It seems to me that Lexus showed the Limitless Concept as if it would be the new Lexus flagship. There is no denying that the Range Rover is a flagship vehicle with plush interiors and great highway ride. Could it be that the new Lexus flagship will the the Limitless production version? It gets past the complaints about lack of room in the LS500 and could even have the soft ride many of us miss. That leaves the LS500 as the "sporty" alternative, and the Limitless as the replacement for the LS and GX. The world seems to be shifting toward SUV's and this would give Lexus a competitor for the top Mercedes SUV, the GLS.

 

 

Having an SUV for a flagship is actually becoming quite common nowadays. One could argue that The Navigator is the Lincoln flagship, the Enclave the Buick flagship, the Escalade the Cadillac flagship, and the Land Cruiser the Toyota flagship.

 

The world is certainly heading that way. The Audi Q7 has a nicer interior than the A8 and drives almost as smoothly. I can only presume the X7 and the next GLS will follow that trend.

 

 

I absolutely believe this to be the case, which explains a lot about the choices they made on the LS500 (most specifically - interior volume). Long term plan.

 

On Lexus' website, the very first sentence when you go to the LF-1 page is "The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept is a flagship luxury crossover with an eye toward a more human future."

Within the press release: "This is our vision for a new kind of flagship vehicle that embraces crossover capability without giving up the performance and luxury delivered by today’s top sedans,” said Kevin Hunter, President, CALTY Design Research.

Sounds like a new flagship to me. And IMO, a flagship vehicle doesn't have to be a sedan or SUV. Ultimately it's whichever product the manufacturer decides will carry that status and prestige.

 

I think I have said it before, but my opinion is that the next gen Sequoia and whatever supersized SUV Lexus will have will be on the same platform.

Totally makes sense. ES will eventually surpass the LS as the most important sedan. I would not even be surprised if the LS get discontinued at some point or morphs into a crossover with its name.

 

I've always thought the Land Cruiser and Lexus LX are Toyota's flagship. The LS might be the top luxury offering, but IMO it isn't the pinnacle of Toyota's core competencies. Reliability, durability, ruggedness, the Land Cruiser is the truck you take when the paved road runs out, civilization ends, and a break down on the side of the road could be deadly(either getting killed by the elements or the locals).

 

I can't see the ES being a true Lexus sedan flagship. It's too close to the Camry, and simply not in the same class as an LS. Sure, it will be a flagship (by default) if the GS and LS are dropped, but I can't see the LS being dropped anytime soon, even with low sales.....Toyota invested too much into its redesign this year.

Again, I don't see where age will make any difference. The same differences between the ES and LS apply (and will probably continue to apply) whether one is 8 or 80. The only way that will change is if the two vehicles are radically redesigned in relation to each other.

 

I disagree. A flagship should contain at least a handful of technologies invented in the past decade. Flagship is about pushing the envelope, and while the LX certainly does that with its offroad capabilities (bodyside cladding and atrocious approach/departure/breakover angles notwithstanding), it's farther behind the times technology-wise than pretty much anything on the market over $40k, and many vehicles cheaper than that.

 

 

LS, LC, LX and LQ are all flagships.

As to the soft ride, good luck... there is literally no chance it will be a boat.

LX outsells GLS worldwide, so MB has to step up their game.

 

The G-Wagon that costs a whole lot more than the GLS and LX is the Mercedes flagship. So it seems its Lexus/Toyota which needs to step up their game.

 

The G-Wagon is not and has not ever been the flagship for Mercedes. That title belongs to the S-Class sedan. Always has and always will. Price alone does not indicate flagship status. The S-Class coupe is more expensive than the sedan but regardless, the sedan is the flagship.