Has Lexus Lost The Plot?
As Top Gear puts it, “the HS250h is a rebodied, higher-performance Prius. It’s made for the US market, and was introduced at the Detroit show in January. It is hideous in profile . . . luckily, we won’t be getting it.” They say “luckily” because their version will be an Audi A3/BMW 1 series-fighting compact hatchback. But why make two? In fact why is Lexus competing for the European market at all? Lexus Europe boss Andy Pfeiffenberger offers a confused roadmap. “Our hybrid saloons are going up against the V8 diesels in Europe. In future we need to compete against the four-cylinder diesels. So we will enter new sectors with low-displacement hybrids. The C-premium segment is the fastest growing segment and we must be in it.” Huh?
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When I first heard they were making a Lexus Prius I thought, "cool, a luxurious hatch with great efficiency and utility." Then I see this thing. There's zero chance I would consider one of these turds. They will, however, sell like hotcakes in the rich part of the town where I live. Oh well.
I have to agree with those who said that Lexus phoned this in. The concept is a good one. I recently looked at the near luxury market and realized that the TSX is the only option for the car buyer worried about fuel economy. They can definitely pluck Acura sales in America with a better design as Acura really screwed up with their new design language. I could see folks who buy their daughter a new prius as a graduation present picking this up for mom (because she NEEDS a nicer car). I couls also see it being the new rich kid car for parents who drive a GS or LS. However, it looks like they made it too small. They should have gone with an IS sized car, dropped the IS250 and made the IS niche performance. As it stands, Lexus will likely canabalize some IS250 sales with this car. Especially if it is offered with AWD.