LEXUS LC500H

Price from £76,595 On sale now What’s new? Hybrid version of luxo-coupé gets new 10-speed gearbox and loses boot space

THE 10-SPEED gearbox in the hybrid version of Lexus’s new luxury GT coupé, the LC500H, marries the epicyclic power splitter familiar from the firm’s existing V6 hybrids with a separate four-speed automatic – and it does so in series.

The new driveline makes for a marginally less alienating driving experience than the infamous rubber band feel of old, although it doesn’t compare favourably with the plug-in hybrids available at a similar price point. The sense of ‘torque-filled’ in-gear acceleration is modest, and shift quality in manual mode can be slurred. The handling is precise and fairly engaging, but the car’s ride can fidget and thump on Lexus’s standard-fit run-flat tyres. MS