Lexus has taken the wraps off the hybrid version of its latest-generation LS sedan, the 2018 LS500h, and for the first time, the hybrid will not be the most powerful iteration of the company’s flagship sedan. Instead, Lexus appears to have designed the hybrid for fuel economy, likely in an effort to boost the model’s minuscule market share.
It seems obvious, perhaps, that the hybrid model would prioritize fuel economy, but that hasn?t exactly been the case with previous versions of this car. Ever since its debut a decade ago, the LS hybrid has been positioned as most potent iteration of the brand’s big luxury sedan, aimed at the 12-cylinder flagship models offered by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.

In the LS600hL, the hybrid powertrain delivered only a 3-mpg improvement in city fuel economy compared with the LS460, and it was no better on the highway. Although EPA estimates are not yet available to confirm the new mission, here’s one factor that will aid the fuel-economy cause: The LS500h will come in rear-wheel-drive as well as all-wheel-drive form. The outgoing LS600h L used a 5.0-liter V-8 paired with an AC electric motor to deliver a combined output of 438 horsepower, up from 386 horsepower in the 4.6-liter V-8?powered LS460. In the new car, both the LS500 and the LS500h use a 3.5-liter V-6, but it is twin-turbocharged for 415 horsepower in the non-hybrid, while the hybrid gets a naturally aspirated Atkinson-cycle unit that musters only 295 pon...