Please read this first

"But the many examples of meticulous attention to detail workmanship is what sets the LS 400 apart from its competitors.

LS 400 leather is carefully selected according to the strictest standards required of the best American tanneries. As many as 10 hides are hand selected to trim an LS 400 interior. The shapes of seating areas are laid out individually on the hides to achieve the best match, minimize wrinkles and provide the best final shape. Most seams are stitched by hand on sewing machines rather than by automated equipment.

An example of the extreme attention to detail can be found on the hidden surface of each door's armrest. There, extra-soft and thick leather is provided where the fingertips- contact the inside of the door handle to pull it shut. Although invisible, it is just one of the details that makes LS 400 refinement so tangible.

Interior wood trim is selected and processed by skilled piano makers, Only one percent of all available buried California walnut meets standards for the LS 400's interior. Color staining is applied by hand, with 3 coats and three individual hand-sanding steps. Final finishing and buffing is done after a single car's trim pieces are matted."

One of the reasons that I believe people buy Lexus is because of their extreme attention to detail and overall level of refinement and quality. Having read the above, do you feel that the interior in your car is made of very high quality materials? Or do you feel that the level of quality and attention to detail mentioned in the article is usually reserved only for the flagship models in Lexus like the LS460/600hl etc.?

The reason I ask is because I recently had the opportunity to sit in an IS350 and while everything looked wonderful and the material quality was good, I wasn't sure if it was superb. (namely the plastics).

So Lexus owners, how do you feel about the interior of your lexus especially the slightly lower range models like the IS series, GS series etc.? How would you rate the quality of plastics used? Are they soft plastics? How is the graining? How is the overall fit and finish and attention to detail? How do the ***** feel? Is there any 'play' in operating some of the buttons/***** etc. Does everything operate with precision and refinement?

Basically, I want to know if the interior of your Lexus feels like a super luxury car (taking design out of the equation and focusing on material quality, attention to detail and fit and finish) or it it feels like a luxury car that offers good value for money especially compared to the competition.

Thank you for all your responses.

 

build is superb on every model. However, looking from IS to ES to GS to LS, as well as SUVs and the SC, the attention to detail and fit and finish increase with the price.

Things have improved however as time passes. The IS for example, has all of it's wood trim cut from a single piece of wood. I can tell that is not the case on my old SC.

 

Thank you for the reply. One reply is better than none at all and I found your response helpful.

 

Also compare it to other members of the class....look at an IS vs 3 series, G35, C Class. Look at an ES350 over a TL. The interior of the IS is so far ahead of the competition it almost feels like a joke when you sit in one of the others!

 

Welcome to CL.

My response to another post in a thread of this nature should help answer your question:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...41#post1974641

 

MM, thanks for the welcome. Today, I attended BMW's Ultimate Drive Event following which I spent some time at a Lexus dealership.

Overall, Lexus simply walks all over BMW when it comes to interior material quality. I drove several different BMW cars today and I couldn't believe the quality of the leather being used in most of the cars. Almost all with the exception of the 750Li which I drove had terrible graining on the plastics.

The cars at the Lexus dealership were simply on another level when it came to interior quality. However, I did notice that the plastics and some of the controls in the ES350 looked a little cheap in comparsion to some of the other models.

My observations today agree with almost everything that you said here especially the last paragraph about luxury appearance vs high quality luxury materials.

:Having reviewed several new Lexus products in the last 12-18 months, I would say the answer is both yes and no. The general build quality of today's Lexus products is as good or better than anything we have seen in the past ( although the new ES350 I tested had some dash rattles ), and the paint jobs are better than ever, so the people in the assembly plants seem to be doing their jobs. But, again with some exceptions, there seems to be a decline in the quality of hardware, interior trim, *****, switches, etc. The interiors of the new IS250-350 and ES350 especially, may look glitzy, but there is a noticably cheaper feel to the plastics, shifters, and hardware....and the new ES has lost a lot of its formerly superb wood paneling on the dash and door panels. The new GS, though, IMO, is superior to both the new IS and ES in build quality, especially inside.
I especially noticed the difference between the 2005 and 2006 IS. The interior in the 2005 IS, though having a more spartan look, was built of more durable materials than the 2006, ( especially the real metal shifter with its solid chrome ball ), despite the fact that the 2006 IS looks much more " Lexus-like " inside"

