At this production facility, employees are forbidden from having pockets, and footwear must be perfectly clean. Metal items are prohibited, as is any static electricity. Components enter the workshops through an airlock, like on an orbital station. Inside the plant, you won't find a speck of dust. Rather, dust is so absent that the word "no" doesn't convey the scale. All microparticles are extracted by a ventilation system operating on pressure differentials. No dust means no defects on body panels. (They genuinely believe this! As a person who has visited all Soviet car plants, I'm impressed.) The stamping shop is completely free of particles up to 20 microns thanks to the "Niagara" — a three-meter water curtain.
You won't hear noise here either. The plant's concept is simple: "silence and cleanliness." To eliminate excess sounds, pneumatic tools were replaced with electric ones, and the conveyor's chain drive with a system using polyurethane bushings. In silence, workers concentrate better on tasks, strain their hearing less, and quickly notice extraneous noises that might indicate a malfunction. "Clicks when connecting connectors are heard much more clearly," the Japanese say. These details alone are enough for any Lexus RX450h owner to justify the money spent on the hybrid.
The interior is well thought out: the multimedia screen is at eye level, and the gear lever is conveniently raised
There's no tachometer here. Instead, there's an "econometer" showing how correctly you drive
PICKLED ALIVE
Lexus RX450h — is it a car or a toy? That's how it's often called in the automotive press... But they don't make toys at such plants. Even if you buy it for fun, nothing will come of it. You'll get bored in a couple of days. I quickly stopped watching the graphic display where energy darts between batteries, electric motors, and the gasoline unit. It lives its own life anyway. No matter how hard you try, you can't change anything. You won't reduce fuel consumption below 10 liters per 100 km. I tried. It's a serious test. I tried not to press the gas pedal more than halfway, otherwise the instant fuel consumption indicator would jump to 20 liters. But how can you overtake a Daewoo Nexia in the left lane going 100 km/h when your speed is only 2 km/h more? When I completed that maneuver, the column of unfortunate souls gathered behind me was no longer angry — they looked pickled alive. When I finally drove at full power of all three motors, which is 300 hp, happiness spread through my body like a wide river. In the hybrid, there are two units in front (gasoline and electric) and one in the rear (electric). The gasoline V6 didn't just move here from the RX350; it was modernized, slightly increasing power and displacement, and switched from the Otto cycle to the Atkinson cycle for efficiency. The electric motor installed at the rear serves as the basis for all-wheel drive — that's why there's no driveshaft here.
The speedometer readings projected onto the windshield are a former military technology
PLEASANT THICKNESS
Due to the massive battery packs, it wasn't possible to maintain a normal ground clearance. Only 170 mm remains. So I briefly left the asphalt, remembering that the hybrid's platform mate, the RX350, was a complete disappointment off-road. Once the first hill was behind me, I stopped being cautious. The hybrid handles rough terrain wonderfully, alternately hanging wheels. It doesn't whine or jerk. The 4x4 system works excellently. The electric motor on the rear axle is a thing!
The hybrid Lexus can simulate inter-wheel locks much better than the regular one
The RX450h digs in slowly — you have time to notice and take action
There are many differences between the RX350 and RX450h. What's more: they are two completely different cars. And not just off-road. On asphalt, the RX350 is better — it responds more adequately to driver commands. The RX450h weighs more, but is one second faster. That's what ruins it. You can't turn a comfortable "crossover" into a rocket; it's too much for such a chassis. During hard acceleration, the hybrid yaws, deviates from the trajectory, and requires steering corrections. Drifts during maneuvers and body roll in corners are noticeable.
SPECS: LEXUS RX450H
As a toy, the RX450h quickly gets boring; as a road cruiser, it yields to the "350"; and off-road, despite all the splendor of electric traction, it sometimes lacks ground clearance. At the same time, it's made for enjoyment in the silence and cleanliness of Kyushu Island, and that's worth a lot. Also, "the carefully selected thickness of the RX450h's handles provides pleasant tactile sensations." That's official information, and it's appealing.
