Lexus LS 600h L - First Drive: When vehicles cost more than $100,000, practical considerations are generally low on the list. The cars epitomize conspicuous consumption; the Mercedes-Benz S600 isn’t very much faster or quicker than an S550, has only a few more gadgets, is just as big, etc, but for some people, just having the biggest available number on their car’s trunk is the whole point, other considerations be damned. “Look,” their cars say, “I bought this because I can.”

Maybe it sounds silly to those of us who take out second mortgages to buy an Accord, but a luxury car maker must play in this desire-driven category to get real luxury street cred. Which brings us to the 2008 Lexus LS 600h L. This most expensive Lexus ever powers the brand into the biggest of the big leagues with a $104,000 price tag and a hybrid powertrain that brings a curious, maybe even hypocritical, environmentally positive message to the segment. Even though sales are projected at a modest 2,000 vehicles per year in the U.S., how well it does will speak volumes about Lexus’s acceptance in the luxury segment, and about the kind of statement the richest of the rich want to make about themselves.

The LS series is the Lexus flagship sedan, its most expensive and technologically advanced vehicle. As the flagship of flagships, the LS 600h L is packed with everything that Lexus knows how to do, including a complicated all-wheel drive hybrid powertrain. It also builds on the inherent luxuriousness of the LS itself. The 600 is available only in the long-wheelbase version, and it has been specially trimmed for its $104,000 price tag with touches such as a hand-sewn leather dash and wood inserts on the grab handles, and is the only LS in any form available in all-wheel drive. There are exclusive colors and trim combinations, including the inelegantly named “Launch Edition,” which combines the Smokey Granite Mica paint with an alabaster and black interior.

With the exception of the limited Launch Edition, there is only one LS 600h L, although there are many options. The basic car includes virtually everything than an LS 460 L includes, and touches expected in a 100 kilodollar sedan: self-closing doors; extra helpings of wood and leather, including a hand-stitched leather dash; and so many computers controlling everything that the car is bordering on HAL-like self awareness. The hybrid powertrain is the real kicker, combining a 5.0-liter V8 engine with two electric motors and a continuously variable transmission for a total of 438 horsepower. It’s driven through an all-wheel drive system exclusive to the LS 600h L, and all told, the car weighs in a prodigious 717 pounds more than an LS 460 L.

Pricing
The price for a basic, run-of-the mill LS 600h L is $104,715, including the $715 destination charge. In addition to the hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain, the 600h includes many features optional on the 460, such as the exceptional Mark Levinson sound system, variable gear ratio steering and air suspension. Not all options packages were priced at press time, but the Premium Package with rear power heated/cooled seats and the advanced parking guidance system is $4,000, and the Premium Package II, which adds power rear door sunshades, additional wood trim, a rear seat entertainment system with a 9-inch power screen, and four-zone climate control runs $7,450. Individual options include an active stabilizer ($3,000) that reduces roll in turns and includes 19-inch wheels and “summer” tires, and a Pre-Collision System ($2,850) which uses radar to anticipate and prepare for collisions.

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