The eyes of the Canadian automotive journalism world were on Winnipeg Sept. 15 and 16 as Lexus unveiled its new HS250h in the first-ever automotive ride-and-drive event held in River City.

Forty journalists from across Canada – from Halifax to Victoria – were on hand for an event that showcased Winnipeg’s cultural and architectural history before driving out to Gimli to show off the fuel-efficient luxury hybrid car.

The HS250h is Lexus’ first dedicated hybrid, which means it’s not a regular car into which hybrid components, including a large stack of batteries, have been installed. All of which means the HS250h achieves hybrid fuel economy with no compromises on price, cargo capacity or passenger comfort.

Unlike other hybrid cars in Lexus’ lineup, the trunk space of the HS is generous, as designing a purpose-built hybrid car allowed engineers to package the cabin and trunk to allow space for the batteries and minimize intrusion into cargo space. Lexus says the HS will cart three golf bags or four suitcases. The GS450h, on the other hand, has room for one or perhaps two golf bags.

The HS250 is powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder gas motor operating on what’s called the Atkinson cycle, which retards the closing of the intake valves to delay the start of the compression cycle and improve efficiency but at the expense, somewhat, of power. That power is more than made up for with the electric motor that not only provides torque assist on startup, can also power the car exclusively under certain conditions.

Power is delivered to the front wheels by a planetary-gear continuously variable transmission, which uses input from the electric and gas motors to vary the gearing ratios. Such transmissions cannot be made to have a reverse feature, however, and since you cannot operate a gas engine in reverse, backing up is powered solely by the electric motor.

The striking dashboard design is unlike anything in cars today, and features a unique control pod that cantilevers out from the dash and incorporates controls for the heating and ventilation and audio systems. As an option, a handy mouse-like controller is positioned in perfect reach of an arm resting on the centre armrest and controls the navigation and audio systems.

Pricing for the HS appears to be devoid of the typical $4,000 to $16,000 premium for hybrid cars (comparing a hybrid against its gas-only counterpart). Starting at $39,900 and rising to $48,750, the HS appears to be priced competitively with comparably equipped luxury (and gas-only) cars. Such niceties as leather seats, dual-zone climate control, power seats, 10-speaker AM/FM/6-CD Changer audio system and keyless entry and start are standard. And it’s only a short bump up to the Sports Package ($41,400) to get heated seats. The Ultra Premium package, which includes heated and cooled seats and navigation,  which uses an eight-inch LCD screen mounted atop the dash to minimize eye movement to see the map.

The proof of any hybrid is in the fuel economy: 5.6 litres per 100 km city, 5.9 l/100km highway and 5.7 l/100km combined (Transport Canada estimates). Our real-world fuel economy came in at 7.4 l/100km after a mix of city and highway driving.

Story and Photos By Kelly Taylor