The LS 500h.
Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand, had always emphasised on the refinement and takumi master craftsman build-quality of its line-up which can stand up against the best from Europe.
Now, Lexus has added a suite of Advance Active Safety Technologies in the newly-introduced latest generation LS flagship model.
These cutting-edge innovation with loads of driver-assisted technologies, is expected to pave the way for its version of autonomous driving systems in the near future.
Our test unit, the latest generation LS 500h variant, was equipped with a combination of radar, cameras and sensors to enable better monitoring and response to its surroundings.
While some cars have been equipped with automatic warning feature when it detects in-coming vehicles during reversing, Lexus has gone a step further and created a system that could brake the car by itself and detect pedestrians in its path.
In a demonstration at the car park of the Pacifico Yokohama convention centre, a test driver deliberately reversed the LS 500h into a child mannequin and the car produced a beeping moments before it executed full braking.
Another system that we tested was the Lane Tracing Assist which uses the LS 500h’s camera system to read the white lines of the road to keep the car within its lane. If the white lines were not clear or had faded out, the system would use its dynamic cruise control’s radar to detect the vehicle in front and follow its path.
Seeing the LS 500h’s steering wheel turn by itself while staying within its lane on gentle curving and yet busy expressways in Yokohama at 80kph could be unnerving in the beginning for the uninitiated.
The test drive organiser had even placed a bright yellow sticker at the top of the steering wheel for us to easily see any movements.
However, this lane keeping system is not considered fully autonomous and requires the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel or the system would sound a warning that it would be deactivating itself soon.
The LS 500h also came with the Lane Change Assist that helps the driver change lanes safely without the need to turn the steering wheel.
The driver only has to push the turn signal stalk to the lane he wants to move into and the system will scan for nearby vehicles and will then turn the steering wheel once it is safe to do so.
The manoeuvre was executed so fluidly that those seated at the back of the LS 500h could not tell the difference if it had been done by a human driver.
Another new feature that we felt worthy of a demonstration was the newly developed pre-collision brake assist with active steering assist.
Unfortunately, the demo was not carried out as it required a long empty stretch of road and the car park area was small.
As many brands are already offering the feature that automatically brakes the car to avoid hitting the vehicle or pedestrians in front, Lexus has taken a further step by automatically steering the car away if it does not stop in time.
According to a Lexus official, this collision braking and avoidance system only works on pedestrians as they occupy a smaller portion of the road compared with cars.
He said the LS 500h still needs to stay within its lane as moving to another lane may cause a collision with other vehicles.
The introduction of these advanced safety systems will make driving safer and reduce the stress levels of drivers for a more pleasant drive.
Expect more innovation to come out of Toyota group’s research institute as it plans to introduce its version of autonomous driving cars featuring Guardian and Chauffeur modes by 2020.
Under the Chauffeur mode, the car will drive itself to the destination and avoid obstacles along the way, while Guardian mode takes over driving from humans if they are unable to do so safely.
