There is something rather lovely about rolling around town in the 450h – you sit in a silent cabin as the electric motors do all the work.

The only worry is the pedestrian who doesn’t hear the Lexus approaching and steps onto the road without looking.

And the cabin is a truly great place to sit. I can only imagine the seats were designed primarily for the US market because they are big and squidgy. Perfectly supportive but super sumptuous too.

The Lexus has grown on me but somehow it just lacks the dynamic nature of key hybrid rivals, like versions of the Porsche Cayenne and Volvo XC90. It’s an ‘almost car’ – almost rather good…