NeoCars / TOP 5 NEO CARS / Lexus

It tells you a great deal that Lexus won the Best Prestige Car and Best Luxury Car categories at the most recent Australia's Best Cars (ABC) awards, and those two plus and Best Luxury Four Wheel Drive at last year's awards. But it's not the whole story of why Lexus owners are so satisfied with their choice.

For a car that has only been around since 1989, Lexus has built an impressive brand loyalty and heavyweight reputation, and that is as much to do with how the company sees its owners as it has to do with the admittedly excellent motor vehicle itself.

The company is a major arts organization sponsor, and it makes sure owners get to benefit from that with thoughtful perks like advance booking and free parking. It is similarly canny with its significant sports sponsorships.

That's just business as usual for the company, which has firmly established itself as an exemplar of customer service. Nothing seems to be too much trouble if you're part of the Lexus 'family', and that creates a loyalty to the marque that goes far beyond the usual.

A convincing commitment to reducing environmental damage also builds goodwill, with the hybrid cars attracting very positive attention: the ABC award judges said in their citation for the Best Luxury Car, "If hybrids are the future of clean motoring, the Lexus GS450h's combination of performance and social responsibility well and truly leads the field."

No wonder Al Gore is happy to have lecture tours sponsored by the company ... more