Lexus Plans to Makes Its Vehicles More Rigid to Compete with German Driving Dynamics
Lexus has been studying its German competition for around six years now, and has already begun making improvements.
When Toyota launched the Lexus brand in 1989, it did so with pretty clear intentions – to take on existing German competition in the luxury sedan space, which was a big business at the time. Lexus managed to carve out its own niche in that segment with the LS400, a car that upstaged its German competition by giving consumers a more reliable alternative and set the stage for what has become a popular automotive brand in general. However, Lexus does lag behind its German rivals in at least one area – driving dynamics – though it’s apparently laser-focused on improving in that regard.
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Toshinori Ito – project manager for the brand’s sensitivity performance development department – revealed that Lexus has been benchmarking Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi since 2018 and studying what differentiates those vehicles from its own. What it found is that the Germans do a better job with things like body rigidity, and as such, it has several tweaks in store for future models.
Those tweaks include adding support braces to the front, rear, and two middle tunnel sections of its vehicles in an effort to improve body rigidity, which it believes will result in more responsive handling. Lexus engineers are already testing these upgrades with the expectation that the company can begin rolling them out on a model-by-model basis during typical mid-cycle refreshes and redesigns.
This process is what Lexus likes to call ajimigaki – a Japanese term describing its efforts to “polish the driving taste” of its vehicles. The concept actually comes from Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda himself, who is aiming to further differentiate Lexus from the competition by offering even better driving dynamics in the form of one, unified “driving signature” across the entire lineup. Think cars that are still safe and easy to control, albeit, also more precise and exhilarating to drive.
Lexus sees this mission as even more critical given the slow transition to all-electric vehicles, as it believes customers will still want a sportier driving experience even in those far-heavier models. Much of its rigidity efforts are focused in the rear at the moment, though some others are already present in some newer models – in fact, the RZ EV has front braces, while the NX got the same treatment in 2023, followed by rear updates earlier this year. Soon, those tweaks will spread across the entire lineup, which is great news for those of us that still appreciate the art of driving.
Photos: Lexus
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