A print ad by Toyota's Lexus luxury car line has been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), on the grounds that it breached rules regarding truthfulness and environmental claims.

The body set up by the advertising industry to police the rules laid down in the advertising codes received four complaints against the ad. The press ad for the Lexus RX 400h had text that stated "The RX 400h. Perfect for Today's Climate. (And Tomorrows) ... Driving the world's first luxury hybrid SUV makes environmental, and economic, sense ...". The small-print at the bottom of the ad stated "... CO2 emissions 192 g/km''.

The ASA upheld the complaints against the ad, saying that the advertisement had violated rules regarding truthfulness and environmental claims. It said that readers would most likely conclude that the car had little or no impact on the environment.

Reports suggest that Lexus tried to defend the advertisement by insisting it was intended to reach readers on different levels by referring to economic conditions as well as an offer to buy the car.

On its website, the ASA says that in response to the complaints, Lexus said that the headline was intended to operate on two levels and the word 'Climate' was used to convey that the RX 400h was appropriate for the current economic market and suitable for today's environment.

Lexus said that due to the current economic market, the premium car segment was generally suffering and, in response to that, Lexus was offering attractive finance packages on the RX400h.

The company also asserted that to help further push that aspect, the price point was prominently placed in the sub-heading. Lexus also believed that the body copy further emphasised that finance offer because it stated more accessible than ever, meaning it was now more affordable.

Lexus said the RX 400h featured Lexus Hybrid Drive technology, saying that consumers were increasingly being educated that hybrid cars made more environmental sense because they impacted adversely on the planet less than standard vehicles.

Lexus argued that nowhere in the headline or body copy was there a claim stating that the vehicle caused little or no harm to the environment, saying that the purpose of the ad was to educate readers that the Lexus RX400h was a hybrid SUV car that was more environmentally friendly than standard premium SUVs.

The company said that since the main visual in the advertisement was a picture of an SUV, that made clear the claim related to other standard premium SUVs.

Lexus has since amended the ad, adapting the tag line which now states that the car is "Perfect for today's economic climate (and tomorrows)", removing the references to it making environmental and economic sense.