I’ve driven a Lexus before, I know to expect the trademark luxury, refinement, comfort and the executive feel but the Lexus GS450h F-Sport is so much more&#8230; It’s a hybrid that’s super fast.
Lexus’ new baby is a hybrid car and the first of its kind I’d ever driven. It made for a good start. In one moment I could pose as a tough businessman who’s made it and has a howling V6 rear wheel drive executive sports saloon to prove it. In the next moment, and at the push of a button, I could be the world-peace advocate who hugs trees.
The car has four driving modes. EV mode is when only the battery is being used. The battery has to be sufficiently charged and this mode is ideal for driving at low speeds. It’s eerily silent but highly entertaining when you sneak up on people before honking. ECO mode is when the car is powered by a combination of the electric motor and the engine. It delivers decent performance with reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Sport and Sport+ modes transform the car’s throttle response and handling to give you a sharpened, engaging and, dare I say it, a fast car to drive.
The GS450h is driven by a V6 petrol engine that delivers 213kW of power but it also features an electric motor that is capable of delivering 147kW of power. However, don’t add these figures together to work out the combined power because it isn’t 360kW. These systems work seamlessly together to deliver a combined output of 252kW of power and that is all carried to the road through a CVT gearbox.
Hybrid cars are not new to the market and they are clearly becoming more popular as consumers look for a cleaner, greener drive. BMW has recently released its hybrid models and the 5 Series ActiveHybrid is in direct competition to the Lexus GS450h. BMW claims 6.7l/100km and Lexus claim 6.2l/100km, both of which are fantastic consumption figures for cars of this size. I managed to average an 8.8l/100km and that was on the combined cycle.
Let’s not forget that we are talking about a luxury sedan capable of seating five adults in a contemporary cabin with an oh-so-crisp Mark Levinson sound system. I particularly liked the simplified facia design that has been made possible by Lexus incorporating a huge multimedia unit into the dashboard. The 12.3-inch display is one of the best on the market and carries a lot of information, should you want it. Lexus has made use of a “mouse” type controller for the multimedia display and though it is placed in an easily reachable spot it isn’t user-friendly, especially when driving on uneven surfaces. The idea is good, but the system is way too sensitive and can be quite annoying.
Further experience of the interior of this car makes you realize the levels of craftsmanship and detail surrounding you. The electric-powered seats feature heating and cooling and has technology to only feed air to the seats that are actually occupied. (These guys take energy-saving seriously). I had no issues of space in the front and rear and the boot space has not been compromised even with the battery packs being packed in there.
It’s a car that will turn heads. Looking at it, you’ll appreciate the new wave of Lexus design. The angular “spindle” grille is apparent on all new Lexus models and not counting the LFA hypercar, the design suits this car best. It’s a good looking car with some aggression and some sophistication thrown in.
You’ll also notice the Lexus logo on the front and rear of the car is surrounded by a blue hue. The color indicates the hybrid version of the car. The F-sport version that I drove also wore 19” charcoal alloys that gave it a unique presence especially as the car I test drove was black.
Choosing a Lexus GS450h F-Sport would be an easy choice for me if I was in the market for this level of car. At $88,400 it’s competitively priced especially considering the fuel-saving and emissions saving this car offers. You do have the choice of diesel alternatives from other brands, but this car does everything you may need a diesel car for. Fuel-saving? check. Reduced emissions? Check. Entertaining drive? Check. It arguably has the last word in refinement, luxury and comfort too. It looks classy but has a flair of sportiness. The drive is whatever you want it to be—civilized should you choose, or tail-wagging fun. And isn’t that what technology should be about? Giving you power and freedom to choose when you’ll use that power. This car gives you everything; you just decide how and when let it really roar.
Recent research showed that South Africans are not in love with the Lexus brand as much as they are with the likes of VW; Audi; Mercedes Benz and BMW. A few months ago, I possibly would have been in that group of South Africans, but now, I am a big fan of the brand because I’ve had a taste of luxury as Lex

