Moving upmarket from a Toyota Prius hybrid to an entry-level Lexus hybrid carries a 50 percent price premium. But, hey, you're getting a Lexus.

The 2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid will start at $35,075 when it ships in about a month, Lexus announced. And that's with the best fuel economy of any luxury vehicle in the U.S., low emissions, a boatload of technology standard in the base model, and leather everywhere. There is no exact equivalent gasoline-powered Lexus sedan. The Lexus ES250 comes close at $35,345 (both prices include $875 shipping). An entry Toyota Prius with a lot less standard equipment runs $22,750 while the ritziest Prius starts at $32,520.

Lexus rates the HS 250h at 35 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, 35 mpg combined using a four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine that produces 147 hp, 187 hp total including the electric hybrid drive motor. Lexus also says the car uses as many environmentally thoughtful parts as possible, such as a bioplastic material it calls Ecological Plastic for 30% of the interior upholstery and trunk compartment, resulting in a 20% decrease in carbon emissions over the life of the vehicle.

The base car has loads of technology that should be standard in every car whose owner has an iPod and cellphone: Bluetooth for phone and music streaming, a USB key / iPod jack, satellite radio with a 90-day starter subscription, a six-disc CD changer (five slots more than most iPod-owning users need). A 10-speaker audio system is standard; a Mark Levinson system with 15 speakers is optional.

A Technology Package on the Premium model ($37,845) provides safety in all directions: active (also called) dynamic cruise control with pre-collision slowdown, lane departure warning (LDW) with lane keep assist (LKA; it nudges the car back into place), parking sonar, a driver monitor (LCD), and head up display (HUD).

The Lexus HS 250h gets a sixth-generation navigation system - a good idea since the older Toyota / Lexus navigation units were falling behind - and will use the Remote Touch cockpit controller. We've used Remote Touch in the Lexus RS 350 SUV and found it to be the easiest cockpit controller to master. It works like a joystick. BMW's iDrive will be quicker for smart users once they've mastered the interface, but not everyone wants to deal with the learning curve of even the simpler 2009 iDrive. Remote Touch has one downside compared to iDrive, Audi's MMI, Mercedes-Benz's Comand, and the Hyundai Genesis controller: no buttons that let you quickly jump to navigation, phone, iPod, etcetera. (It does have a Menu button and a Map button.)

The Lexus HS 250h will also offer an enhanced telematics system. Every Lexus HS 250h gets Safety Connect, which provides crash notification ("24 hours a day, 7 days a week - every day of the year," as the Lexus release helpfully notes, in case you thought Mayday service was available only available 9-5, Pacific time), an SOS button, emergency roadside assistance, and stolen vehicle location. An enhanced Lexus Enform with Safety Connect provides some bells and whistles now offered by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and GM's OnStar. An eDestination feature on navi-equipped HS 250h's lets you go online, create multiple destinations, and have them sent to your car; Lexus apparently does it via a dedicatated site, lexusowners.com, while the Germans use Google Maps and the Send To button. BMW calls it MyInfo; Mercedes calls it Search & Send. Destination Assist is operator-assisted address lookup and destination download, much like OnStar's premium Directions & Connections service. Lexus gives you the first year free, then it's $140 a year (base Safety Connect) or $265 (Enform), about 10% less than OnStar costs. 

Lexus says this is not, repeat not, a Lexus Prius. Let's take them at their word for now. Sometimes we're hard-pressed to tell a fully tarted-up Toyota Camry from a Lexus ES 350 when we're inside and under way. Obviously, you have to pay extra if you want a car dealer that treats you well, which Lexus does to perfection. And you have to pay extra for the Lexus badge and all it implies, and higher resale value.

Bottom line (before we drive the car): At last, a hybrid sedan from Lexus that doesn't cost $50K. The base price includes the electronics you expect standard in a modern car (but seldom get), you can assume it will be flawlessly finished inside and out, and the telematics seems on par with the best from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and OnStar. Plus, you'll get great mileage.