Modern cars are so good and so well equipped these days that
it’s the little extra touches that make them stand out from their rivals.
These days CAD methods and the need to comply with an ever
growing list of Euro restrictions and stipulations have resulted in a similarity
of form and function providing designers with ever more restrictive guidelines.
Depending on your point of view, some of their ideas work, and some don’t but
at the end of the day it’s not the designer who decides whether a car goes into
production, it’s the engineers who have to make it and the marketing team who
have to sell it.
Fortunately the world is full of people with differing tastes,
so whereas some cars will appear ugly, others won’t. Apparently there are some
unfortunate people out there for whom the SsangYong Rodius has all the allure
of Christina Hendricks with a cleavage full of cash, whereas the rest of us
think a warthog with extra warts has more appeal.
Indeed there are some truly tasteless folk out there who actually
prefer those sticky, liquid substances of American origin to our very own Irn
Bru, Tizer and Vimto! And then there’s the Apple versus Samsung debate, or Nike
versus Adidas, or X Factor versus Strictly.
It’s the same with cars, they all perform the same function
although some do it better than others, and they all have their own style, whether
horrid or handsome, depending entirely on the view of the beholder.
And so it is with Lexus. The new grille has never really
worked for me, it looks a bit like an asthmatic guppy gasping for air, but you
can’t fault the engineering. The 288 bhp, 3.5 litre V6, 450 GSh is seriously
quick with a sub 6 second nought to 60 time, while the ‘6 speed’ electric CVT
transmission is so smooth it wouldn’t knock a budgie off its swing.
It’s a match for any German car or Jaguar, is roomy, sumptuously
comfortable and it has a wee blue ‘h’ badge with electric motor to appease the ill-fitting
cardigan wearers.

Normally, the three section dial on the left points its
needle at either of three sections 'charge - eco – power' and is highlighted with
a pleasing blue glow, but switch it into angry mode, and the three stage dial
changes instantly to a rev counter and the display glows red.
I liked that.
Simple things amuse simple minds, eh?
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