New info on Lexus Hybrid. - Looks a lot like Lexus ES - Has 4cly ICE - Has twin electric engines powering front wheels - currently reaching 33 mpg, target is 40 mpg city. Coming out Sept 2009. Seems to be more like Camry/ES than Prius. MPG proves that. It looks like it will be more powerful than Hybrid Camry and get 20% better city mpg (Camry is rated 34mpg city, 33 combined). So definetly more improvements to the hybrid drivetrain.... (Info was from Lexus dealer meeting, posted on another site and removed due to getting author into trouble). Also, RX will be 450h - will be using 3.5l engine now.
Interesting... why are they shooting for 40 city MPG? Maybe with Li-ion pack? It makes sense because Li-ion pack can't help MPG on the highway since the gas engine may be the same. More power because the Li-ion pack can discharge more power than NiMH in Camry Hybrid.
nope, it will have Nimh batteries, just more improved than 2nd gen Prius. It will start sales in Sept 2009, 3 months later than Prius. Since it is dedicated hybrid model, they made it so batteries are positioned under the floor and not taking up any space at the back - i would expect the same with Prius, which means trunk will now be a lot bigger and more usable so no wonder they didnt make prius a lot bigger. Twin electric motors make it seem as if it will have one in each wheel, doesnt it? They have been talking about that for a while and it probably can make sense in Lexus hybrid that will probably cost in mid to high 30's. that way drivetrain losses are at the minimum and efficiency is at highest. Info is as reliable as it can be, they even had mode code for it (ended with 250h), but compelte thread was removed as info was supposed to be secret.
calling it 250h, means they are shooting for around 210-220hp, which is quite more powerful than Camry Hybrid and supposedly 20% better mpg (not to mention compared to IS250 which gets 21/29). It is probably combination of better engine (AR series) + improved hybrid components + stronger batteries.
Very interesting idea regarding the twin electric motor driving the front wheels. This could be the next evolution of HSD to accommodate plug-in hybrid. MG2 would be decoupled from the drive shaft before the reduction gear to behind the differential into the wheels! This setup can eliminate mechanical power loss due to PSD gearing and forcing ICE to spin at high-speed. Since there will be two motors, we can call them MG2a and MG2b. My thoughts about 250h are opposite from yours. Prius has 2.0L performance while Camry Hybrid has 3.0L. If this Lexus were to have 2.5L performance (250h), it would have 1.8L gas engine making about 1.5L gas power (due to atkinson cycle) plus 1.0 battery power, making it 2.5L total power output. Since 2008 EPA city for Prius is 48 MPG and Camry Hybrid is 34 MPG, I would expect 250h to get around 41 city MPG. I do not see the 15% efficiency improvement that we are expecting from the next gen system.
Rumor in Japan said Toyota is going to announce the 2.4L dedicated hybrids for both Lexus and Toyota brands. They will have larger trank space than Hybrid Camry. President Watanabe already mentioned about that. Toyota/Lexus/Scion Pressroom: Remarks by Katsuaki Watanabe and Jim Lentz at Toyota International Media Reception, 2008 NAIAS Detroit "Next year, here in Detroit, we will expand our conventional hybrid line-up by staging world premieres of two all-new, dedicated hybrids, one for Toyota and one for Lexus" Ken@Japan
performance numbers are based on engines with same displacement - IS250 makes 210hp in US, 220hp in Japan. Camry Hybrid has 190hp. Since 2.4l engines are being phased out, it will probably get 2.5 GR engine (like new Rav4)
So, this Lexus hybrid with 2.5L gas engine will be HS250h? It does not add up. I would guess it would be HS350h.
Does anyone think the name HS250h is a little redundant? If HS stands for Hybrid System, then would the name spelled out be Hybrid System 250 Hybrid. I think that HS should be dropped and just have the "h" at the end like the other Lexus Hybrids.
I just feel that HS250h is repetitive. With the other hybrids you were able to get a regular engine model, with the HS250h you cannot get a HS250, so why you need the h. I personally feel that one H is enough.
