Not long from now, the idea of a luxury fuel-efficient vehicle will most probably become ubiquitous. As the US government slowly raises the Corporate Average Fuel Economy rating, in a 5 percent annual ramp up to 35.5 mpg by 2016), automakers will need to manufacture more fuel frugal cars and trucks. And that of course includes luxury cars. But luxury cars buyers don't want to sacrifice comfort, performance or technology to save at the pump—or to save the planet. Who says they have to? Here, we take two forward-looking, fuel-efficient vehicles—one, a hybrid; the other, a diesel—from Lexus and BMW for a 390-mile test drive.
Both BMW and Lexus have launched new cars this year that offer two very different approaches to delivering luxury and fuel economy. BMW has brought its potent 335d to the states, packing a mammoth 425 lb.-ft. of torque. The BMW is rated to return 23-mpg city and 36 mpg on the highway. Lexus has built its first dedicated hybrid, the HS250h—a car that offers only modest accelerative performance by comparison, but delivers 35-mpg city and 34 on the highway in a much less expensive package, with about the same level of tech as the BMW. Let's see how they stack up in a fuel economy face-off.
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