to the Camry hybrid, and not the prius.

What a tool.

Be a pioneer, offer something no one else does, answer the complaint that there are no serious luxury hybrids -- and you get sh1t on.

It's no uglier than any other hybrid on the market. And really, how many "good-looking" cars are out there anyway? Half a dozen?

I appreciate it and there are plenty of rich hippies who will also. I'd consider it for my next car. Thanks Toyota.

nf

A little odd looking, the front reminds me of a Malibu hybrid with big shoulders...

It looks a hell of a lot better than a Volt.

Is there really a market for a dedicated luxury hybrid like this? I, and most people I know, would rather just get a Prius or FFH and put the price difference in the bank.

I saw an HS250H while walking down the street a few weeks ago and I had to do a double-take... I thought it was a 2010 Insight from the front!

JP

It would be revealing what the author's idea of a good-looking vehicle is.

Anyone suspect his idea of good looks increases as the Cd does? ;)