no wonderthecabinis somightyimpressive.Totopit,
thereis a wholelistofmodernfeatures,including
adaptivecruisecontrol,heads-updisplay,aneight-inch
TFTdriver’s informationcontrol,steering-mountedSiri
Eyes Free voice commandsystem, 10.3-inchcolour
display,amazonalexaintegration,andappleCarPlay.
Andanequally longlistofsafetyequipmentsuchas Lane
SafetySystem,lanekeepassist,frontandsideairbags,
andbrakeassistwitheBd.ourSport+camewithan
additionalkitlike theVariableGear RatioSteeringand
activerearSteering.
anotherupdateonthenewlC500his theupdated
touchpadwhichis theonlychinkinthearmour,asit still
doesn’tfeelasintuitiveastherotarydialsthateuropean
counterpartsoffer.Intheright-handdrive version,itgets
even more difficultto managetheinfotainmentsystem
usingthelefthand.Unless, ofcourse,you’re acertified
lexusupholsterycraftsman.
Timetogetfamiliarwithitscleverpowertrain.The
“500”inthenamecanbea bitmisleadingasthelC
hybrid withanaturallyaspirated3.5-litreV6isassisted
bya132-kWelectricmotor. Itdependsonan84-cell
lithium-ionbattery whichiscomparativelycompactand
lightweight.Buttheinterestingpartis thecomplexed
transmission—auniqueCVT-equippedhybrid that
offers 10 gearsbutnotallarephysical.Tomakethis
combinationwork, Lexushave introducedabrand-new
hybrid transaxle.The system consistsofanE-CVTanda
conventionalfour-speedautomatic.CVTs, as youknow,
canhave infinite ratios,buthere theE-CVThas been
tuned to offerthree distinctratiosthatusethefour-speed
auto simply as a“shiftdevice”.Essentially,thethree ratiosoftheCVT
simulatethefirstthree gearsoftheautomaticgearboxto create atotal ofnine
shifts.Thefourthgearoftheautoworksasanoverdrivetokeeptheengine
rpmrelativelylowevenwhilethelCcruisesathighspeeds.
it’sgenuinelya smartsystemwhichmanagestoensureperfectgearingfor
everysituation,almostinstantaneously.if youlikeyoucankeeptravellingin
silence,usingjustelectricpower.ThelC500h’spowertrainis extremely
refined andbarely audiblewithinthecabin. It’ssoquietandlookssoradical
thatit feelslikedrivinga spacecraftfromthefuture.formoreaction,stepon
thegas andtheV6andelectricmotor dishacombined359hpwhichcanbe
attainedfrom 50 km/honwards.
iknow,thehybrid’sperformancemightnotsoundasdramaticonpaperor
eventotheearsasit lackstheusualgruntsandgrowlsthecompetitionoffers.
ButtwistthedrivemodetoSport+andtheinteractivedialsbecomeaggressive,
theV6soundsthroaty,andsteering,suspensionandperformanceare amped
upas well. The lowfirstgearratioaidslow-endperformanceandmakes the
hybrid reach from 0to 100 km/hinjustfive seconds,thatis,just0.2 seconds
shortofthelargerV8-poweredLC 500. Dependingonyourdrivingstyle,the
gearboxcancalibrateitselfandofferseamlessshifts.it didtakemea whileto
getusedto thelargepaddle-shifts,butIdidadaptto themonthego.Shifting
10gearsmanuallyjustfeelsnever-endingandcumbersome.Itisbest to leave
thecomplexsystemtomanageitself.
evenonthenarrowroadsofShikashimaislandandhobbledbythespeed
limits,theLexusfeltquickandleftusmostimpressedbyitshandling.The
hillyroadslookedstraightoutofan“initiald” episode,buteverycorner(read:
driftingopportunity)was marred byasetofrumblestrips.Ontheavailable
sweepinghill,ImademostoftheSport+version’svariable-ratesteeringand
rear-wheelsteering.You’ll barely noticethelongandwidedimensionsofthe
lCastherearwheelsturnintheoppositedirectiontothefrontonesandmake
turn-inssharper.The steeringislightandeffortlessandvery precise whilethe
well-balancedchassis providesconfidentfront-endgripandamplefeelfrom
therear wheels.This boosts thecar’sstabilityduringfast-pacedcorners.The
rideisequally grandas themulti-linkrear suspensionallowstheLC to sail
overrumblersandbumps.
ihadtheopportunitytodrivethelfainJapanmanyyearsagoandit has
remainedthebestdrivinglexusinmybookstillnow.ThelCis a
technologicalmarvel withitsequally plushcockpit,silkysmoothengine,clever
transmission,andanexteriordesignthatleavesa lastingimpression.it’salso
very reassuringthatitgetstheToyota back-upandreliability.Whenitcomes
toindiatowardstheendofthisyear,it willcarrya stickerofaboutrs 1.8crore,
makingit a greatoptionif youseeksomethingtrulyoutoftheordinary.The transmission is a
unique CVT-equipped
hybrid that offers 10 gears
but not all are physical. The
system consists of an
E-CVT and a conventional
four-speed automaticFirst Drive | Lexus LC 500h
86 car india^ August 2019 http://www.carindia.in