WE'VE ALL HEARD tonnes about how hybrid cars represent a terrific interim solution to the problem of making motoring green (until hydrogen power comes into its own), but quite frankly, frugality can be a teensy weensy bit, er, unexciting. Okay, it's actually utterly dead boring.

There's plenty of technology behind hybrid cars for sure, more than enough to keep the tech geek in most of us happy for hours on end, but using technology in aid of saving money and the environment is more quietly satisfying than excitingly visceral.

Toyota, the foremost purveyor of hybrid cars, probably understands this better than most. It's therefore gone and developed, through its luxury Lexus subsidiary, a hybrid that's less concerned about economy than it is performance.

A hybrid performance car might sound a bit oxymoronic, given how we've been constantly hammered by talk that hybrids are all about saving fuel, but building one also very clearly demonstrates how flexible the technology is, which is actually a great way to get more people used to the idea.

Enter the RX 400h, which is ostensibly the same car as the very popular petrol-engined RX 350. There are only a few minor styling changes, a slightly different bumper and new aluminium wheels for example, but there?s plenty that?s gone on underneath.

The running gear inside the RX 400h has more in common with the sort of high-tech wizardry that goes into the
Prius, than it does the standard RX 350.

For instance, the RX 400h does away with the standard car's mechanical four-wheel drive hardware, substituting it with not one or two but three sophisticated electric motors.
That said, only two actually help drive the wheels, the third starts the engine and functions as an extra generator for recovering energy.

One 165bhp electric motor, in conjunction with the 208bhp 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine, helps drive the front wheels. The rears are driven solely by a 67bhp electric motor.

DRIVING IT

The most novel thing about hybrids is how quiet they can be when you're creeping about, the RX 400h, like the Prius, starts off under electric power alone. This can elicit quite a number of curious looks from passer-bys, especially in closed carparks.

While you can drive it in super-frugal fashion like you would the Prius, and as satisfying as it is to see the average consumption figures for a car this size tumble to eye-poppingly low levels, Lexus hasn't really designed the RX 400h with this sort of pussy-footedness in mind.

It's a performance luxury hybrid, after all, so you might as well avail yourself of all the grunt that's on tap.

It's actually quite complicated to work out exactly how powerful the RX 400h is, because the various powerplants, both petrol and electric, work their hardest at different rpms.

Lexus quotes a figure of 268bhp, which is a hair's breadth away from the RX 350's maximum output. On paper, 0 to 100km/h comes up in 7.9 seconds, although it does actually feel a bit quicker in real life.

Stomp on the throttle from standstill and you get one long, seamless surge of acceleration that's really quite impressive for something that tips the scales at over two tonnes.

There is a bit of roll, but body control is generally very decent, and the steering
is accurate and quite well-weighted.

Cruising is a nice and refined affair. In fact, things can get so eerily quiet on the move that you find yourself turning the
radio up just to fill the silence.

INSIDE IT

The RX 400h's cabin isn't very much different from the normal RX. The only real change is that the rear seats are positioned a little bit higher than in the standard car, as the batteries for the RX's
hybrid drivetrain live underneath.

You do get some classy aluminium trim, though, as well as an extra little display option underneath the instrument gauges that tells you how electrical power is being used or generated. Otherwise,
it's the same well-built interior.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

Borneo is positioning the RX 400h in between the top-spec RX 350 Super Luxury and RX 350 Luxury variants, so this does help provide some context for buyers. Plus the fact that it looks pretty much like any of the other RX variants should also help to overcome any qualms buyers might have about taking the hybrid route.

The other big plus is the fuel savings that you stand to enjoy, we managed to achieve a consumption figure of about 8.8 kilometres per litre without actually having to try. The only real problem is the extra road tax 'penalty' you rather unfairly incur.

The road tax structure for hybrids like the RX takes horsepower, rather than engine capacity into account, for fear that people might get away by paying relatively less tax for powerful hybrids with engine capacities smaller than their petrol-engined equivalents.

You therefore end up having to shell out about $900 more in annual road tax for the RX 400h over the RX 350, even though the former is cleaner, more frugal, and has a smaller engine.

CONCLUSION

The RX 400h makes for a super-compelling ownership proposition, partly because it firmly establishes that hybrid technology isn't all about frugality. You get plenty of performance, very good handling and build quality, basically everything that we've come to expect from Lexus, but in a cleverer package. Shame about having to be penalised on the road tax front, though.

PLUSES

Packed with tech, punchy acceleration, relative frugality

MINUSES

Rather stiff road tax penalty, grabby brakes

VERDICT

Another winner from Lexus, almost too clever a machine

NEED TO KNOW

LEXUS RX 400H (A)

ENGINE TYPE 3,311cc, 24V V6
MAX POWER V6: 208bhp, motors: 232bhp
MAX TORQUE V6: 288Nm, motors: 463Nm
GEARBOX CVT
TOP SPEED 180km/h
0-100 KM/H 7.9 seconds
PRICE $169,009 with COE
WARRANTY 3 years / 100,000km
CONTACT 3 years / 100,000km
TELEPHONE 6749-3288

SIMILAR CARS WE HAVE DRIVEN

Lexus RX 350 Super Luxury (A) $172,888 with COE
The standard-engined RX in Super Luxury trim comes stuffed with equipment, including a double moon-roof that gives the cabin a breezy feel. The 3.5-litre V6 develops 272bhp, which is sufficient grunt to rocket the car to 100km/h in just 7.8 seconds.

Volkswagen Touareg 3.2 (A) $178,400 with COE
The Touareg shares its basic underpinnings with Porsche's considerably more expensive Cayenne. There?s plenty of equipment inside, and build quality is great. The Touareg is also very handsome, in a nicely understated sort of way.