LEXUS has been endeavouring to muscle its way into the golf-club set for years. The LS400 started the ball rolling back in 1990 and the progressive roll out of superbly equipped models has strengthened its position considerably. Cachet lovers will still opt for a Bimmer, Merc, Audi or Jag but some folk who’ve flipped over to Lexus wouldn’t go back. The company prides itself on customer care levels that are the envy of its rivals and the build quality of Lexus vehicles is second to none. However, the GS450h – "h" for hybrid – is the company’s first performance hybrid. It’s also the first among the luxury marques to deliver an economical, yet enormously powerful luxury sedan, and that’s perhaps the real measure of the inroads Lexus has made. It started out following the pack, now Lexus leads it.