Hybrids are great. Economical, clean, soothing, relaxing, quiet, thrilling...
Okay, perhaps not the last one, as thrills are conspicuously absent from many hybrids on the market today. However, some carmakers are changing that image with powerful and luxurious models--and Lexus is one of those carmakers.
How better to show off the new, edgy breed of hybrid than by raising the pulse of your potential customers? That's what Lexus of Italy has done, and we get to enjoy their efforts in the video above.
The 2013 Lexus GS 450h is undoubtedly an opulent, silent vehicle to drive day-to-day, but with 341 horsepower under the hood it still has a naughty side. Certainly enough to break the 120 beats-per-minute barrier of each customer, strapped up to a heart monitor.
One unfortunate soul nearly got as high as 200 bpm, but you might too if you were charging to a brick wall at breakneck pace, before swerving to safety.
Lexus has also conveniently answered the immortal question of "will it drift?", with the rear tires prescribing a distinctly different route to the fronts in many of the corners.
That's certainly no way to achieve the GS 450h's 31 mpg combined rating...
The message? Hybrids are still economical, clean, soothing, relaxing and quiet... but thrills are never too far away.
Check out our first drive of the 2013 Lexus GS 450h to discover what it's like at a more sedate pace...
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