Once a year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) round up the UK press offices and a selection of their fleet cars for a one-day event at the Millbrook Proving Ground. It's a chance to catch up on colleagues and new personnel as well as an opportunity to drive some of the latest vehicles on the high-speed bowl and entertaining 'Hill Route'.

Some outlets write full 'road tests' from the day's activities, though time in each car is fairly limited. This year I got behind the wheel of no less than 25 different cars, which goes to show perhaps how little time I did spend in each, though that included at least one lap of the challenging Hill Route in each car. There are so many new cars being launched this year that we thought it would be worth compiling my first impressions on these cars. Many we will test in depth at a later date.

Lexus GS450h
Model tested: Lexus GS450h
Price: £38,015 on-the-road.
0-62mph: 5.9 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Combined economy: 35.8mpg

Our US correspondent, Bodiford, has driven the new hybrid version of the Lexus GS saloon on his home ground, but this is our first chance to drive the GS450h in the UK. The 'h' stands for hybrid and the GS is the latest car in the Toyota/Lexus empire to utilise its 'Synergy Drive' powertrain.

Unlike the miserly Toyota Prius, which has the sole purpose of using as little fuel as possible and in the process emitting less pollution, Lexus uses hybrid technology to achieve big engine performance with small engine fuel consumption and pollution. The GS450h is basically a luxury/sports saloon in the vein of the BMW 5 Series. Thanks to its combined 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine and high-output electric motor maximum power is 341bhp, but not only that, from standstill, maximum torque is available from the electric motor, so performance is brisk, with 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.

To unleash the full performance you select Sport and watch the nifty dashboard display as all power is channelled to the driving wheels. If you're driving through town, or feeling particularly eco-friendly then the GS450h can also return 35.8mpg. Though reduced fuel bills are always welcome, the dangling golden carrot comes in the form of the GS450h's CO₂ emissions, which are quoted as 186g/km. To put that into perspective, even diesel powered rivals don't dip below 200g/km. That figure means an awful lot to company car drivers and their resulting tax bill.

My brief drive on the Hill Route revealed a pleasantly quick car with plenty of torque. The auto 'box works well too and the car handles quite neatly. Drivers used to more dynamic chassis from the likes of BMW or Jaguar will not warm to the GS though as it is a little detached. Though that applies to the whole GS range and not just the 450h. One oddity I discovered, which I assume does only affect the hybrid GS, is complete lack of brake feel. The pedal weighting is fine, but in the dry I actually managed to provoke the anti-lock brakes without a hint that the limit of grip was being approached. Blame the regenerative braking, that actually puts energy back into the system when the car is slowing.

Shane O' Donoghue - 13 Jun 2006