 

My LS430 was always amazing as far as fit and finish are concerned. The leather, wood and materials were top-notch. The only thing I CAN'T STAND on the LS430 are the hollow plastic ***** for the radio dials on the console and volume up-down buttons (on the wheel). They really need to upgrade those.

 

Good post.

Lexus like all companies has to cut costs. Amazingly, they have done it almost without us noticing.The Kaizen method management might not have an equal.

For instance, the new 3.5 V-6 makes more power, with better fuel economy yet, costs Toyota $1,000 less to make than the old 3.3 V-6.

Having driven new Lexus, and owning mid range to old ones, the quality of the cars is incredible, especially if you take care of your Lexus.

Lexus KNOWS they HAVE to build top quality cars and top luxury, as they are known for it. They also know they cannot rest on their laurels.

Lexus does share switches/***** etc with one another but hey, Aston Martin's use Mazda Miata switchgear .

Overall, I am completely satisfied.

I do think all new cars seem to be using a different, softer plastic. I thought it was just Lexus until I went into damn near every car sold at our auto show here in Atlanta. Seems to be an industry thing.

 

...and whenever you reach for that radio **** just think, "hey, at least it's not i-drive!"

 

Lexus has great quality. The dash, buttons, steering wheel, etc all feel nice and tight. The wood trim are smooth and I have yet to find a piece of trimming that doesn't match.

The only thing I do not like about Lexus interior is their leather seat. I now have butt imprints on my seat Then again, I guess that is the trade off for using leather. I know in cars such as Acura, the sitting area is made out of vinyl instead of real leather. Leaves no but imprint, but it doesn't feel good to the touch of your fingertips.

 

I personally believe the quality of the early Lexus cars throughout the 90s were better than the current Lexus cars. My SC400 wood trim was a solid block of wood. Today, most Lexus cars still use real wood, but only a 1-2mm thick wood veneer. The LS may still use solid blocks of wood though. Fit and finish IMHO is still way above industry average, but I just don't think it is as good as before. What I do think Lexus does better than anyone is the interior feel. Whether or not the materials used are really of higher quality or not, they feel good to the touch. When you take the panel off and look behind it you often see it is made of similar plastic found in other manufacturer's cars, but somehow Lexus does a great job of adding the right texture, or add the right vinyl or just enough padding to make it feel good

 

That seems quite consistant with my experience as well. While the interiors didn't look as good in the 90's, Lexus seemed to have a "no expense spared" attitude when it came to materials and material quality. Now, they seem to be more about competing in the existing market place and making more $$$. So that would mean offering cars that are on par (or slightly better) than the competition but not much more.

 

As compared to their older designs when they were of a similar age and mileage?

I hear a lot of people complaining about squeaks and rattles galore in their Lexus IS, GS, SC, ES, RX, and LX. In fact the only current models I don't hear consistent complaints about are the LS and GX, and the new LS hasn't really been around long enough or sold enough to get a really good field test, though the old LS it was rare to hear a complaint.

I found it kind of ironic that after spending some time in my mother in law's 2007 RX350 and then in my father in law's 2007 Tahoe LTZ, that the Tahoe had absolutely no annoying noises coming from the interior, while the RX already had a couple, at least.

So I dunno if Lexus cars are being built more poorly, designed less obsessively, or if other car brands are just catching up and making Lexus look less impressive in relative terms?

 

I think some new owners have more squeaks and rattles! lmao

 

Check out my thread on the same subject from a few months ago.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=223679

I feel newer Lexus models feel cheaper in terms of materials used and aren't as well built.