I Spell Love L-E-X-U-S

Reflecting on the day’s golf during the 40-minute drive back to the hotel, on the outskirts of George, to me it looked like young Branden Grace had blown his chance of making history. He had managed to turn a four-shot advantage into a share of the lead, after the third round of the Volvo Golf Champions, giving the big names a golden opportunity to thwart him.
The taxi driver interrupted this reflection: “Do you think anyone will catch Branden tomorrow?”
I had to try and politely tell the driver I thought young Grace, who was a member of the nearby George Country Club, had no chance in the final round.
The driver, who later told me he went to school with Grace, picked up on the little faith I had in the 23-year-old, who was at the top of the leader board in the first fully sanctioned European tour event to be held in South Africa.
“I’m telling you, Branden wants it more than any of those other guys. Since he started playing in standard four, he’s been mad about this game,” said the driver with conviction.
<div id="attachment_499" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-499" class="size-large wp-image-499" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/137543593-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="316" />Branden Grace poses with the trophy after winning the playoff during the final round of the Volvo Golf Champions at The Links at Fancourt</div>
The other guys the driver spoke of were: Masters champion Charl Schwartzel; double US Open champion Retief Goosen; 2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen and three-time Major winner Ernie Els.
Grace, whose parents owned a small restaurant in George, grew up among his heroes in a childhood which revolved around the golf course. He was part of the Ernie Els Foundation, set up by the Big Easy to identify new talent in South African golf, and his cousin is Sunshine Tour veteran Michiel Bothma. Grace enjoyed a remarkable amateur career, including a victory in the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2006 against a very strong international field. With the win, he was invited to the SA Open where he won the silver medal, finishing as the top amateur.
“Towards the end of school he hardly came to all the classes, he was always out on the course playing. Then when he did come to school, he’d pass the exams. The dude is talented,” said the driver.
I had just come from Grace’s press conference, where he fielded all the questions posed to him, but I noticed he had a resigned look about him, no doubt thinking that he had already let the tournament slip from his grasp.
Halfway through the final round, my prediction was coming true. Els was leading on 11 under par and Grace had fallen almost completely out of contention, playing the first four holes in three over par. Schwartzel and Goosen were also challenging.
Grace, who had only earned his European tour card through the gruelling European Tour Qualifying School barely a month prior in December, had finally come unstuck.
His victory at the Johannesburg Open a week before came on the very different Royal Johannesburg Country Club, and the Links at Fancourt, in the Western Cape, was also a different beast.
Nobody seemed to tell the man dubbed ‘Amazing Grace’, though, as he launched a birdie assault coming home.
Standing on the 18th tee, he was tied with Goosen and Els, who had already finished on 12 under.
The 18th is a reachable par five and a long hitter like Grace would be expected to birdie.
He did the hard work, reached the green in two and putted up to a couple of feet with his third shot. All that was left was to nudge home the four-footer for the win.
That was when disaster struck.
Grace missed.
He was now in a playoff with his childhood heroes, Goosen and Els.
Grace looked visibly sick after he threw away the chance to win outright.
The trio went back to the 18th tee for sudden death.
Els found trouble with his drive, while Goosen and Grace found the fairway.
Grace, like moments earlier, found the green with his approach and putted marginally closer than in regulation play.
The veterans weren’t able to birdie, and this time Grace was able to slam home the winning putt and let the world take notice.
With his second victory in as many weeks, Grace became the second-youngest player in European tour history to win back-to-back events. He also became the third Qualifying School graduate to win twice in the year after graduation.
Grace finally spoke about the nerves afterwards.
“I was lying in bed last night reading a couple of articles, and there were 14 Majors [winners] behind me chasing me… just standing on the tee with Ernie and Retief was unbelievable in the playoff. There was a calm about me, the whole playoff hole actually. I think I was more nervous and more pumped up going down the last hole when I walked up the fairway.”
“Knowing I’ve beaten Ernie and Retief in a playoff, I know that I can do it again.”
With Grace’s two wins, he leads the European Tour’s moneylist—The Race to Dubai—with earnings of 570,000 euros ($748,000) after four events and rising from 258 in the world rankings to inside the top 100. The boy from George has thrust himself into his rightful position among the world’s golfing elite.
The fresh face of golf is likely to be smiling all the way to the bank for many years to come.

The Fresh Grace Of Golf

It is a blistering hot afternoon at a stadium in Johannesburg in 2025 and the sports commentator mops his brow before launching into his words at a rattling machine-gun pace.
“Ngobeni steals the ball off Bandisu. Ngobeni surges up field, past Mavuso… Passes to Klate, Klate to Phangiso. Phangiso scores! The crowd erupts. The cup is theirs, they’ve worked for it all season.
No, this is not the South African Premier Soccer League—it is merely a distant dream nurtured by those bringing Aussie Rules football to the African continent.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-408" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/4X3T8325-1024x684.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="317" />
Aussie Rules—a strange hybrid of rugby and Gaelic football—has been planted at the grassroots of South African sport, where a small bunch of enthusiasts hope it will flourish. It would be an achievement as the game—as Australian as ‘g’day’—rarely strays too far from its home in Melbourne, Victoria.
It all began when the Australian Football League (AFL) launched its ‘FootyWILD’ program in Africa in 2007. Four years later, there are 8,000 young South Africans playing the game, many as young as eight, plus 500 volunteers, coaches and umpires.
In a few short years, the home-grown stars are starting to shine. Bayanda Sobetwa is a 21-year-old from Khayelitsha near Cape Town, who has spent the past two seasons in Australia playing a level just below fully professional. Tsholbolko Moagi, also 21, from Johannesburg and Khaya Sikiti, 25, from Nyanga, spent the last season in Tasmania playing state league competition.
The organization is based in Potchefstroom at the country’s North West University—home to the North West Academy of Sport—which has hosted many international events from the Davis Cup to cricket. The well-equipped sports facility recognized Aussie Rules as one of its 11 sporting codes in 2002.
Operations manager for AFL South Africa, Joel Kelly, says the plan is to reach 30,000 players by 2013.
“We have had preliminary support from the private sector and the Australian government, who have been attracted to the unique role the AFL can play in the South African community and our position as a developing brand and game. Our focus, though, has been on building the base and strength of the asset in the early days to ensure we create a strong and sustainable platform for a variety of partners. As we continue to grow, we are confident we will deliver strong value for future partners,” he says.

Tag: Sport

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I Spell Love L-E-X-U-S

The Fresh Grace Of Golf

G’day Africa!