The Lexus range has bags of style and it is equally as good as anything the Germans can manufacture and they don’t have to experiment on monkeys either.

My favourite at the moment is the RC 300h, which is a tad pricey at just over £40,000, but it’s the sort of car that will look after you for five years or more and will be just as good as the first day you took delivery.

Top speed is 120mph; 0-62mph gets under nine seconds and miles per gallon are just under the 60 mark. Not bad with a 2.5 litre engine but the hybrid makes all the difference.

Hybrid powerplants and CVT gearboxes have got better and better over the years and with diesel engines falling out of favour the hybrid model gets more and more popular with the general public who have been bullied by the government over the diesel issue.

But the 300h looks quite beautiful, equally as good as anything you can get from the German marques. On top of that they perform just as well as a Mercedes, they have the best equipment like an Audi and keep their value like a BMW.

Inside or out the design is excellent, the seats are extremely comfortable and the equipment includes all the stuff which is essential these days like automatic lights, park assist, hill start, LED lights and all this on the entry level models, which includes leather seating.

The good thing about the 300h is that you can drive around town in a nice and gently mode and then when you have to change down for a rural situation you can switch over to the sport and the car is happy to go and play with you!

The steering is right on the button, so to speak, and the grip from the car is terrific.

Then when you have the need for the long distance journey then you could not have a better companion. I once drove a Lexus from Heathrow to the Lake District on Christmas Day – some 250 miles – and I was as refreshed as the moment I stepped into the car some four hours earlier.

There’s no doubt that hybrid motoring is the future with the petrol-electric mix way ahead of anything else on the market. Hydrogen is a long way behind in the field.

Toyota, who are of course the manufacturers of Lexus, are the leaders in the hybrid field so think carefully when you are buying your next car. And remember no-one makes more reliable cars than the Japanese.