Here are details of the 2010 model year luxury vehicles from Japan and other parts of Asia:
Acura
Look closely at Acura's new-for-2010 ZDX. If you take in the overall shape, you might miss that this hatchback with hidden rear door handles has four doors.
Due out at the end of this year, the five-passenger ZDX crossover sport utility vehicle is powered by a 300-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and comes standard with Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. Pricing hasn't been announced.
Acura also adds a V-6 to its TSX sedan for the first time. The 201-horsepower, four-cylinder engine remains, but the 3.5-liter, V-6 offers 280 horses. The four-cylinder TSX starts at about $30,000, with destination charge included, while the TSX with V-6 starts at more than $34,800.
Acura's two SUVs -- the RDX and MDX -- are updated for 2010 with bolder grilles, subtle rear styling changes and interior refinements. In addition, the RDX is available for the first time with two-wheel drive. This means starting price for an RDX falls to below $34,000.
Lexus
The new-for-2010 HS 250h looks like a regular luxury sedan on the outside, but it is the world's first luxury car available only with a hybrid powerplant.
That's right. There's no nonhybrid, gasoline- or diesel-only version of the HS the way there is for the other Lexus hybrid vehicles.
The five-passenger HS 250h sedan borrows much of its chassis from Toyota's Prius hybrid, which is sold only as a hybrid car.
Toyota owns the Lexus luxury brand in addition to its youth-oriented Scion brand.
A total of 187 horsepower comes from a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine supplemented by a hybrid drive electric motor inside the HS 250h.
Fuel mileage is rated at 35 mpg in city driving and 34 mpg on the highway.
As a rule, city mileage is a tad better than highway mileage in hybrids because the electric motor has more opportunities to unburden the gasoline engine in slower-speed travel.
Still, the fuel economy ratings for this luxury "green" car are lower than the 51/49 mpg ratings for the 2010 Prius.
Moreover, with a starting price, including delivery charge, of $35,075, the HS 250h is some $12,000 more expensive than a base Prius. Some say its grille looks somewhat Ford-like.
Also new for 2010 are the IS 250C and IS 350C convertibles with power-operated hardtop roofs. They mark the first new convertibles for Lexus since its SC roadster came out in 2001.
The four-seat IS convertibles build on the IS 250 and IS 350 rear-wheel-drive sedans and use the same IS engines as the sedans: a 204-horsepower, 2.5-liter V-6 and a 306-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6. Both engines are available with six-speed automatic. The smaller V-6 also can be had with a manual transmission.
Starting retail price for the IS convertibles is $39,365.
Lexus debuted in February its new-generation, 2010 RX 350 crossover SUV with higher-powered, 275-horse, 3.5-liter V-6 and new six-speed automatic transmission.
The top-of-the-line RX hybrid model, the 450h, also has been updated, and Lexus' original hardtop convertible, the SC, is freshened for 2010.
Infiniti
2010 marks the first full year for the topless version of the stylish Infiniti G37 coupe. The four-seat G37 convertible has the same knockout looks as the coupe, but the convertible's roof is made of three pieces of metal that move, stack and slide into the trunk at the touch of button.
Power comes from a 325-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 that can be mated to a seven-speed automatic or a six-speed manual. Prices start at $44,715, including delivery charge.
Aston Martin
Sold off by Ford Motor Co. in 2007 to a consortium that includes Kuwaiti investors, the Aston Martin brand made famous by movie spy James Bond is busy following through on the company's first four-door car.
The four-seat Rapide, which was displayed as a concept car at auto shows in recent years, earned high praise for its seductive looks.
Finally, it will be out early in calendar year 2010 as a production model. The Rapide will come with a 470-horsepower, 5.9-liter V-12 and a price tag expected to be around $250,000.
Jaguar
The flagship sedan of the brand, the XJ, is revised as a 2010 model. The new rear-wheel-drive XJ has striking looks, is a bit longer than its predecessor, and will be available in regular and long-wheelbase models.
The starting price, including delivery charge, is increased substantially, too -- from $66,475 to $72,500.
Three engines are planned for the XJ: a 385-horsepower 5-liter V-8 and 470-horsepower and 510-horsepower supercharged versions of the same V-8. The only transmission will be a six-speed automatic.
Inside the XJ, Jaguar's generous use of leather continues, but old-style gauges are replaced by a modern screen that a driver can configure in the instrument panel.
Also in the 2010 model year, the XF sedan adds a performance version called XFR with 510-horsepower, 5-liter, supercharged V-8, electronically controlled differential, adaptive suspension and 20-inch wheels.
Land Rover
Now owned by India's Tata Motors, like Jaguar, Land Rover swaps out its poor-selling LR3 SUV for the 2010 LR4. Casual observers won't notice much change to the boxy exterior, though grille, bumpers and body side vents are new to better provide air to the more powerful, 375-horsepower, 5-liter V-8.
Land Rover loads up the vehicle with electronic aides such as integrated iPod, Bluetooth and five-camera views of the LR4 periphery.
The starting price is expected to be around $49,000.
From the Friday, October 09, 2009 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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